an airless spray nozzle tip for use in coating workpieces such as containers includes a first groove located on one side of the tip , and second , third and fourth grooves located on the other side of the tip , thereby forming three orifices in the nozzle tip . the nozzle tip produces a generally circular spray pattern with a diameter of at least about one half inch , at a distance in the range of from about one inch to about three inches from the nozzle tip , and at a flow rate at or below about 0 . 045 gallons per minute a process of coating a workpiece , such as a container , includes spraying liquid from a nozzle tip to produce this generally circular pattern , the nozzle tip preferably having three orifices .