some embodiments of the present invention are directed to processes and compositions for modifying a surface , such as the surface of the solder resist and / or of metal conductors on a device or pcb , to allow for high resolution durable printing thereupon . reference is now made to fig1 a , which is a simplified vertical cross - sectional view of a solder mask 100 , prior to coating with the coating of the present invention . the solder mask may be mat or semi - mat surface . the surface properties of the solder mask depend on the mechanical structure and chemical properties of a substantially flat surface 102 and on inorganic particles 104 embedded in the surface . the surface 102 is typically formed from an organic matrix which has a smooth morphology and a medium - low surface tension ranging between ( 15 - 75 dynes / cm ). particles 104 typically comprise one or more inorganic substances , which have a rough morphology and a high surface tension . the combination of the rough particles 104 and smooth organic surface 102 provide very heterogeneous conditions for printing thereupon . the present invention provides a substantially homogeneous layer on top of the solder mask to allow for excellent printing thereupon . fig1 b is a simplified vertical cross - sectional view of solder mask 100 , after coating with a coating layer 106 according to an embodiment of the present invention . coating layer 106 smoothes the topology of the surface of the solder mask . coating layer 106 comprises various chemical moieties 108 , designated ( x ), for example , but not limited to acidic , anhydride , amino , hydroxyl or ester groups , which provide good adhesion of the layer to the solder mask . additionally these moieties on an upper surface 116 of the layer influence the hydrophilic properties of the upper surface , which in turn , influence the interface with air and / or with ink to be printed thereupon . hydrophobic moieties 120 , such as a surfactant , typically comprise a hydrophobic chain 110 and a polar group ( y ) 118 . moieties 120 affect the hydrophobic : hydrophilic properties of the surface 116 . a thin coating layer 106 will provide a surface with small hills 112 and troughs 114 ( fig1 b ). a thicker coating layer may provide a surface without hills and troughs ( not shown ). the surface treatment composition for forming the surface coating layer comprises three major components : a ) a polymer that is water soluble or water emulsifiable . examples of such polymers are polyvinyl - pyrrolidone , polyvinyl alcohol , styrene - maleic anhydride including hydrolyzed grades , and moieties 108 that have partially reacted with the maleic anhydride including partially converted esters , partially converted ethers , partially converted amides and partially converted imides and salts thereof , acrylic acid copolymers , cellulose derivatives , glycols , polysaccharides , pentaerythritol based polymers , alginate and similar natural polysaccharides , dimethylol propionic acid based polyesters or polyamides or polyurethanes , 5 - ssipa ( 5 -( sodiosulfo ) isophthalic acid ) based polyesters or polyamides or polyurethanes . b ) surfactants ( 120 ) having at least one hydrophobic moiety 110 and at least one polar group 118 . examples are anionic surfactants , such as sodium lauryl sulfate , cationic surfactants , such as trimethylhexadecylammonium chloride , nonionic surfactants fatty acids , fatty alcohols , polyether - polysiloxane ; and as used herein a hydrophobic moiety is defined as an aliphatic , aromatic , heterocyclic , or organometallic moiety having from 2 to 200 carbon atoms . additional co - solvents , waxes , oils , thickeners , defoamers , preservatives , fillers and pigments may also be added to the composition , in accordance with the requirements of the specific application . the water soluble ( or emulsifiable ) polymer is responsible for the adhesion to substrate , sealing of micro porosity of substrate , reduction of surface area , chemical resistance and high surface energy ( high surface tension ). surfactant 120 is responsible for lowering the surface tension to a required and / or optimal level . the solution comprises , according to one embodiment of the present invention , about 50 to 99 % water , about 0 . 01 to 60 % polymer and about 0 . 01 to 20 %. surfactant . it may also comprise organic solvent or oil as a defoamer . the solution may be deposited onto the substrate by dipping , spraying , atomizing , curtain coating , roller coating , and manual rubbing or brushing . the coated wet substrate may be dried at ambient temperature or forced dried in an oven , to form a coating layer or thin film , which builds up in the pores of the substrate , and additionally may build one or more layers above the pores on the surface of the substrate . the average roughness of the solder mask coated by said method is lowered by this novel coating . the coated substrate may be further dried by convection in an oven or in an infra - red oven . the surface temperature during drying may vary from about 40 to 150 celsius . according to some embodiments , the thickness of the dry film ranges from about 0 . 