First of all you will need a circuit board design program, such as PCB Wizard, Livewire or one of the many freeware design programs. Check the links page for 'Merlin' which is freeware.

Once you have your design sorted out you now have to print it. For this you will need a laser printer and some inkjet photo paper... That's right INJET photo paper!

The brand I used was Kodak Picture Paper for inkjets, Glossy 165 gsm, this paper gave a perfect print out, I have heard some brands might not work as well. The laser printer was just a bottom of the line Brother HL2040.

As you can see, one page can fit a lot of designs ! This makes this method very cost effective, 20 sheets costs about $10.

You will need to cut out your design a little smaller than the actual blank circuit board. This is so you can see that it is straight on the board before ironing.

Before this thou you MUST clean the copper circuit board properly. The board I am using is just plain blank single sided PCB. First take some light duty steel wool (The type for cleaning dishes) and rub down the copper surface. This is to remove the protective coating on the copper. You should end up with a board that is very shinny, and covered with lots of tiny scratches.

You MUST then thoroughly clean the board with ACETONE (available from any hardware). Once it is clean don't touch the copper. Then place your design face down on the copper surface and position it.

Now you have the design ready for ironing onto the board. Set your iron to the max setting - the exact temperature is not critical. Hold the paper on one edge while you begin to iron, the laser toner will stick fairly quickly - say 30 seconds, once it has the paper will not move and you can begin ironing the whole board.

You need to apply some pressure while ironing, I usually move the iron back and forth slightly while applying pressure, this will give even heat distribution.

After about 3-4 minutes of heating and pressure you should be able to see the outline of the PCB tracks through the paper. This is good indication that you design has stuck.

Once you have completed the ironing process, you now have to put the board into warm water. This will make the paper go soggy and peel off without taking the laser toner with it.

After about a minute in the hot water you will see the paper flaking off the circuit board. At this stage you can now peel off the soaked layers, then put back into water to soak any remaining paper. I find gently rubbing your finger back and forth over the paper makes it roll up and fall off. Repeat this process until all the paper is gone and only laser toner tracks should remain on the board.

Your printed circuit board is now ready for etching !

Drill a small hole in one corner and tie some wire or string through it. For etching you can use Ferric Chloride or Ammonium Persulphate. Be careful with these they are acid and will give a mild burn to the skin.

Etching time depends on how strong you make the mix, and it works quicker if the water is warm. Generally etching takes 10-15 mins. During this time jiggle the board around a little, this will speed up the etching process.

Once etching is complete rinse the board under cold water to wash off the acid. You should now be left with only copper tracks on the circuit board.

That's it! Now you can easily make your own high quality printed circuit boards, without all the messing around with UV lamps, dark rooms and other products that just don't work.

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