LenticularBlog.com

You always wanted to know more about the lenticular world. Another way to increase your sale and attract attention. Here is the place to know more about how to create the perfect lenticular piece from start to finish. You will learn photoshop design techniques, different lenticular effects and much more.

Keep going back here, in the next week there will be more and more for you to learn and see what lenticular can do for you.

01- Can I combine 3D and flip ?
No. You cannot combine 3D with FLIP effect because the lens has to be vertical to make a good 3D effect, and it has to be horizontal to make a nice FLIP effect.

02- Can I combine 3D and animation ?
Yes. 3D effect can be combine with animation. A 3 frames animation is the best to be combine with a 3D effect, more frames will be blur, and less frames will be less interesting.

03- Is the effect the same on 20lpi and 60lpi lens
The bigger the lens is (20 lpi), the more the effect is enhanced. The fields of view affect the speed of the animation. See the specifications page for more informations.

04- Can I use any color ?
White & Black is not recommended. It is preferable to have some data in the highlight. Using dark color is fine, but black is just too dark. Using black for text is OK.

05- Why my sample is not exactly the same as the printed piece ?
A sample printed with inkjet printer and finish by hand is always different and a less sharp than the real thing printed directly on the lens.

06- Is the resolution of my file important ?
The more resolution you have, the better the details will be, but we can create a 3 seconds animation with a 800×600 Quicktime… if we have to, it will be just fine.

07- Any restriction to print on the back ?
You can print on the back of the lenticular (over the white lamination) but it must be 50% screen… unless the back type can show through the front.

08-Any problem with flip ?
When making a FLIP effect, make sure the images look alike (position, size), and fit together, a slight shift can make it blur.

09- Any animation restrictions ?
Animation can use as much as 32 frames, the maximum is 64, the more you have, the smoother the animation will be. The technician will evalute the best frame rate to use, just send your animation for evaluation.

10- Is it long to print lenticular ?
Lenticular work can be produce in a week or less. But usually, the great lenticular pieces take time and tweek to get perfect… so expect 3-4 weeks for a top quality job !

???- You have more questions? ask us , we will be please to answer it here, where everybody can benefit these informations. info@alteraction.ca

Lets define both terms first.

• Holography: is a form of photography that allows an image to be recorded in 3 dimensions. It is a bit like recording on light sensitive plate a live 3D object, light by a laser. By lighting this plate after it as been develop, you should see the object like if it was there. Holography has been invented in 1947 by Dennis Gabor (Nobel Prize in Physics).

• Lenticular printing: is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. Created in 1940, it has been improved over the years to become the little piece that you get in a Cracker Jack Box in the 60s. Now, with very high resolution printers, and press that can register very precisely, lenticular become a high end commercial publicity piece.

Even before the beginning of the photographic techniques, scientists tried some interactions with images and lenses to produce 3 dimensional images. Some was succesfull, some not. In the late 20s, Herbert Ives simplifies the concept and used a lens array to produce the effect. The basic lenticular lens was invented.

That was a first step, but there was the problem to print on it. Eastman Kodak in the 50s was using a film recorder to get the image on special lenticular lens coated more or less like a 35mm film

In the 60s, large corporations recognized its advertising potential. Mass production became a reality on February 25, 1964, when a Look Magazine issue featured the “first ink-printed postcard sized parallax panoramagram”. A black and white still life.

Since then, lens manufacturers produced more types of lens, different plastic types and resolutions.

Great advance in offset printing inks makes it possible to print on plastic with great color and registration.

So now, Alter Ego is proud to annonce the alteraction lenticular printing. A procedure to make offset printed lenticular in super high quality, in quantity from 500 to 50,000.

You are only one click away from having it in your hand, see it, test it, ask for price, and having YOUR lenticular printed in the alteraction way.

Request sample and/or price : www.alteraction.ca

A 3D effect can be made by both holography and lenticular. The 3D effect is greater in holography, but still monochromatic, the full color make the 3D lenticular print more vibrant and realistic even if the depth effect is less impressive.

Producing hologram is time consuming and is more like a piece of art. Lenticular can be produce in a matter of days and be print in less than a week. It can be manipulated and viewed without a special device (glass or light).

The price is also important. Lenticular print is of course more expensive than a similar paper piece, but the impact much more important, and the retention on the customer attention is amazing. Hologram have been so expensive to produce in the past, it was display and use in art museum and high end produced pieces.

Alter Ego is the only one to make offset printed lenticular in a 800 lpi quality. We’ve developed the unique alteraction process !

We constantly search for innovative products for more effective advertising. We have 2 other exceptionnal products. The EZ-FIX and the RE-FIX.

EZ·FIX^MD electrostatically adheres to every smooth flat surface without adhesive, allowing for original and convenient display that in no way damage the surfaces they are applied to. Showing yourself has never been so easy!

RE·FIX^MC is similar to a sticker, it adheres to any flat surface once its backing has been removed. A fine layer of adhesive ensures effective adherence while allowing for easy repositioning or removal without damaging the surface it is on.

