Metallic nanostructures have applications in plasmonics, electronics and biosciences, but their large-scale, high-quality production is challenging and current fabrication approaches rely on multistep, time-consuming procedures. Now, Gary J. Cheng and co-workers from Purdue University have developed a new fabrication method, laser shock imprinting (LSI). This method produces three-dimensional, crystalline metallic nanostructures by using laser shocks to squeeze thin metal films into silicon moulds. The moulds can be used over a hundred times with no loss in performance, thereby enabling the large-scale fabrication of metallic nanostructures. The first step in LSI is to use a laser pulse to sublimate a graphene layer in direct contact with the metal film. The sublimation of the graphene generates a shock wave that propagates through the metal, forcing it to adopt the shape provided by the silicon mould. LSI permits the fabrication of large arrays of ultra-sharp tips, nanoscale fishnet designs, and triangular groove-like nanostructures. In addition, it can produce hybrid structures, such as graphene-metal nanostructures. This can be achieved simply by placing a graphene layer between the metal to be imprinted and the silicon mould. The disadvantages of LSI are related to the high cost of the nanomoulds and to the difficulties related to the transfer of the imprinted patterns onto a different substrate. However, the high cost of the nanomoulds is mitigated by their reusability.