(easily) etch images in copper

Make a copper etching of any image. This takes about 1 hour, including image prep, transfer, and etching, and it works really well. Check it out!
http://www.artiswrong.com

Step 1: Overview

I was making PCBs today (using vincent's excellent 5PCB instructable!), and they were coming out really well. I thought I might try images, and after a bit of trial and error, I got that working well, too.
This instructable will leave you with a nice copper etching of a digital image of your choice.
Along the way, you will:
Do some digital image editing and manipulation
Laser print your image onto a transparency
Iron the transparency onto a copper clad board
Chemically etch the board

Ready? Onwards!

Comments

[iamaqtpoo]

Can you use this technique on other metals? I am just starting and would prefer to mess up on cheaper metal 1st..ha! Thanks for the great, cheap, user friendly guide!

[scottinnh]

What @dagenius said. A 6 inch by 4 inch piece of FR4 is about $2 on ebay. You might need to order 2 or 4 pieces to get free shipping.

For photos, the thinnest board works best, and is easily cut with a razor blade and edge, or paper cutter.

The fiberglass backing could be any color, unfortunately. Some very thin (flexible) PR4 I ordered had solid black backing, which is perfect for photos. Just remember that you will have 2 "colors" - copper, and the background. In some cases you may want to invert the picture and slightly alter the color "levels" to maximize desired detail.

Thicker PR4 might not fit in some picture frames, but if you shop based on cost it's not likely you would end up buying the thicker circuit board stuff (as weighter stuff is more expensive).

The iron transfer worked awesome. This valentines day my wife gets a hand-made card which could be framed. :-)

[dagenius]

The copper is actually plating on a material called FR4, which is fiber glass. The boards themselves can be bought cheaply from electronics suppliers like radioshack, digikey.com, etc...

[WingDings]

I followed the link to your site, but got a warning that there were viruses/trojans/exploits on (at least) one of the pages. Might be worth cleaning up? Unless of course it’s your intent to infect people’s computers, in which case, carry on!

[syrax]

it's not the best solution :) i make this similar but .... when convert image to B/W i save it in WBMP in photoshop, this give me a very small Black and White pixels NO GRAYSCALE , after that just convert this WBMP to normal BMP and it's ready to "print" . When you use grayscale it's hard to etch Regards from Bulgaria

[scottinnh]

+1 to this comment here, folks.

If you are etching, you only have 2 "colors": copper and substrate. There is no ability to blend or gradient the colors except by dithering/halftones. So you must use black and white, for best effect.

Also note with B&W, there are a range of dithering and halftone options you can choose from, which affect both the coarseness of the dots (think: newspaper halftones) and the placement of the dots (in a regular grid, or gridless which makes the dots look more randomly placed, like old Macintosh artwork).

As a constructive suggestion, @syrax's b&w photo looks a little washed out in the highlights. That's not due to his b&w method, but rather the original photo -is- actually washed out in the foreground. This could be fixed by playing around with the Levels or Gamma in Gimp or Photoshop, and that would restore some facial detail that's currently lost in a large area free of any detail (white).

I'm about to attempt this, to take up extra space on a PCB, for my first etch. :-)

[HMBeck]

It looks like a curb. In the background there is a man-hole cover. All I don't understand is where the banana is?

[vincent7520]

On what do these beautiful apples rest ?…
It looks like an old sink that we had in our farms here way back then …
Am I wrong ?

Note, for the funny side ot things : at 1st I thought they were resting on the curb of a side walk. Curbs in most French cities (from where I post) are made from the same stone, with water runnig at the base it made the whole thing real. But who would put apples there ???… :D

[eclarep]

Great art! I'm going to try it with some very thin copper tags I found.
As an Art Major (who is planning on going to medical school, completely abandoning art for the time being), I focused on printmaking.
To clean the plate without damaging it (steel wool seems harsh) I always used cheesecloth with a bit of mineral spirits.  It works really well if you are using lithograph inks.

