scswift:
It's also more difficult to separate and strip ribbon cable.
I assume, when I talk about flat cable, you think of these used for ATA hard drives, and legacy floppy drives?
I mean the type used for modern LC displays, and generally more and more found inside consumer electronics gadgets.
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/p/ffc-fpc/5351915/
1.25mm pitch, through hole, not true SMD
http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/p/ffc-fpc/7388940/
0.5mm pitch, SMD
and the cable assemblies: http://radionics.rs-online.com/web/c/connectors/general-purpose/cable/
these assemblies are never cut, they are purchased ready-made.
The idea is to save time (the connectors can be soldered at once), space (they are much smaller than row headers), and in some cases, it's also cheaper to use a ready-made flat cable.
My idea was to have a number of conventional row headers, and if these run out, flat cables are used.
The technology is around since the 1980s but I have seen a lot of increase in recent years.
1.25mm is easy to use, still through hole.