Abstract: A method for making printed circuits and printed circuit boards which includes coating a non-metallized substrate and plating an image of a desired circuit design directly onto the coated substrate without the need to image the circuit design on an intermediate silver halide polyester film or diazo and utilizing existing imaging, developing and etching subtractive techniques in conventional printed circuit board processing. One exemplary embodiment of the method for making printed circuit boards includes coating a non-metallized substrate with a palladium based material including a ferric based solution combined with palladium.

Abstract: A direct emulsion process for making printed circuits and printed circuit boards which includes coating a non-metallized substrate with a solution which creates a light sensitive surface on the substrate, imaging the coated substrate with a circuit design, developing the imaged substrate, and directly plating the developed image onto the coated substrate. Coating solutions which work particularly well in this process include a ferric oxalate and palladium emulsion or a silver based emulsion.