Also, you can find genuine copper plates at art supply stores.  They are expensive! In fact, I split the cost of one with 3 classmates during my last semester of college (Spring 08) and haven't used it yet. Fear of commitment/not wanting to ruin something so expensive led me to re-use the plates people had discarded, even when no copper was left.

[dagenius]

These aren't really copper plates. They are copper plated fiberglass

[StuNutt]

Thanks Man,

I've started doing a few printed circuit boards and been having some problems, but there's ideas in here that have helped.

Stu

[-Aj-]

would a bubble jet printer work? or does it need to be laser due to the different ink?

[beehard44]

bubble jets have special transparencies. Just for the info of others, i read your post in reply to the post i am currently replying on...

[-Aj-]

yaay, ok doesnt matter my photoresist arrived today :P
no laser transferring for me

[ANKTSUNAMUNH]

Ok, there IS a special kind of transparencies intended for use with laser printers. But If you can't find it them, you don't have a laser printer, or you just don't want to experiment with your laser printer, you can always get a simple photocopy of your design. Photocopiers use a black toner wich is similiar to the one inside the laser printer. Therefore, it works the same way: you can iron transfer any toner-printed image onto your copper plate.

[nekoheehee]

I suggest using glossy paper or even pages from a magazine. after its printed on the paper you use a hot iron and iron the ink onto the metal. soak the metal and paper in water until the paper gets mushy and carefully rub it away. if your careful the toner will be left on the metal. it works for me every time :)

[August Grey]

I used magazine paper today and didn't have a very smooth transfer. I spent about 5 minutes moving the iron in circles, but the paper didn't adhere to the copper and my toner transferred very faintly. Is there something I missed?

[ooda55]

Try turning your laser printers dpi and quality up to max so you have a nice thick bit of toner to melt onto the PCB

[maxwelltub]

I cant get a clean transfer. I have tried a dozen times and always get little bubbles where the ink doesnt transfer. I have tried different times and temps but still with the same problem.

[madpeoplejen]

You can also use this method to print on paper. It's sort of similar to the lithograph and/or screenprinting processes. Instead of reversing your image/text though, you would leave it flipped so that when you ink up your copper plate and print off of that, your image will come out correctly. I believe it's called intaglio. The copper plates last awhile and is fairly easy to ink up, print, and then clean. I forgot what kind of ink works best but you apply it with a squeegee (is there a technical / artist term for one of these?) or a piece of cardboard, use a piece of mesh/tulle/netting to wipe it off, and then run it through a printing press.

[Trust_in_Dust]

actually what you're describing is more akin to block printing, and probably wouldn't work very well with a thin copper etched PCB. in block printing, a brayer is used to roll the ink on to raised surfaces, not a squeegee which is used in silkscreening. intaglio is when you etch away the positive lines of your image in a zinc or copper plate, apply a thick oil-based ink to the whole plate and then carefully rub away the ink left on the smooth surface of the plate with newspapers and cheesecloth until the ink remains only in the depressions. the plate is then run through an intaglio press which pushes the ink on to paper creating a slight raised line, just like with paper money. also, lithography is completely different from any of the above mentioned printing processes, and requires a long complicated sensitization of limestone blocks with chemicals that make some surfaces water-loving and some water-repellent.

[madpeoplejen]

actually, i pretty much described intaglio the same way you did, but whatever. i've studied printmaking and am familiar with the blockprinting, intaglio, and litho processes, i'm just not currently active with it.

[Trust_in_Dust]

i just wanted to clarify that someone trying to ink up and print a plate similar to the one shown here using intaglio methods would not have much success. nor would they have much success using block printing methods. not to mention that someone trying to put a PCB through pretty much any kind of printing press heavy enough to print intaglio would most likely crush it beyond further use.

[superboywing]

Solution: Don't etch on PCBs. Go out and buy copper plates intended for use on an Intaglio Press. Instead of using Ferric Chloride, another Instructable suggests using Copper Chloride in an aqueous Hydrochloric Acid solution. I will be trying this to prepare my plates, and heading to a print shop to rent some studio time to see how well it works.

