Technological advances in coding and marking products and packages destined for the consumer market allow compact and low-power lasers to be used. This gives manufacturers an attractive alternative in terms of meeting their product identification requirements. Rather than printing a code with ink, or printing a label with ink and then applying the label to a product, laser coding uses ablation and engraving to eliminate or melt an image in material that produced a high quality, permanent, and immediate code marking. The technology offers a cost-effective and efficient method for coding and marking packages. Compared to other forms of coding and marking used for consumer goods, laser coding systems are becoming more popular and may soon be manufacturers' method of choice. The major reasons for the growing popularity of laser coding options include the fact that there are no costs for 'consumables' like ink or solvents. Additionally, these systems require only minimal maintenance costs, reduce system down-time, lower the impact on the environment because no ink is used, ease integration, and provide the ability to code on a variety of substrates. Changing market conditions have also had an influence on the packaging industry. Packagers are receiving mandates from customers to include a greater number of coding details to make traceability easier, reduce recall size, and restrict the use of toxic materials.