Ordering from a fab is cheap, but it isn't tonight. Home etching is: design after dinner, drill before bed. All you need is a laser printer (or a UV lamp and photoresist board), a bit of etchant, and artwork that's exactly right. The artwork is where most home etches fail — and it's the part your design tool should get right for you.
The two classic methods
- Toner transfer: print the copper artwork on a laser printer, iron it face-down onto a clean copper board, soak off the paper, and the toner resists the etchant.
- UV photoresist: print a translucent mask, expose a pre-sensitized board under UV, develop, then etch.
Both start with the same thing: a 1:1 scale, correctly mirrored print of your copper layer.
Why mirroring trips everyone up
When you iron artwork onto the bottom copper of a board, the printed side faces down — so the image must be mirrored to come out the right way round. Top-side artwork faces up and must not be mirrored. Get this backwards and you etch a perfect, useless mirror image of your circuit. It is the single most common home-etching mistake.
This is why Protoboard Designer's PDF export ships with presets that set every switch correctly (full option reference in the PDF export guide):
| Preset | What it sets |
|---|---|
| Toner Transfer (Top) | Top copper only, not mirrored, board outline + cutting marks |
| Toner Transfer (Bottom) | Bottom copper only, mirrored, outline + cutting marks |
| UV Exposure Mask | Soldermask layer, inverted, board outline |
| Fabrication Package | Every layer on paper — a tidy record of the design |
Step by step
- Finish the layout and run the Design Rule Check. Home etching loves generous clearances — thin gaps between copper are the first thing a kitchen-table etch loses.
- Export the PDF. Open the Export tool, choose PDF, pick the preset that matches your method, and check the live preview.
- Print at 100% scale. In your printer dialog, disable every "fit to page" and "shrink to printable area" option. The export is locked to 1:1 — your printer just has to respect it. Measure a known dimension on the printout with calipers before committing copper.
- Transfer or expose. Iron the toner (firm, even pressure, a few minutes) or expose the photoresist per the board's timing instructions.
- Etch. Ferric chloride or sodium persulfate, gentle agitation, and patience. Rinse well, clean off the resist, and inspect traces against the screen.
- Drill and solder. The exported outline and cutting marks make trimming the board to size straightforward.
When to etch, when to order
Home etching wins on speed and the sheer satisfaction of it. A fab wins on plated holes, double-sided alignment, soldermask, silkscreen, and fine traces. Many makers prototype at home and order the final version — the same layout exports both ways, so you don't have to choose in advance.
Your etch-ready mask is three clicks away
Draw the board in your browser, pick a preset, print. Free to start.
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