[unbunny]

Are you using WAXed paper, or just parchment paper? Seems that the iron would melt the wax and make a smokey waxy mess...

[prank]

it's normal waxed paper. No mess a-tall. It makes sense--you can put waxed paper in the oven and it doesn't kerplode.

[oneempowered]

Wax paper will smoke in the oven or when being ironed. What you want to use is called parchment paper in the US. It is most commonly used for baking.

[tnielsenhayden]

If you've just put the wrong kind of transparency or mailing labels through your printer or copier, and you now have hot goo adhering to the internal works, run a bunch of sheets of paper through as fast as you can. If you're lucky, the hot goo will stick to the paper and so be removed from the machinery. If it doesn't work, you're not out much. If you've overinked a mimeograph or small offset press, this same trick will clean out the excess ink. Keep a stack of misprinted pages (a.k.a. waster sheets) on hand so you don't use clean paper. Waster sheets can be reused multiple times. You just have to let the ink dry between uses.

[disturbedreaper]

does any1 know if thiss will etch any other types of metal just wondering maybe i can make somthing cool

[bulbusbolocks]

Er, yes, I once ruined a laser printer by putting the wrong kind of transparency through it. Make sure you use transparencies specifically intended for laser printers. Standard transparencies will almost certainly melt and spread goop all over the internals of your printer.

[hammock_hero]

Awesome Instructable One of the reasons I signed up on the Make site was to ask you, I'm doing a science experiment for my grade 10 science class, and I was wondering where you purchased you copper plate? I bought some 1/4 copper couplings and was going to cut and flatten them. Also, did you place anything on the back of the sheet so the freak acid won't eat into it? or if I just missed reading that part. Thank you for making this Instructable Caret

[prank]

So, it wasn't actually copper plate--it's copper-clad fiberglass you use to etch circuit boards, so one side is a copper coating and another side is fiberglass. You can buy it, pretty cheaply, if you search for 'FR4' copper board, or you can even get it at radio shack. good luck with your science experiments --me

[hammock_hero]

Alright thanks, I'll go looking for that tomorrow. I've never really etched anything but I got interested in it from some of the altoid tins I saw and decided why not make something cool while getting marks for it. I may need you to answer a few questions if I run into any trouble. Thanks again --Myself

[glassgardener]

I loved your tutorial, I'm wanting to etch some small decorative items to put in my stained glass art. Can I continue to leave the peice I'm etching in the acid and actually make small intricate trims that are not plates? but little decorative trims? Thanks!!!! glassgardener

[Carlos Marmo]

Wonderful work! Congratulations!

[Evan]

Will this work with plain copper sheeting (like the kind you can get at hobby or home improvement stores)? I really want to etch some of Da Vinci's notebooks onto copper sheets about 4"x24", and I think this would be a good process to do so, but I wasn't sure.

[Kryptonite]

Yeah u cud do that, but make sure u use some seriously gud tape, so that u can cover the back up so the back doesnt get etched.

[prank]

So, copper sheeting is pure copper, so the etchant will eat away the entire board. The stuff I'm using has a layer of fiberglass with a thin copper layer on either side. BUT---now that I think about it, it may actually work with a copper sheet. Try printing the negative of your image, transferring it, and then letting it etch. I think if you let it etch for a long time, it will turn out poorly, since the etchant will get underneath your resist as it etches down, and your resolution will go to crap. Try using very thin copper sheet and checking it constantly. (now I'm all excited!) You might also want to coat the entire backside of the sheet with resist, so it only etches from one direction. Alternatively, you could put the mirror of the frontside image onto the backside, and have it etch away from both directions at once--This method _might_ be able to actually etch holes in 1/32" copper sheet, which would be cool beyond belief (imagine all your letters actually being holes in copper!) Things to keep in mind--the boards I etched were FR4, which means that the copper thickness is .0014". If you use, say, 1/16" copper, you're taking away about 22 times more copper. You may need to swap out the FeCl2 halfway though if the etching slows down, or add fresh stuff. Also, I worry a lot about the sidewalls etching away. I guess the only way to do it is to try! I'll race you!

