Industrial applications--laser etch

Direct laser etch of flexographic plates and cylinders
Direct laser etch of flexographic printing cylinders and plates has been an established process since the 1970s. This first began with the use of a carbon dioxide laser used to selectively ablate or evaporate a variety of rubber plate and sleeve materials to produce a print ready surface without the use of photography or chemicals.
Before the year 2000 lasers only produced lower quality in rubber-like materials. In these rubber-like materials, which had a rough structure, higher quality was impossible. Since the year 2000 fiber lasers have been introduced to give an much increased etch quality direct into black polymeric materials.
Direct photopolymer laser imaging
closely related is the direct imaging of a digital flexo plates or sleeves 'in-the-round' on a fast-rotating drum, or cylinder. This is carried out on a platesetter integrated within a digital prepress workflow, that also supports digital proofing. Again, this is a filmless process, which removes one of the variables in obtaining the fine and sharp dots for screened affects, including process color printing.
laser etch of anilox rolls
Prior to 1980 anilox rolls were produced by a variety of mechanical processes. These metal anilox rolls were sometimes sprayed with ceramic to prolong their life in the flexographic printing press.
Sub-surface laser etch (SSLE)
Sub-surface laser etch is the process of etch an image below the surface of a solid material, usually glass, with an optical clarity to minimize distortion of the laser.