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All about blueprints:
Since the invention system came in, the only way to get your hands on an infinite-run original Tech 2 blueprint is to buy it from one of the current owners. They typically change hands for billions of ISK per blueprint, making the barrier to ownership extremely high. In contrast, all you need to start inventing is a few science skills and a little ISK. The tools of the trade here are "Data Interfaces", "Datacores", "Decryptors" and Tech 1 blueprint copies. The data interface is not consumed in the invention process and can be re-used forever but the other components are consumed. Before inventing, decide what Tech level 2 item you want to create. Every Tech 2 item, from ships and modules to ammo and rigs, has a Tech 1 counterpart. To invent it, you'll need to get your hands on some blueprint copies of the Tech 1 variant. For example, if you want to make some "Cap Recharger II"s, you'll need to get a few "Cap Recharger I" blueprint copies.

You can either try to buy Tech 1 copies on the contracts pages or buy a blueprint original from the market and copy it yourself. The ME and PE attributes of the blueprint copies used in inventions don't matter at all so you could buy a completely new unresearched blueprint and make copies from it for invention immediately. The only thing that matters is the number of runs your blueprint copy has as this will affect the number of runs the invented Tech 2 blueprint will have. For everything except ships, using maximum run blueprint copies will produce 10-run tech 2 blueprints. The maximum number of runs for a Tech 1 blueprint copy is 300 for most modules and rigs but 1500 for drones and ammo. For ship invention, the maximum number of runs for the Tech 2 blueprint created is reduced to 1 so when doing ship invention, a 1-run blueprint is sufficient.

Data Interfaces and Datacores:
Once you've picked your item and created a few blueprint copies of its tech 1 variant, you'll need to get your hands on the appropriate data interface. Each race has their own set of three data interfaces. The standard version is used to invent modules, the "Tuner" version is used for inventing rigs and the "Ship" version is used for ships. To see which race and type your blueprint needs, check the blueprint's info and look under the "Invention" tab in the "Bill of materials" section. In this tab you'll also see the two different types of datacore the job requires. For example, each attempt to invent a "Cap Recharger II" blueprint will require two "High Energy Physics" datacores and two "Quantum Physics" datacores.

The number and type of datacores required varies from item to item. The best way to get your hands on datacores is probably just to buy them from other players on the market. The alternative is to find R&D agents and start researching with them. Although the Tech 2 blueprint lottery is no longer in the game, the R&D agents are still there serving a new role. They now let you exchange any research points you get with them for datacores. This supplies a slow but steady stream of datacores for invention.

Read on to page 2, where I discuss the skills you'll need to be an inventor and a few optional extras that can improve your invention jobs.
Optional extras:
Although the bare minimum required for an invention attempt is the Tech 1 blueprint copy, data interface and datacores, there are two optional extras that are often worth using. A base item can be added to improve the success chance of the research job. Adding a standard Tech 1 item won't have any effect but adding a named version will increase success chance depending on how good the named version is. The worst named version of an item is meta level 1 and adds only a few percent to the success chance, while the typically more expensive meta level 4 item can improve success chance by up to 66%. Since ships and rigs only have Tech 1 versions, adding a base item to those jobs would just be a waste of ISK. Adding cheap named items to your module inventions, however, is a smart move that will improve your profit margins a little.

The final optional extra you can add is a decryptor. These modify the success chance of your job and also change the attributes of the final Tech 2 blueprint. For example, the Amarr decryptor "Circular Logic" adds 9 runs to the output blueprint and improves PE by 1 but it also reduces ME by 2 and decreases success chance to 60% of its previous value. Decryptors can cost several million ISK each, up to 40 million depending on which one it is. Using them on ammo or module invention would be a waste of ISK but they can be useful in ship and rig invention. Rigs benefit from higher ME to reduce the number of expensive components required in their construction while ships benefit greatly from increased numbers of runs and also higher ME. If the numbers involved are confusing, there are websites and tools available to help calculate the percentage success chance of your invention jobs.

Invention skills:
The recommended minimum skills for invention are Science V, Engineering V, Mechanic V, Electronics V and Hacking II. Having these meets the prerequisites for all the invention-specific skills. To begin with, each race has an encryption skill e.g. "Caldari Encryption Methods" which is required to invent Tech 2 ships of that race and Tech 2 modules assigned to them. The Amarr skill is required for capacitor modules, energy weapons, crystals and armour modules. The Caldari skill is required for missile launchers, missile upgrades, shield modules and railguns. The Gallente skill is required for drones, ECM, blasters and mining lasers. Finally, the Minmatar skill is needed for propulsion modules, hull upgrades, tracking disruptors, projectile weapons, stasis webs and warp disruptors. The appropriate encryption skill is required to begin an invention job and each level of the skill improves the job's success chance.

Each invention job requires two additional science or engineering skills. For example, to invent a "Cap Recharger II" blueprint requires the science skills "Quantum Physics" and "High Energy Physics". These requirements correspond to the two types of datacore used in the invention process and can be seen in the invention tab of your chosen blueprint's info pane. You can invent with these two skills at only level 1 but higher levels will improve your success chance. The effect of skills isn't that huge and the decreased success chance will effectively just mean the cost per run of the final output blueprint is a little higher. The simple rule here is to train the encryption skills and the appropriate science skills all to at least level 3 before inventing and aim to get them to 4 or 5 as time permits.