A comparative study of thin film production based on gentle laser-ablation techniques has been carried out with the luminescent polymer poly [2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene]. Using a free-electron laser films were made by resonant infrared pulsed laser deposition (RIR-PLD). For the first time resonant infrared matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) was successfully demonstrated on a luminescent polymer system. In addition to this, an excimer laser has been used for UV-MAPLE depositions at 193 and 248-nm irradiation. Films deposited onto NaCl and quartz substrates were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible absorbance and photoluminescence. Photoluminescent material was deposited by RIR-MAPLE and 248-nm MAPLE, while the RIR-PLD and 193-nm-MAPLE depositions displayed the smoothest surfaces but did not show photoluminescence. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.