[kecl]

I have done copper etching on sheet copper using a permanent marker to mark what I don't want etched and ferric chloride from Radio Shack. It works well but I am running out of ferric chloride. I came to this hopping for a alternative to ferric chloride. Do you have one?

[Kryptonite]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/
The Real Elliot has made an instructable on a gud alternative.

[zachninme]

Also, use acetone (nail polish remover), to remove the ink. This way you don't scuff up the image :-)

[Arcan3]

Theres probably no need to change the solution... btw... something all you guys forgot to mention (i think) is that you have to move the tray or bucket so new solution comes in contact with the surface... most people just leave there sitting.. this is not as good since the solution touching the copper depletes itself and without movement theres no way to move new solution on the surface to be etched...

[magicpocket]

Coolness itself, I combined with with the grl's how to go postal and made this http://www.westoleyourlogo.com/

[Kryptonite]

If that is ur website then i tink it sick as. all the stuff written on there is so true, and the etching with the lyrics is a seiously nice job.

[Kryptonite]

I've been looking at etching 'ables all evening and this wud be one of the better ones. Ferric chloride is alright, but this instructable by The Real Elliot shows a much better option. You did screw your etching up, but on that picture it adds a really nice effect, i think if u did it perfectly clean then the effect would have been nowhere near as cool. For all those people out there that have an inkjet printer instead of laser printer, this instructable shows how to etch using that.

I'm thinking about adding an 'able that collects information from a whole bunch of etching 'ables, and i'll pick out the best methods.
If i do do that I'll make sure to pm every 1 that made the ideas and ask to put it in mine, so dont worry prank
BTW nice instructable

[Zephryllis]

Just a note to anyone planning on printing from the plates. As long as you're hand printing or using anything but a heavy-duty press (intalgio presses are fine), roofing copper is a great medium to work with. It's cheap and you can get it from most hardware stores in different sizes. Just be sure to clean it thoroughly with something like Bon Ami several times as they aren't as clean as plates bought from art stores. Also, if you want the smoothest surface, take a palm sander to it in circular motions followed by steel wool. Then clean again!

[pixelrider]

Why printing on transparency? You could just use "glossy" paper from color magazines. And FeCl3 is dirty - use B327 ;) Going further: ok, print it on transparent medium, cover copper with Positiv20, lay on it your "photo" and use UV light for a couple of minutes. After that use NaOH, clean with water, and finally use B327 or FeCl3 ;) [this way you should achieve more accurate etch]

[jordandesign]

What do you mix granulated ferric chloride with to make it liquid. Water?

[jojopyro]

just a thought... if paper survives laser printers fine, why won't plastic?

[prank]

The worry is the fuser in a laser printer--there's this big hot fuser at the end of the printer that melts the toner onto the paper, and the risk is that the fuser melts the transparency. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to (toner melts really easily, and it looks like it's either not hot enough or the plastic moves too quickly to melt)

[Tbvck]

I like your etch.I was just looking at it another way..the copper part could be like the land in a coastal map, where as the etched image could be the ocean.Can you see it?

[prank]

It looks like it'd be swampy. I want to live on an island shaped like me!

[clay10]

will a ink jet printer work for the transparency? if not how about if i print out the image i want on the inkjet then photo copy it on to a transparency? thaks allot really keen on trying this>

[prank]

As I understand it, an inkjet won't work. Laser printers have this plastic-y toner that you melt onto the copper board with an iron. The ink from an inkjet doesn't do this. Printing your image with an inkjet and then photocopying onto a transparency should work, though

[aldomeng]

Great instructable!! Would it be possible to print the etched image on paper using the board? And is it possible to etch a normal copper board this way? Thanks!

