This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period July-September 1999, features a theoretical analysis of a process that generates mass perturbations of an imploding target driven by modulated laser illumination. The process, referred to as laser imprint, impacts the integrity of the shell during direct-drive implosions, potentially quenching target performance. In this article V. N. Goncharov, J. A. Delettrez, S. Skupsky, and R. P. J. Town present a model of the generation of mass perturbations and analyze the mass perturbation growth due to nonuniform ablation pressure. Stabilizing mechanisms of thermal conduction smoothing and mass ablation are shown to suppress the acceleration perturbation, and mass ablation is also shown to impact velocity perturbations. The model predicts that a direct-drive cryogenic NIF target will remain intact during the implosion when l-Thz SSD beam smoothing is used.