Digital Inkjet Printing for Etching Circuits: Putting the Pieces in Place for Printed PCBs

The driver for using a digital inkjet printer to lay down a UV etch resist for PCB inner layer fabrication is fairly straightforward: elimination of all photolithography processes and equipment (i.e., artwork generation, photoresist exposure, and development). The reduction in space requirements, material usage, cycle time, and associated costs also makes the switch to digital inkjet printing very cost effective. This article presents the latest results at achieving this goal.