Areas that should not be soldered may be covered with solder resist (solder mask). One of the most common solder resists used today is called LPI (liquid photoimageable). A photo sensitive coating is applied to the surface of the PWB, then exposed to light through the solder mask image film, and finally developed where the unexposed areas are washed away. Dry film solder mask is similar to the dry film used to image the PWB for plating or etching. After being laminated to the PWB surface it is imaged and develop as LPI. Once common but no longer commonly used because of its low accuracy and resolution is to screen print epoxy ink. Solder resist also provides protection from the environment. - See more at: http://www.szhpcb.com/production-capacity/solder-resist-application-of-pcb.html#sthash.cjN5HCen.dpuf
