Beyond Darth Vader

YAG lasers lack this durability. Art Ehrenberg, Harper VP Operations, Green Bay, Wis., said, "Melted or 'cast' ceramic formed by CO2 engravings has superior wear properties to that of unmelted or non-recast ceramic. Traditional Nd YAG lasers have poor wear characteristics … due to the lack of melted ceramic forming the cell walls." Slater agreed, noting that premature wearing and printing problems on press were disadvantages of the YAG laser technology because it left little recast on the cell walls.