Phil, I think that the realistic approach of allowing some breakout is the right way to think. Many of our customers' customers here in Europe don't allow breakouts of any kind. Perhaps a dose of functionality driven common-sense could be applied here. I have been working for some time on laser drilling blind via applications where the goal is .004" to .005" holes in pads of .010" to .012". Breakout on pads which are on internal layers and should be the foot of a laser drilled interconnect can cause damage to the surrounding substrate. This is one area where breakout cannot be tolerated. I hope that you are happy and well, Phil. Take care-- Paul Paul Waldner Multiline International Europa [log in to unmask]