John, To eleminate the same issue of time consuming marking of many little parts for date code we developed a date code pattern on the CAM system made up of one unique d-code for each section of a figure eight (7 lines per figure eight, each line drawn with a different d-code). We did this for each master "8" in our code, 3 digit, 4 digit or what ever length was needed (we also do lot codes when needed,6 digit). When these "master" patterns are placed on each pcb and stepped up with the board they are all reading 8888. Then when we need a specific date code we just globally delete each d-code as needed to create the unique date and then re-plot the film. We have found the time to create the date (5 min. on the CAM) and the replot cost to be far less costly than the labor to do anything manually. Also much cleaner than opaque and the same on all boards with out error. Sorry can't provide a picture for you. If you needed more infor let me know. Doug Jeffery Electrotek, Inc. You wrote: TechNet: We are trying to come up with a better method for marking the datecodes on our bare boards. Currently, the codes are on either the outer-layer or letterscreen artwork, which means the film needs to be modified each time the datecode changes. This can be extremely time consuming on small boards that are built 50 or more up per panel. We have been considering an alternative method such as hand stamping at final QC or even purchasing an inkjet marking system. Any thoughts on the subject or any other alternatives would be appreciated. Thanks, John Lennox Process Engineer EMC ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ##############################################################