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10 The PCB Magazine • February 2017 promises may mean to our industry and busi- ness in general. He even includes a "Top Ten" on deregulation. Read on! Back to some technical content with Mi- chael Carano, of RBP Chemical Technology, as he delves into the metallizing difficult-to-plate substrates, in this case with electroless copper. Mike always includes some troubleshooting info as well as much practical advice in his columns. Next, NTI's Keith Sellers discusses various test methods to ensure that your incoming (or outgoing) PCBs perform as intended and that you "get what you pay for." He proceeds from the basic incoming inspection through more in-depth analysis involving cross-sections, ther- mal stress testing and more, including some ad- ditional ones to determine basic laminate prop- erties and suitability for the job at hand. And finally, in his usual inimitable fashion is Barry Lee Cohen of Launch Communications. Each month Barry provides another piece to the marketing communications puzzle. This time his subject is e-newsletters and always worth a read, not to mention a commitment to follow- through. And so you have it—our line-up for Feb- ruary. Lots of good new tech stuff to keep the wheels turning upstairs, plus some immediate things you can put into practice today or tomor- row at the latest. Next month our subject is "The W ide World of Flex." Do tune in and read about all things flex—from the various types to the materials to the processing of same. We prom - ise another issue of cover-to-cover value. If you haven't yet subscribed, do so right now and be one of the first to get it in your e-mailbox. PCB Patricia Goldman is a 30+ year veteran of the PCB industry, with experience in a variety of areas, including R&D of imaging technologies, wet process engineering, and sales and marketing of PWB chemistry. Active with IPC since 1981, Goldman has chaired numerous committees and served as TAEC chairman, and is also the co-author of numerous technical papers. To contact Goldman, click here. With VeCS one can achieve much higher inter- connect density using existing equipment and processes. He talks of cost reductions associated with reduced material usage and provides an interesting illustration of this novel technique. Apparently one of the most significant new technologies these days is jet printing solder mask. You may say, "Inkjet? Not new. Solder- mask? Not new." But put them together and the challenges are huge and the technology is right on the cutting edge. As such, we bring you sev- eral articles and interviews on this very subject. Henk Goossens of Meyer Burger BV in The Netherlands provides a wonderful introduction to the thorny subject of direct digital inkjetting of soldermask. Removing steps like artwork gen- eration, developing, and waste treatment, and reducing materials and process time, all equals to cost savings…of course we want to inkjet. Henk gives us a great view of the subject from the equipment perspective. We have two interviews conducted by Pub- lisher Barry Matties that explore the mate- rial/equipment partnership between Taiyo and Schmoll to develop an inkjet soldermask that is compatible with the inkjet machine. Dick Crowe of Burkle (U.S. distributor for Schmoll) contributed an excellent introduction. The first interview is with Taiyo's John Fix, with Walt Custer of Custer Consulting, contributing. The second is an interview with Schmoll's Thomas Kunz, who discusses not just the partnership but the technology, working with OEMs, and more. Barry Matties and Pete Starkey bring us an interview with Agfa's Frank Louwet, who ex- plains Agfa's partnerhsip with Electro Polymers to develop a nanoparticle ink. One can learn a great deal about the soldermask inks and the inkjet process from these interviews. EIPC's Alun Morgan gives us a great report on their recent workshop on PCB BioMEMS— aka PCB-on-a-chip. With a CAGR of greater than 25%, BioMEMS devices are a definite mar- ket of interest. This detailed article provides a wealth of information on the subject and cer- tainly should be required reading for anyone involved in PCB fabrication. Steve Williams of Right Approach Consult- ing takes us far away from soldermask to a look at the new Trump administration and what its NEW TECHNOLOGY HEADING OUR WAY—FASTER THAN EVER!