A method for manufacturing printed circuit boards for electrical and electronic circuits, comprising an electrically nonconductive substrate (4) and
electrically conductive tracks applied thereon, wherein the
electrically conductive tracks are imprinted on the substrate (4), according to a desired conductor track
layout, under the influence of heat applied to an
electrically conductive printing medium (3), wherein the printing medium (3) comprises an electrically conductive
metal or
metal alloy having a
melting temperature, and wherein the
metal or
metal alloy is configured to be selectively heated by a print head (2) at selected printing spots or pixels, wherein a conductive ingredient of the metal or
metal alloy of the printing medium (3) is locally heated at least up to the
melting temperature of the metal or the
metal alloy, which is the
melting point of the metal or metal
alloy in the form of a bulk material and is melted thereby, and thereafter solidifys on the substrate (4) in the form of a common matrix, and wherein the printing medium (3) is situated on a side of-a film-like carrier (6), which side of the film-like carrier (6) faces the substrate (4), characterized in that the film-like carrier (6) is a carbon foil or a
glass film, and is wound from a supply spool (7), along the substrate (4) to be imprinted, onto a laydown spool (8), and wherein, at least in a section of the carrier film (6) which is actually in the area of the print head (2), the side of the carrier film (6) bearing the printing medium (3) is always oriented parallel to the substrate (4) and rests flatly against the substrate (4), so that the metal or metal
alloy is in direct contact with the substrate (4), and, after being melted by the print head (2) into its fluid aggregate state, the metal or metal alloy immediately moistens the substrate (4) and finally solidifies on the substrate (4) as a common matrix.