SOME images seem just too valuable to be allowed to deteriorate over the years as exposed photographs and seem wasted when they are hidden away from the world in picture albums.

Kurt Ming can offer a solution to that dilemma - he can literally set your favourite pictures in stone. Or metal, or glass, or wood.

In the home of Bermuda Laser Engraving Systems in Brunswick Mall, on Reid Street, Mr. Ming uses a high-tech machine which measures about six feet square, to burn images brought in by his cutomers onto a wide range of materials.

Working from photographs or digital images on disc brought in by his customers, Mr. Ming uses a laser beam to transfer remarkably detailed copies of those images - 200 dots per square inch - onto hard materials.

"It allows you to take your pictures to a whole new level," said Mr. Ming. "If you have an old black and white photograph of your grandparents that's deteriorating away, you can have it set on marble or brass.

"Marble's not going to get mouldy and it's not going to deteriorate - unless you drop it."

The laser beam is generated at end of the machine and is bounced off a small mirror at the other end. It then bounces off another mirror and passes through an optic lens and a kind of nozzle before it sets to work burning its images.

The picture first has to be scanned into a computer which is linked to the engraving machine.

"Really it's just like a glorified printer, but using a laser beam instead of ink," said Mr. Ming. "Most of the work is done in the computer. The software is amazing."

Mr. Ming runs the business with partners Tim Olden and Juan Mello. It was set up in 2001 and what is believed to be Bermuda's only laser engraving machine, was brought in from Boston and has been in operation for the past 15 months.

The business started life on Front Street and moved into its present home in the Brunswick Mall, near the Chopsticks restaurant, six months ago. The move itself presented one major practical challenge - how to get the laser machine, which weighs nearly a ton, into the unit.

"There was no way we could get it through the door," said Mr. Ming. "We had to remove one of the big windows (looking out onto Reid Street) and manoeuvre it in with a forklift.

"We had about quarter of an inch clearance and it wasn't easy - especially when you think of how much the machine cost."

Though he wasn't willing to say how much his company paid for the machine, Mr. Ming said a new one would cost in the region of $80,000, before shipping and duty costs.

Mr. Ming can engrave an impressive range of materials, included coated brass and aluminium, acrylic, corian (a tough synthetic material often used for counter tops) marble and granite, as well as wood of various types, including Bermuda cedar, mahogany, cherry, walnut and maple.

The images can be framed or glued onto a plinth. Wall or floor tiles can also be engraved, and several can be put together to make one large mural.

The biggest item that Mr. Ming's machine could engrave would be 44 inches square and the engraved material can be up to one and a quarter inches thick.

He can engrave personalised key rings, pen boxes and corkscrews, aluminium business card holders, table tops and head stones, as well as pictures to hang on the wall or stand on the coffee table.

"I have cut shapes of acrylic that make good paperweights," said Mr. Ming. "I have had a few orders where people wanted me to engrave 60 or 70 with a company logo.

"I can do something like that very quickly, but when people want a different name on each one, it takes more time."

One area of his business he would like to expand is trophies and awards. Recently, he turned out 70 long service acrylic plaques for the Government bus company. The plaques were engraved with an image of a bus, together with the name of the recipent and details of their length of service.

"People are amazed when they see something like that personalised," said Mr. Ming. "Some people didn't think that was possible in Bermuda."

A whole industry has been built around awards hardware. Mr. Ming recently went to Las Vegas to attend the Awards & Recognition Association's trade show at the Hilton Convention Centre to see the most up-to-date developments.

"I made a lot of contacts and learned a lot about the materials available and the techniques being used," he said.

"My laser is 25-watt. You can get 50-watt lasers which are a lot more powerful and a lot more expensive and they can burn half an inch into some materials."

The business was originally a secondary occupation for Mr. Ming, who was working at the Bank of Bermuda until he was made redundant last week after 24 years in the job.

Now, instead of fitting in his engraving at nights and weekends, he will have more time to do the work during weekdays, until he finds another job at least.

Mr. Ming said the most popular images he was asked to engrave were of weddings and babies.

"Sometimes people bring in very old black and white pictures," he added. "If they're in bad condition I sometimes have to touch them up on the computer.

"People can also choose from my 5,000 clip art images. I've got cartoons, funny pictures and a whole range of stuff. People ask for all sorts of things to be added to the pictures. Not just words, but also things like praying hands and doves."

Some people also liked images of their pets or favourite film or music stars. Images of Bob Marley and Elvis Presley have sold well.

Knowledge of his company had spread mostly by word of mouth, said Mr. Ming. He added that the cost of setting up in business and high rents had been a strain but he hoped the business would be able to expand as more people became familiar with his work.

Bermuda Laser Engraving Systems has a web site at www.bermudaengraving.com and can be contacted on 296-9093.