Laser engraving is not only useful, it’s a fascinating process. The laser beam itself is a very small (less than a millimeter in size) stream of very intense light. As the light passes over an item, its intense energy heats the surface which then either vaporizes a shallow gully into the material or fractures it, creating a mark. A wide variety of surfaces can be engraved, such as plastic, wood, metal, stone, glass, or enamel, although a relatively flat surface yields the best results.
A computer controls the movements of the light beam and/or the surface to be engraved, which yields very precise results. Due to the tiny diameter of the laser beam’s focal point and the extraordinary accuracy of the technology’s movement, graphic or text engravings are generally limited in quality only by the artwork they are reproducing and the quality of the engraving surface.
Engraving is used in a variety of applications, such as placing identifying marks such as barcodes onto items, personalizing trophies, plaques or gift items, or adding a logo/tagline to promotional items. Even photos can be reproduced as engravings.
Laser engraving can also be performed below an item’s surface level via a relatively new technology known as sub surface laser engraving (SSLE), which is executed on clear materials such as crystal or glass. What makes this technology most useful is that a three dimensional image can be recreated. It is most commonly used to reproduce 3-d images of people or scenes as souvenir items.