Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Express PCB Printing — Parallax Forums

Express PCB Printing

Nick WaldvogelNick Waldvogel Posts: 71
edited 2007-06-08 19:20 in General Discussion
I have made a board layout with ExpressPCB and want to print it in a mirrored image so that I can transfer it to a board for etching.· I can’t seem to find a way to do this in the print screen however.· Is it possible with this program??· Thanks in advance for your time!!·

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Comments

  • JonnyMacJonnyMac Posts: 9,103
    edited 2007-06-07 20:49
    It's not really possible within the program -- they provide that program at no charge so that they can charge you to build the actual board...

    I often use ExpressSCH for schematics in documents and what I do is "print" as a PDF (using CutePDF Professional) and then I import the PDF into Paint Shop Pro at my desired print resolution -- this converts the vector data of the PDF into raster data. You could do this same thing with ExpressPCB; simply print the layers separately, import to your favorite graphics program, then use that program to mirror the image.
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2007-06-07 20:54
    Some printers have a "mirror" option in their setup options.

    Bean.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    “The United States is a nation of laws -· poorly written and randomly enforced.” - Frank Zappa

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    www.hittconsulting.com
    ·
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2007-06-07 21:32
    Could you print on a transparent sheet and use the backside to transfer?

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2007-06-07 21:47
    Import the bitmap into Microsoft Paint and use ctrl-R

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Paul Baker
    Propeller Applications Engineer

    Parallax, Inc.
  • Nick WaldvogelNick Waldvogel Posts: 71
    edited 2007-06-08 03:27
    I took the print out to the local office max and they printed a copy up for me. I tried to use the import function as Paul said to use but all I got in paint was a picture of the silk screen. It would be wicked easy to print it that way if it would have worked!!

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  • bennettdanbennettdan Posts: 614
    edited 2007-06-08 03:31
    Did you try Alt+PrtSc keys on the bitmap in ExpressPCB then open Paint then Control+V and paste it?
  • Nick WaldvogelNick Waldvogel Posts: 71
    edited 2007-06-08 03:46
    Bennettdan

    What do you mean "on the bitmap" ?

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  • bennettdanbennettdan Posts: 614
    edited 2007-06-08 06:37
    Well when you have the express PCB program open you can just hit the Alt and the Prt Sc keys on your keyboard then open up paint then paste the screen shot into paint then strip away anything you dont want then you can flip it or anything else.
  • bobledouxbobledoux Posts: 187
    edited 2007-06-08 13:07
    I set up my boards on the "Green" side. Then I convert the green to black and make everything else white. This is dropped into Word for sizing. Print it out on toner transfer paper and make my boards.
  • bennettdanbennettdan Posts: 614
    edited 2007-06-08 18:36
    Nick remember their is three buttons on the express PCB layout software that allows you to switch between silkscreen and upper and lower layers make sure you are on the propper layer when you print it.
  • Steve JoblinSteve Joblin Posts: 784
    edited 2007-06-08 19:20
    You can control the colors by going to View --> Options, then goto the "Colors" tab and change the Background to white, the Top Layer to Black, the Silkscreen Layer to blue, and the Board Edges to red.

    Then, when you go to print, go to File --> Print.· Put a check in the "Top Copper Layer" box and hit print.
  • HBNHBN Posts: 1
    Hey

    I have used PCB Express Plus for a while, and with great satisfaction.
    But I have a problem when printing a photo etch copy, I print
    it negative (I use it for dry film photo etch). PCB Express Plus prints the whole page,
    which means I use a lot of ink. Is there a way to print only what is inside the pcb outline,
    and not what is outside. If not, maybe it could be an improvement in a future version of
    PCB Express Plus.

    Henrik Nielsen (Denmark)
  • DigitalBobDigitalBob Posts: 1,513
    I use ExpressPCB too. If I want a mirror I'll use a transparency on the scanner. Then use MS paint and whiteout the negative board background so the printer doesn't use a lot of ink.
  • DigitalBobDigitalBob Posts: 1,513
    Or you could try PCB123 a bit more complex PCB cad but from the same company as ExpressPCB.
  • YanomaniYanomani Posts: 1,524
    edited 2018-04-15 04:21
    I'm writing that post as a real fan of an specific image manipulation software. I have nothing to do with the software, its web site, nor with its author.

    If your OS is windoze, you could use IrfanView, a very compact and feature-rich image manipulation software.

    It's been around since 1996 and I've been using it since 1998, a 20 year-long happy mariage, at least to me.And the better part: It's free of charge, for non-commercial use, forever.

    You could use it to capture and manipulate any portion of the screen contents, select and crop any part of the captured image, invert (negative), change colors, resize, change resolution, to name a few.

    You could also use it to print images, having several options at your disposal.

    Wichever you could want to do with any image, that program will help you get going.

    Its web site <https://www.irfanview.com> is full of information. Wikipedia also has a good topic about
Sign In or Register to comment.