1. A multi-axis laser scanner for generating and compacting digital data from information recorded on a surface area, comprising: laser means providing a pulsed laser beam; first and second multi-faceted rotating mirror means in the path of said laser beam on orthogonally disposed first and second axes of rotation, respectively, for mutually reflecting said laser beam in a scanning raster; control means for said mirror means constraining said mirror means to direct said laser beam scanning raster over a predetermined pattern of discrete areas; information means having an information containing surface comprising a major information area consisting of a plurality of incremental information areas each definable by said predetermined pattern of discrete areas; feed means for said information means sequentially presenting each of said plurality of incremental areas into the path of said laser beam to be scanned by said raster in said predetermined pattern of discrete areas; detecting and digitizing means responsive to the interaction of said scanning raster and said information surface providing a plurality of discrete digital data streams representative of the information on said major information area as obtained from each discrete area in said predetermined pattern; and matrix oriented data compaction means receiving said discrete data streams and providing a compacted completely determinister output data stream representative of the total information on said major information surface.