Custom Printing an Image on a PCB

Have you ever created a custom printed circuit board design and wanted to add your logo or image to it? I bet upon looking into the process you realized how painful it can be. We recently created a badge in Eagle for an event that we wanted to add three different logos to. Let me tell you, it was no easy feat. There are a couple tutorials out there that helped us, but we wanted to create one that was as easy and flawless as possible because we know this is something people run into frequently. This blog will walk you through the steps of the method that worked the best for us in the Eagle software. We have also produced a video to give a visual representation of the process.

For starters let’s talk about your file. It needs to be a “monochrome” .BMP format. The monochrome version will ensure that the file is black and white only, with no other colors or shading. Size and resolution can be an issue. Some board manufacturers have a max pixel per inch, also referred to as dots per inch, that they can print to. The file will appear normal when sending it off, but will not print well. This is just something to look into and keep in mind to prevent reprints and frustrations.

There are two options to importing the image: 1) into the schematic or into the board file for single use or, 2) into a library for future use. The typical layer to choose in the schematic is 94: symbols. The typical layers to choose on the board are 21: tplace, 22: bplace, 1: top copper layer, 16: bottom copper layer.

If this is something you will use again in the future, you will want to import it into a library. Open the library you want to save it into, click the symbol button at the top of the software, name the symbol, and click ok.

Once the editor is open, type “run import-bmp” in the command line. Click ok on the popup, then in the file selection choose the BMP file you’d like to use. If importing for display on bottom layers, the image will need to be reversed.

NOTE: The imported file will contain the file location in the lower left of the image. You will need to modify the symbol itself by grouping that portion and deleting it.

If this is a one-time use, go ahead and import this directly into the schematic or board. Open up the schematic and type “run import-bmp” in the command line. Click ok on the popup, then in the file selection choose the BMP file you’d like to use.

In the color selection popup, choose white. Another popup will appear with size and layer information. Select the units you plan on using (mm or inches) and find out the desired width of the image. Then plug it into the following formula: width/number of pixels. This will provide the number to put in the scale factor. REMEMBER - You cannot change the size once it’s imported.

Next, choose the layer you want the image to be on with the layer guide, click ok and run script. Save the symbol, and open the schematic or board you are wanting to use the image on.

To move the image, hide all other layers except the one containing the image, then run the “group” command and drag a box around the image. Then run the “move” command. Right click near the image and click move group. From here you can move the image wherever you like. Right clicking while the image is selected will rotate the image. Left click will place the image.

The biggest part of this is ensuring the file you are trying to import is monochrome, the correct file type, and not too high of resolution. The rest of the process is pretty straightforward. I hope this helps save you all some time! Happy creating!