[prank]

I'm not sure what you mean by printing the etched image on paper. If you're thinking of making a stamp, it could possibly work, but my guess is that ink won't stick well to the copper surface. If a normal copper board is just a solid sheet of copper (no fiberglass), then yeah, you can etch it--the etchant doesn't care if there's fiberglass inside the board. You just have to think about a couple things--First of all, I wouldn't use very thick copper. Once the etchant gets past the resist layer on the surface, it's actually etching in three dimensions, so it eats away at the edges of the copper as well as the surface. Also, if you ever have a continuous line in your image that goes from one side of the board to the other, that will etch away and your board will be in two pieces. Same goes for 'islands' in your image. Basically, all the consideration you'd have to do when prepping an image for a stencil, you have to do here. Also, keep in mind that your board will be etched from the top AND bottom. There are a couple ways to take this into account. If you put your image on the top and just let the bottom get etched away, it might theoretically by OK, since the bottom is all getting etched at the same rate, so your result will be a little thinner, but your design will show through. I think in reality, though, different parts of the bottom will etch at different rates and you'll get these (possibly cool) varying thicknesses throughout your finished board. I think the right way to do it is to put a mirror image of your design on the back, making damn sure that you have the front and back patterns aligned, and then etch. That oughta work OK. If you don't need cuts to go all the way through--you just want a relief image, than it's easy. Just coat the entire back with resist. It doesn't have to be an iron-on thing, even sharpie works pretty well.e

[prank]

actually, I take it back. on the last page of this instructable, there are some comments about intaglio, which is making prints using similar etched metal boards. I was thinking that water-based ink tends to bead up on the metal, but they say you use oil-based ink, which I'm assuming doesn't

[OzLandish]

Transparencies for laser printers should be fine. I've never had any problem. Toner itself is primarily made of plastic. Also, BEWARE...the toner used in late model Brother laser printers will not work.

[jr rwigemera]

hello, this sounds good ,but have some infos I need.I am based in Belgium & main language being french. The products needed to realize this might be difficlt to translate. Could you may be give me brands of those chemicals. Now it seems like you are using red copper,the yellow one being an alloy,would it function as well ? Please advise

[piper1234]

al you need is cooper and ferric chloride or nitric acid, half acid half water, always pour the acid in to water

[howboutitbru]

ballin

[egreen767]

COOLO!!!!

[pooboy]

awsome!

[AT]

That! Is very cool!

[Trust_in_Dust]

a REALLY good idea here would be to use your image editing software to halftone your image as is done in silkscreening. this converts it to tiny dots and makes your image the ultimate in high-contrast since every dot is black, while still allowing you to acheive excellent detail. just make sure your halftone pattern isn't so tiny that you can't even see the dots, this sort of defies its purpose.

[spinach_dip]

An oft-overlooked step in any process. Well said, well said.

[artistikuul]

you might try using a good metal cleaner/degreaser after abrading the surface with the steel wool. I do metal patinas on copper all the time and i always use a cleaning chemical before applying the acids or any resists (ink) i like IMS metal cleaner, is made specifically for cleaning all different kinds of metals doesn't cost too much can find it here IMS met clnr_{, I can also see how using patinas to add some extra color could make this even neat-r looking. or a heat gun across the remaining copper would be cool too, if you watch the metal will start to change colors at different temps} and one last thing is to use something less abrasive to remove the ink at the end then use your steel wool in grades course to fine to put texture/highlights more strategically _{i noticed the marks from the course wool in your finished piece pretty clearly and IMO would look more prof if not so obvious} being that you are using for biz cards especially. I'm a bit nit picky abt things like that but of course to each their own. cool idea btw

[deadwhale]

Well, if you don't mind the extra work, I've cut copper pipe and hammered it flat for thicker pieces. Another thing I've started doing instead of using an iron & transfer sheet is I print my design on high quality paper with my laser printer, lay it on the copper and then use a q-tip to apply acetone to the back of it until it is soaked. This works pretty good until the lines are extremely fine, and since I hammer the copper some high and low spots are just about inevitable. Though usually shallow enough that they aren't visually distracting (especially after etching), the iron was just too flat compared to my copper to get a good transfer. With this method, it's a rare time that I don't get a good transfer. The acetone is also good to remove the ink after the etch is done.

[peppaz]

can someone please point me in the right direction of some copper plated fiber glass plates? i cannot find them anywhere.. awesome tutorial BTW...

