On 6 Dec 2003 09:17:45 GMT in rec.crafts.textiles.sewing,
was alleged to have written:
I need to produce really fine detail, like 0.2 mm lines
(surface mount devices),

I don't think you are going to get that kind of resolution without
photoresist. If you can get the kind that comes in sheets and is heat
laminated to the board it might solve your problem with coating
uniformity. At 0.2 mm you cannot afford inferior ersatz methods.

Millions of boards for low-cost consumer equipment have been produced,
avoiding the cost of photoresist, by silk-screening the resist on the
board, but these are all lower resolution.

You can google many previous discussions of these topics in the
sci.electronics.* newsgroups.

These days with fine-pitch surface mount devices replacing through hole
parts, low-cost prototype outfits like olimex.com are replacing
roll-your-own prototype boards.