Until recently, techniques for creating images on stone, glass and other hard surfaces were limited to sandblasting, acid etching and some hand carving methods that were difficult, time-consuming, expensive and comparatively crude.

With the advent of the computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) laser machine, a new level of precision was introduced. Using digital files of unlimited detail, the trained operator can transfer images of anything, including photographs, onto any hard surface by using relatively low power to mark a material without cutting all the way through. This result is achieved by using the heat energy delivered by the laser to alter the surface of the material under its focal point.

Computer-controlled laser etching ensures that each unit will be produced in a completely uniform manner. Due to its detailed accuracy, design flexibility, and permanence, laser etching is often preferred over other etching processes.

Some industries that utilize this technology include the architectural, agriculture, beverage, chemical, construction, dairy, food service, material handling, mining, and transportation industries.

The laser (an acronym for Light Amplification of Simulated Radiation) emits highly concentrated light in a very narrow beam to alter the surface onto which it is directed. The CNC machine guides the laser precisely while varying its power to create highly detailed graphic images in grayscale, so that a black-and-white photograph may be reproduced exactly as in the original. Of course, any other graphic image can be duplicated as well, making laser etching useful in many applications such as architectural signage, monuments, premiums and collectibles, donor recognition panels, floor inlays, part identification, serialization, bar-coding, calibration and many others.

More information about lasers can be found at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser

http://science.howstuffworks.com/laser.htm

http://inventors.about.com/od/lstartinventions/a/laser.htm