[jaak]

I would disagree - to give an electronics example, this level of work is done all the time at large scale on PCB manufacturers with solder mask, solder paste, silk screens, etc.

Print shops can do this kind of work, too (precise amounts, sub-millimeter accuracy, irregular surfaces, almost any kind of coating, etc.).

[jandrese]

They could, but when you open up a laptop where the manufacturer used thermal paste and you'll more often than not find it apparently applied with a turkey baster in a tenth of a second. Just a big old splat.