After reading an article about a guy modifying a laser printer to directly print onto copper-clad for PCB fabrication (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/message/25578), I started wondering if it'd be possible to use toner as a print medium.
According to Wikipedia [citation needed]:
Quote
The specific polymer used varies by manufacturer but can be a styrene acrylate copolymer, a polyester resin, a styrene butadiene copolymer, or a few other special polymers. Toner formulations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from machine to machine. Typically formulation, granule size and melting point vary the most.
Originally, the particle size of toner averaged 14–16 micrometres[1] or greater. To improve image resolution, particle size was reduced, eventually reaching about 8–10 μm for 600 dots per inch resolution. Further reductions in particle size producing further improvements in resolution are being developed through the application of new technologies such as Emulsion-Aggregation.[2] Toner manufacturers maintain a quality control standard for particle size distribution in order to produce a powder suitable for use in their printers."
I wonder if it would be possible to utilize a similar process as laser printers do for the deposition of the toner. You could run a drum across the topmost layer to selectively charge the piece, then dust with toner, then use an IR lamp or something similar to fuse the layer.
I am not an expert on such matters, but it seems interesting and could be nice to leverage a very mature technology for our purposes.