05 to 10 microns . the surface tension of the treated substrate depends upon the ratio between polar moieties x in the polymer to the surfactant 120 , the content of additional hydrophobic or hydrophilic additives , the thickness of the surface treatment film and the surface roughness of original substrate . ideally , the surface tension of the coated solder mask or substrate falls within the range of 15 - 60 dyne / cm . after coating the substrate and drying thereof , the coated substrate may be printed with ink from an ink jet . according to some preferred embodiments , the ink &# 39 ; s surface tension properties are similar to those of the coated substrate , that is , smooth , with a surface tension of about 24 to 40 dynes / cm . one aspect of the present invention is demonstrated when a pcb is coated with the composition of the present invention , and , thereafter , marking legend ink is applied to an outer layer there , is that the ink remains bonded to the surface well enough to withstand the harsh conditions of curing , soldering , surface finishing including , such as , but not limited to , tin plating , electroless nickel gold ( enig ) and solvent cleaning . after the printing step , such as that described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 754 , 551 to zohar , et al ., incorporated herein by reference , the ink may be cured , such as by thermal curing . thereafter , the printed and coated substrate may be washed in water or in another aqueous medium to remove the surface coating from the non - printed areas . typically , this surface coating removal step is performed in an industrial developer , pre - clean or stripper solution , which removes the coating from the non - printed areas of the substrate . in one preferred embodiment the solution comprises water , a ph adjusting electrolyte ( acidic or basic ), surfactant and optionally , a solvent . it is important that all ingredients are be washed by water and non - toxic media , so that the industrial application of this invention is not limited by environmental issues . a series of coating compositions were prepared , based on three components , which are defined in table 1 . for most applications the compositions were made by mixing the polymer ( s ) and surfactant ( s ) in water in a stirred vessel , such as a glass beaker with a magnetic stirrer . in cases , in which the polymer is emulsified with water , it is mixed in the water with a standard laboratory mixing system at up to 20 , 000 rpm , blender , shearing system or homogenizer , as are known in the art ( sometimes cooled in an ice bath ) an fully cured , 35 microns thick , semi - mat solder mask ( psr4000mp ), which had a highly polar surface which was printed with ink - jet ink on printar lgp 809 , printing in 720 dpi using printar m2 white marking ink , dried with on - machine air blower and oven cured at around 150 celsius for 90 minutes , demonstrated a poor print quality using a standard solvent based ink . the untreated semi - mat solder mask was coated as follows : a cloth impregnated with composition a ( table 1 ) was used to deposit composition a onto the mask . the coated mask was dried at about 80 celsius for 15 minutes . some parts of the coated surface were printed using an ink - jet printer . the coated surface was glossier than the untreated surface and the resultant print quality was excellent . the printed mask was cured at around 150 celsius for 90 minutes in order to cure the ink . after curing , the mask was washed in a conveyored water pre - cleaning line to remove the surface coating from the unprinted areas . the mask was exposed to hal ( hot air solder leveling ). copper parts of the mask were coated by solder yielding a solder of a similar quality to that soldered on copper of uncoated masks . adhesion of the cured ink to the coated surface of the mask was found to be of a similar strength to that of cured ink on an untreated mask . the same method of example 1 was performed using composition b . the resultant coated surface , had a higher surfactant content than that made with composition a , was too hydrophobic . this led to poor wetting of the ink to the surface , due to the high surface hydrophobicity . the same method of example 1 was performed using composition c ( no surfactant ). when composition c was applied , the ink did wet the surface well . in this case it appeared that the coated surface was too hydrophilic , and thus the ink was propagated and small characters became illegible . the references cited herein teach many principles that are applicable to the present invention . therefore the full contents of these publications are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for teachings of additional or alternative details , features and / or technical background . it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .