What is Lenticular Print?
Lenticular imaging has been in the market since the early 1900’s, but the revolutions in lenticular technology changes with the combinations of high quality lenticular lens used thru sophisticated printing press has made it easier, more economical, and exciting than ever before.
Lenticular print is specifically prepared graphics that are designed to work with a lenticular lens that allows the viewer to see different images depending on the angle at which the lenticular piece being viewed.
The use of both images and lens materials are inseparable when it comes to making the desired effect in lenticular printing.The images itself is a composite of two or more graphics that are interlaced together. The lens is a unique plastic that is made up of individual cylindrical lenses (lenticules) that must be perfectly aligned with the interlaced image underneath it in order for the effect to work.
Based on the angle of the viewer, each cylindrical lens acts as a magnifying glass to enlarge and display the portion of the image below. Many small lenses working in harmony form the entire lenticular image. In this way, lenticular print can appear to show motion or 3D because each eye is viewing the lenticular print from its own angle.
Utilizing these techniques, lenticular printing has found its way onto just about anything you can imagine, from the smallest business cards to the largest movie posters.
How it works?
Lenticular image can best be described as illusionary art. From simply two image files to complex 3D images, lenticular designs utilize a combination of image/color selection, lens design, interlacing techniques and printing technologies to create the desired illusion. All these elements need to work together to achieve a successful lenticular piece.
Designing for 3D Lenticular
The lenticules for 3D always run vertically in order to accommodate binocular disparity (the principle that your right eye and left eye view a scene from slightly different angles.) Adding depth files to your 3D art will give your images a rounded look that mirrors the way your eyes view the environment, thereby making the effect seem more realistic. Though depth files are not required, they will lessen the flat appearance of each 3D layer.
Lenticular Effect & Designing
The first step in designing for lenticular print is to choose an effect. If you have a strong concept on what lenticular effect you want it to be, the designing becomes a much easier task to begin with.
There are really only two types of lenticular effects: Animation and 3D. Zoom, flip and morph are all fall under the animation effect category. Once you have chosen the effect that work best with your idea, selection of lens (LPI), image interlacing, prepress and printing technique to a larger extend determine the success and quality of final lenticular print in productions.
For more details on these types of lenticular effects. Visit the EFFECTS section of this site.
Why use LENSTARplus lenticular Lens?
The most important piece of a successful lenticular print is of course the lens itself. LENSTARplus materials is the only lenticular lens extruded with a resin specifically made for the optical properties required for the best lenticular print so far in the market.
The curvature or angle of the lenticule is important to keep in mind when selecting the proper lens. For an optimal 3D effect, a narrow-angle lenticular lens with a viewing angle between 15 to 44 degrees works best. When working to achieve a good animation effect, a wide-angle lenticular lens with a viewing angle between 44 to 65 degrees works best. These variances will help to determine which lens works best for your project.
LENSTARplus® Material
LENSTARplus Lens is manufactured with a special resin developed by Eastman Chemical Company specifically for lenticular applications. Because the material is indeed a lens, it must be as clear as possible, but still have the required quality to refract light. The lens should also be as stable as possible to minimize the distortion that can occur when temperatures change, yet it needs to be flexible enough to use in printing presses and to be rolled for shipping. When you add up all these requirements, it’s obvious that developing a resin from scratch is well worth the effort.
The resin is then extruded into the desired shape by PACUR. Utilizing their extensive experience and technical talent, PACUR has developed a variety of lenticular lens shapes to meet various criteria for all kinds of lenticular products. The angle of the individual cylindrical lenses, the overall sheet thickness, and the number of lenses per inch are all affected by the final application for the lenticular print. PACUR has done extensive testing to create the best lens for any desired application.
LENSTARplus lenticular sheets one side embossed with column of tiny corrugations called lenticules, printing on the reverse side with interlaced images using conventional or UV ink, or can accept various types of laminations. With natural dyne lever of 40, LENSTARplus lenticular sheet does not require corona treatments on ink adhesion prior to printing.
For more details, please visit PACUR website www.pacur.com
