In display holography,the advent of pulsed lasers has made it possible to capture images of plants, animals and humans as well as inanimate objects.
Holographic packaging materials have become popular and cheap.
Security: The use of holograms on credit cards and bank-notes has reduced the opportunity for forgery
Interferometry: If a "double exposure" hologram is made of an object before and after the object is subjected to stress, the change in the shape of the object due to that stress is recorded as a series of light and dark bands. In industrial situations this can be used in component testing and quality control.
Medical records: Medical, dental and other records can be made both for teaching and for documentation.
Measurements: Particle physicists make holographic records of bubble-chambers from which accurate measurements can be made.
Display of artifacts: Many museums have made holograms of valuable articles in their collections, both for insurance purposes and to check for deterioration. In the former Soviet Union exhibitions of holograms of national treasures were sent to remote areas, enabling people to see and appreciate their national heritage without the necessity of travelling to major museums in Moscow or Leningrad (St. Petersburg)
Holographic Optical Elements (HOEs): If a hologram is made of a lens, mirror or other optical element, it acts in the same way as that element. HOEs can be used, for example, in bar-code readers..