The advantages and disadvantages of the three squeegee types can best be summarised in tabular form:
| squeegee material | advantages | disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| soft rubber | cheap; good compliance for non-planar boards | poor print definition; wears quickly; severe scoop |
| hard rubber | cheap; improved print definition; adequate compliance for most applications | can need high squeegee pressure to clear board completely |
| metal | best print definition; freedom from scoop | expensive, especially for coated styles; needs good equipment planarity; tendency to wear stencil |
Note that all types of squeegee are prone to damage when in contact
with hard or sharp surfaces.
Your choice of squeegee for an assembly containing many fine-pitch parts would be influenced by the kind of printer that you have available. However, given that your printer can be fitted with a metal squeegee, this would be the normal choice for an assembly containing many fine pitch parts on a small board. The superior definition made possible by a metal squeegee will improve the print quality for the small apertures associated with fine pitch components. However, the size of board can affect the decision, because the greater deviation from flatness of larger boards may give problems.