Geert, Logic has little to do with the market conditions. I agree that it makes sense to price laser cutting by aperture count. However, the reality in the US is that we have to compete on a fixed price basis. So... yes, a 500 aperture count stencil will be the same price as a 5,000 aperture count stencil. Fred -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Geert Willems Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 8:12 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Stencils Laser cutting of a stencil is a process of which the duration depends on the number of apertures to be drilled (one after the other). Logically, the cost of producing a laser cut stencil increases with the number of apertures. This is not the case for an electroformed stencil. Do you really pay the same price for a 500 vs. a 5000 aperture lasercut stencil in the US? I notice al lot of different price differences being quoted between LC and EF. To give an idea from my experience, a 10000-15000 aperture laser cut stencil could cost as much as an electroformed stencil. A higher number of apertures would make the laser cut more expensive than the EF. Geert Willems IMEC, Belgium --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------