Lenticular printing

 

What is Lenticular printing? Few people are familiar with the term. Lenticular printings offer a great way to bring images to life. It is a cutting edge technology that is giving companies new ways to promote themselves and their products.

 

Using lenticular printing technologies a whole range of 3D graphic effects can be applied to printed images. While 3D graphics were once a concept limited to movie theatres, with specialised printing methods almost any image or surface can had added depth and motion applied.

 

Lenticular printing means pertaining to lenses, a lenticule is actually a kind of lens that allows a range of images to be seen by the naked eye at one time. A Lenticular printing lens is made up of two separate components. The first is a printed image, or a series of printed images. The second is the lens, which feels like a kind of grooved Plexiglas. By looking at the image through the lens, we are able to see more than one image at a time. The contour of the lens allows the eye to concentrate on different aspects of the picture. The image is printed in strips, rather than a whole image in one piece, which allows the 3D effect to emerge.

 

There are many applications of lenticular printing graphics. A flip image or flip animation is one of the most popular forms of lenticular printing images. In this instance two images are combined and then covered with a lens. When the finished product is moved the two images interchange.

 

A Multi flip animation works in a similar way except that three or more different images are combined. This can be used to achieve many effects; it could be a series of movements, a zoom in on an image or a dramatic change or morph in a single scene.

 

A 3D effect can also be achieved through using lenticular printing graphics. A sense of depth can be given to any picture, making it realistic and eye catching. All the elements of a scene are layered together to give the illusion of space and movement.

 

Animation and high definition lenticular printing allows between five and fifteen seconds of imagery to be contained in a postcard sized bit of paper. Can you imaging a direct mail out flyer that contains a video in high definition quality? What a great way to deliver a message to your audience.

 

This technology is no longer something out of reach to companies looking for creative advertising solutions. It is ready and available for a wide array of uses. Direct mail outs, posters and promotional materials are only the beginning.