Stencil printing is a critical first step in surface mount assembly. It is often cited that the solder paste printing operation causes about 50%-80% of the defects found in the assembly of PCBs. Printing is widely recognized as a complex process whose optimal performance depends on the adjustment of a substantial number of parameters. It is not uncommon to hear that stencil printing is more of an “art” than “science”. In fact, the process is so complex that sub-optimal print parameters usually end up being used. In addition, stencil printing produce relatively noisy data, which makes the print process extremely difficult to control. Ideally, minimizing the variance of the deposited location and volumes will improve the quality of the process and produce more reliable solder joints.