[dkosokar]

Check out Electronic Goldmine. Great prices on some great PCB material. Try the 1/64 in stuff. Teriific!

[peppaz]

nevermind... ebay pwns

[jimsinspace]

no worries graffix makes a product that can be printed on with lazer and another on inkjet. you can find this at http://www.taws.com...we ship of course.

[leevonk]

be careful while handling it, fingerprints turn into big ugly smears on the copper after a couple days (at least in my experience of handling unfinished PC boards)

[prank]

I think when I get some boards I'm happy with I'll spray them with polyurethane or a clear laquer to keep the copper shiny and happy. The unprotected boards I've done kind of tarnish over a couple days and become dim until I scratch at them again with steel wool

[zachninme]

Acetone is much better for them. It won't mess up your image ;-)

[salec]

Use some school art brush, soake it in ethil alcohol and then brush a over a chunk of colofonium resin (for violines, you can find it in music instrument stores). Alcohol will disolve colofonium and solution will be on the brush. Then "paint" it over the finished PCB like you would with aquarel on paper. Wash the brush in alcohol if you're going to use it for art. When alcohol evaporates from PCB surface, it will remain covered in thin film of colofonium resin, which protects it from oxidation and easies the coldering.

[peppaz]

I love your tutorial. however, i have been trying to use my inkjet printer to no avail. i even bought transparencies made especially for inkjet printers, which might be my problem. The ink doesnt transfer at all after many minutes with the iron. someone please help etching looks so cool!!

[zachninme]

Yes, you need the carbon to mask. If not, you can always try just a sharpie to mask. It won't look great, but you will have a PCB.

[r_harris2]

Hello. I'm new to instructables, and I know this is a really late reply, but one thing you might consider is priting your picture on paper with your ink jet printer, and then using a copy machine to make the transparency. The plastic toner used in a copy machine is almost the same as the toner in a laser printer. An ink jet printer's ink is quite different.

[zachninme]

Is there any way to speed up the etching process?

[Dark]

Will this work with aluminum or stainless steel?

[ceekay]

It will work on brass.

[Arcan3]

I guess not since the solutions are mostly matched to the surface to be etched... there are etchants that work in various types of metals... i have the formulas at home in a metalsmithing book...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871922401/qid=1149875156/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-3456853-5236735?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

11$ new.. ~7 used...

[parke]

you can buy the copper sheets at most, if not all, radioshacks. They sell a box that comes w/ two 3x4" sheets, ferric chloride, a small piece of steel wool, and the resist(permanent marker)

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?parentPage=search&cp=&productId=2102870&origkw=copper+clad+board&kw=copper+clad+board&tab=support

[hay_jumper]

A super lo-fi addition to this project is applicable. I've done this using copper flashing from a home depot or swiped from the back of a roofer's truck. To avoid etching the back of the copper, simply coat it in duct tape. Photo transfer is not the only option for this project, either, although its results are the most reliable. Something as simple as a sharpie marker can act as a resist for the mordant, so you could easily draw your idea in marker, and etch the rest away. Conversely, you could coat the entire piece of copper with some sort of resist and scratch out your design with a pointy thingy. Ideally, a vertical bath with active movement makes for the best results. Tim McCreight's 'Complete Metalsmith' was cited, and think he suggests using a feather to occasionally brush the face of your image while in the bath to dislodge bubbles. A paint brush would work if you didn't mind throwing it out later, as the etchant will corrode the ferrule, a qtip would also work well... My first comment. Thanks for the great project, this site has been sucking hours and hours out of my life. But for some reason, I don't mind.

[trebuchet03]

can't remember the specific model... but some lexmark laser printers will be ruined by putting transparencies through them.... Even when we put signs on them - the teachers (this was at a high school) still did it :/

[PKM]

If you halftone the image (the process printers use, converting greyscale into different sized circles) some fine detail may be lost but intermediate shades will come out better. You may be able to set your printer to halftone images for you, or you can apply a filter to your image to do it in Photoshop/similar. Also Arcan is right, moving the board around will make it etch a lot faster, reduce your problems with undercutting the resist and make your etchant last longer. Commercial etchers bubble the acid to keep it moving, people using this technique tend to stir it around or periodically wipe the board with a balled-up paper towel soaked in the etchant.

