ALBANY, N.Y. - When Fred Carl, owner of a Saab dealership, died of cancer about 10 years ago at the age of 59, his wife, Sandy, wanted his tombstone to be special. What she got was a sweeping monolith of Dakota mahogany granite, with an urn at each end, a base and a few features unusual for a memorial. On its smooth face, she had an etching carved to show the Saab that Fred Carl drove while ice-racing on frozen lakes. And under his name, she put an etching of a Farmall tractor because Carl collected farm tractors.

"I thought he would feel more comfortable with the things that he enjoyed the most," recalled Sandy Carl, 65.

The modern tombstone is undergoing a transformation. Instead of the traditional crosses, Stars of David or other religious symbols, relatives of the recently deceased are taking advantage of modern technology to create personalized memorials.

For the owners of memorial shops, it's a chance to please customers while offering more services - and making more sales. Jim Minozzi, co-owner of Memory Studios in Albany, where Sandy Carl went to buy her tombstone, estimates that business has nearly doubled since the family operation began offering computer-drawn etchings in 1992.

"It's allowed us to do more with granite than we ever thought possible," said Jack Minozzi, who owns the business with his brother.

A look at what Memory Studios offers shows just what they mean. In the back yard is a black stone - etchings are always done on black, because the thin scratches show up better on dark stone - with a perfect laser drawing of da Vinci's "Last Supper," including detail fine enough to show the disciples' expressions.

Nearby is a finished stone made for a local couple. The entire stone is filled with a picture of their hometown in Ireland.

Memory Studios now uses a program called Gerber, which was made for printing on T-shirts. Jim Minozzi altered it to work with stone.

The company does about 12 laser etchings a year and eight hand-etchings, such as a life-size etching of St. Clare of Assisi for a local cemetery.

Etchings range in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

But some see the high-tech tombstones as a technology that is pushing out a finer craft: that of those who used to sculpt tombstones by hand.

"The business is losing a lot of artisans," said Cathy McGuire, owner of Mary J. Nosal Memorials in Schenectady, N.Y. "Like anything, you're losing, I don't know - craftsmanship. People are just not going into it."

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