Life & Arts

Austin couple lasers its way to a new business

Austin Laser Art engrave custom designs on iPods and more

By Omar L. Gallaga
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, May 03, 2008

You've heard of laser pointers, Pink Floyd laser-light shows, even laser eye surgery.

Are you ready for laser-generated art?

Aaron Haley and his wife, Kristina, decided late last year to start a business based on a large printer that can etch engravings on everything from leather to glass to the backs of laptops and iPods.

Austin Laser Art was born after the Haleys went to the Bay Area for Maker Faire, a gathering of do-it-yourselfers and technologists. They were impressed with the engraving machine and invested in one of their own. The machines typically cost $25,000-$30,000 and are most often used by companies that do custom engraving work or large businesses such as Dell Inc., which sells a laser-engraved "World of Warcraft Edition" laptop.

The Haleys, however, wanted to make the technology available to local artists and others who want to add some personality to their tech gear.

"Our real goal is to create an alternative artistic medium for Austin," Aaron Haley said. "We thought Austin was a really good fit for providing a service like this.

Austin Laser Art showed off its engraving at South by Southwest Interactive's ScreenBurn Festival in March. The engraving machine, which is about the size of an office photocopy machine, was a hit at the Austin Convention Center. Tech geeks, teenagers and video gamers got their portable game consoles, laptops and iPhones engraved with designs such as cherry blossoms, company logos and Celtic artwork.

Photos and video from the free two-day engraving party (yes, there were lines; no, people didn't seem to mind) ended up on Wired.com and AOL Video.

Shawn Stricker, who works for a pet supply company in Salem, N.H., got some Internet notoriety when a photo of his laptop showed up in some popular tech and video-game blogs. His 2-week-old Macbook Pro laptop was engraved with an elaborate image from "World of Warcraft."

Stricker, who knew the Haleys before the conference, gave them a tall order: "It's called 'The Dark Portal,' an interdimensional gateway between two worlds," he said. The design, which includes a detailed archway and a dragon, showed off the intricate work the laser could do.

Another impressive laptop engraving features the profile of a woman's face, surrounded by flowers, and an array of cherry blossoms on the opposite corner. Photos of the South by Southwest engravings received thousands of views on the photo site Flickr.com.

Lindsay Muse, conference coordinator for ScreenBurn, said the Austin Laser Art booth was "a huge hit. It appealed to everyone: big kids, little kids. Everyone wanted their goods and their wares branded."

The technology, she said, scratched the itch the festival always has for things that blur the lines between commerce, technology and art.

The engraving machine uses its laser to burn the topmost layer of whatever it's engraving. On, say, a Moleskine notebook, the black surface is burned off to reveal a tan layer beneath. On most surfaces, the laser can etch a design that is as sharp as an image printed on paper with an inkjet printer.

So far, Aaron and Kristina Haley have been working to make connections at events such as ScreenBurn and to find clients for their services, which vary in price. Their business is partnered with other "open source" engraving entrepreneurs across the country who communicate online. The partners pay no franchise costs but agree to share their knowledge and work with other partners.

Austin Laser Art has several books of art samples that can be engraved, as well as a growing portfolio of engravings the company done so far. Practically any material can be engraved, except for PVC, which creates a toxic gas when lasered.

Aaron says he's gotten interest from poster artists who want their artwork engraved on wood and companies that want to brand their logos on their products.

The hardest part, he said, is finding new, creative uses for laser engraving. "The biggest hindrance to people is that sort of imagination roadblock," he said.

ogallaga@statesman.com; 445-3672