[TConsorn]

You might try getting your hands on Amonium Chloride it isn't as toxic as acids and can be poured down the drain safely. I etch printed circuit boards for a living and we use it all the time.

[TConsorn]

PS that would be NH4Cl, it's also very fast reating it will do the same thing as that 1oz of copper, 14 mils is 1 oz for every square foot of coverage. plus it will leave a much sharper image as it can be rinsed much faster.

[ian]

I did something similar with fotopositiv PCBs to make book covers. There is a photoshop filter that turns images into dots of various sizes. I used that on my image, then printed to (inkjet) transp, and etched with normal foto process. Amazing details.

[prank]

Awesome. I'm glad to know this process works with inkjet ink.

[rotor]

I don't think he's saying that inkjet ink will work in the process you detailed. I think he's saying he used traditional photo techniques - coat pcb with photosensitive goo, place film image over it and expose to light. Plz correct if wrong kthx.

[Rumblemeister]

Yes, be careful when handling the etchant. If you want to speed up the process and get more uniform results, place the board in a vertical tank, if at all possible, (think ant farm but sealed well) and then aereated the solution using a piece of plastic tubing connected to a fish tank pump. The bubbles work to remove the copper - yes, scrubbing bubbles in fact. You can buy these at www.digikey.com but why bother? Also, if you can get it, buy the dry etchant and mix it yourself. The stuff you buy in a bottle has usually been sitting on the shelf since radio days. Mix up a fresh batch - you will notice this will produce heat as a byproduct also facilitating the etch.

[idiot]

ahhh, i was going to make cards out of pcd boards. well done. ihope my tutor doesn't know you

[mtcruse]

A tip - DON'T use transparencies intended for use with ink-jet type printers in ANY printer that uses a fuser - the coating that receives/retains the ink can do some really interesting damage in the fuser section when heated. Been there.

[alexdcd]

Kudos

[Mr H]

You can do this by printing onto normal paper and then follow the same route, or use transfer paper such as used to make T shirt transfers. When you have the etched plate you could ink it and use it as a printing plate. Results can vary but it will work. Fine details may get lost if a lot of ink is used. There are alternatives to ferric chloride as well that are somewhat less invasive and don't stain everything. A system that etches in a sealed plastic bag for example works well for a one shot system

[krusty]

Some great ideas for etching PCBs can be found in this yahoo group :)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/

[mrchachie]

I think it is very VERY unwise to tell people that heating Ferric Chloride is ok. warm ferric is .... ok. but overheating it at all makes the equivalent of mustard gas and can be very toxic. I am a metalsmith and use ferric chloride frequently, and always use utmost caution when handling it and working with it. It is not a chemical to be treated casually. always have plenty of good strong ventilation and wear eye/face hand protection and have lots of baking soda on hand to neutralize any hazards. Sorry to be the safety ogre but i've seen things to make me that way. Happy etching!

[prank]

That's probably a good call. I pulled that line from the instructable, since I was just passing on etching advice other people gave me, and I haven't tried heating myself.

[dfault312]

thats a lot of work for some business cards, but it looks sweet.

[prank]

Thanks dude. I'm working on a way to etch about 9 2-sided cards at a time, baking the transparencies in an oven to do the transfer, and then just running batches every now and then. Plus, any shmoe can order cards online--it takes a self-absorbed faux-artiste to waste hours of his time making some.

[Junkyard John]

Is there any way to etch without a laser printer?

[prank]

Using a photocopier and copying an image onto a transparency would work, as well. Maybe even better, since you can set the darkness manually.
I have some other ideas, too. Check out murobot on my website (http://www.artiswrong.com/murobot) as a way to print directly onto the boards. I'm not sure if inkjet ink will stick well enough to copper, though....