Step 6 : Board Prep


Once you have your artwork printed, cut it up to match your board size. I would recommend leaving a little overhang but it's not mandatory.

Step 7 : Board prep


Clean the copper clad boards with steel wool. Any coarseness will do but I prefer the medium. Your not polishing the board, your removing oxidation so a medium to coarse wool will work fine. DON'T USE AN SOS PAD, THE SOAP WILL OXIDIZE YOUR BOARD. Once you start cleaning the board, be very careful not to touch it. The oil in your fingers will leave a mark that will effect the quality of your etch. You can wear latex gloves, or just use a piece of paper folded over.

Step 8 : Board prep


Another thing to remember is not to start this part of the process until you are ready to etch. As soon as you are done cleaning the board, it will start to oxidize again. It's not going to oxidize that quick, but don't clean your boards then wait a week.... know what I mean?

Step 9 : Iron on prep


The next step is to iron the Press-N-Peel onto the board. Here's where you gotta do a little bit of experimental work ahead of time. Techniks recommends an iron temp of 275-375. That puts an iron setting between "acrylic" and "polyester" (NO STEAM!!!). My tests have showed my iron to be a little wimpy so I had to go a notch above that. The best way to figure this out is to use a meat thermometer.
Off to the left of this picture you can see the thermometer (you can also see the spaghetti container I used as a tank this time). I place the iron on the edge of my workbench. You could do this on your ironing board, or any other temperature insensitive surface. I placed a piece of paper between my iron and the thermometer (to prevent scratching). Crank up the iron and check your temp. Most iron thermostats will have a temperature range they try to keep. I was noticing a 15-20 degree swing from where the thermostat would kick in to where it would shut off. Once I had found a good setting, it was off to the presses.

Step 10 : A pressing issue


Check your board for cleanliness one last time. Make sure there are no stray pieces of steel wool on the copper. Put your board on a piece of paper (important for later). Place your P-N-P design (image side down) on your board. Make sure your design is lined up the way you want it then carefully place another piece of paper on top of that. This top piece of paper helps keep friction down between the plastic P-n-P and the iron, also, if you have hard water like I do, the iron has a tendency to dribble little pieces of grit out of the steam holes. These will scratch the plastic and ruin your design: the paper prevents this as well.