I was wondering the same thing. (However, I have seen "landless" holes produced off shore that had 5 track density.<On the outerlayers>) I haven't seen this here. And Norm's completely correct, inhibiting the copper plating solution flow thru the hole would produce a less than desirable plating deposit. Groovy ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Non-Functional Pads Author: [log in to unmask] at SMTPLINK-HADCO Date: 2/10/96 10:48 AM Greg, Do not EVER remove the lands from the outer layer. The pads are necessary during the plating process. Removing pads will prevent plating solution from getting in the holes. Even with a dot pattern to allow plating, the quality of the plating will be horrible and non- reliable. This is one of the main reasons for a minimum annular ring requirement. With good process control of plating, normal stresses will not effect hole reliability Regards, Norm Einarson Printed Circuit Technology