Ed, I agree, I don't think glamour is the motivating factor in driving alternative finishes. Technology drives it, continuous improvement drives it, and what's wrong with a perfectly flat surface mount pad? I happen to believe that Silver won't be the answer. Of course my opinion may be biased. Stephen M. Wentz Florida CirTech Inc. VM#(408)233-0443 ################################################################ TechNet E-Mail Forum 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://jefry.ipc.org/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ################################################################