To know more about the AlterAction lenticular process, to request samples and/or price : www.alteraction.ca

To know more about RE-FIX : www.re-fix.ca

To know more about EZ-FIX : www.ez-fix.ca

Here are some numbers to demonstrate that lenticular product draw attention, create excitement and drive sales.

From TIME Magazine (Lenticular ad vs. conventional print ad)

• 96% of the readers recalled seeing the 3D Lenticular ads.
• 91% reported reading more than half of the article that the ad was attached to (30-40 % is typical for flat conventional print ads).
• 72% retained the association between the lenticular ad and the company that placed it.
• 69% were favorably disposed towards the 3D lenticular ad, compared to 14% among those exposed to the same ad in flat print.
• 62% of the readers responded that it increased their appeal to the company that placed the ad.

From EASTMAN Kodak (study of a 3D Lenticular displays in malls)

• 58% of the stores’ customers remember seeing the display. Only 7% recall seeing one of the traditional 2D displays.
• When used in conjunction with stores in the mall, the stores saw sales increase by up to 12%.
• Customers were drawn to the stores with the 3D Lenticular displays.
• Stores that had the 3D displays indicated they had a 34% increase of consumer traffic.

From a well-known beverage company (3D lenticular display in conjunction with their product)

• During the research, they randomly asked consumers that selected their product the reason for their purchase.
• 21% stated that they normally don’t drink that brand, but because the display, they thought they would give it a try.
• When the test was completed the Company returned to the stores (15 days later) and asked consumers if they remembered the Lenticular display.
• 91% of the consumers recalled seeing the display
• 31% asked about the product
• 34% could not recall what the competitors display (conventional 2D printed) looked like
• 1.3% demonstrated a change in brand loyalty.

The sequential assembly of images printed on a lens.

The lenticular lens is composed of multiple parallel lens strips with the same optical caracteristics. Each strip magnify and project a micro image strip printed on the back of the lenticular lens, in way that all strips can be sequentially seen for each vision angle of the lens. When using vertical lens, it is possible to project stereoscopic (relief/3D) images for each eye. When using horizontal lens, it is also possible to project changing images, the image seen by the eyes depend of the vision angle.

The lenticular sheet is an optically transparent substrate, with a flat backing that allows direct printing (offset), or pasting. Images must be made to fit precisely with the lens strips size and must be perfectly align with the lens strips.

• Visual changes (flip)
  Consist of visualising from 2 to 4 different images on the same lens.
• Three dimensions (3D)
  With a vertical lens, a 2D image is separate in multiple layers shifted from one an other. It gives a relief effect that makes a 3D illusion. The right eye sees an image while the left eye sees an other. The brain reads both images as one with relief.
• Animation
  There is many kind of animation possible; a video sequence (by any video camera), a 2D animation (cartoon style), a 3D animation (from a 3D software) and finally a photographic animation (many quick shots of a moving object). Each image of the animation is called frame. The maximum amount of frame for an animation is proportionnal with the print work system capabilities and the lens resolution. For exemple; 75 LPI lens can show 64 frames with a 4800 dpi printing system.
• Morphing
  It’s a transformation of an object to an other. The morphology is produce by a specific software and has the same restriction as the animation.
• Zoom
  Consist to enlarge or reduce a subject. This effect can be produce by a 3D sofware or can be made frame by frame with a 2D sofware. The same limiting factors as the animation are applicable.
• Mixed visual effects
  It’s possible to do more than one effect at the same time. Exemple; a 3D effect with a Flip or a 3D effect with animation.

See our web site for interactive exemples: www.alteraction.ca

• Conventionnal offset printing (directly on the lens)
  For medium to large print run and for small print format. Exceptionnal quality (resolution up to 800 lpi). Drying time from 3 to 5 day.
• UV offset printing (directly on the lens)For large to really large print run. Good enough quality (resolution up to 200 lpi). Instant drying.
• Ink jet printing (print applied on the lens)
  For prototypes and small print run (all print format). With a RIP resolution of 720 dpi, it’s difficult to have a good result with a high resolution lens. The ink jet print has to be perfectly align with the lens (what is not always easy). The print as to be applied to the lens with a clear self-adhesive thin coating. However, with the higher resolution ink jet print and and low resolution lens, the result can be good quality.
• Ink jet printing with solvent (if flatbed, directly on the lens)
  For small print run and large print format. The result is disappointing. The dot is big, the RIP resolution is not good enough and it is difficult to print in register on the lens.
• Flatbed UV Ink jet printing (directly on the lens)
  For small to medium print run of big size print (up to 5′ x 9′). The quality is good enough. RIP resolution can be up to 1500 dpi. Instant drying. The lens can be put outside.
• Indigo digital printing (directly on the lens)
  Rarely used. This printing system is expensive and limited to a 24 pts resolution. For small print run only.
• Photographic printing (print applied on the lens)
  Rarely used. Too old technology, too expensive and with a limited resolution.
• Digital proofing systems (Waterproof ou Kodak Approval) (print applied on the lens)
  Really expensive but with an exceptionnal quality. Minimum of 2400 dpi and up to 400 lpi. The equipment is expensive and the processing is very slow.

Different “pitches”

Mechanical pitch: The exact physical count of lenticules per inch. Pitch value is measured in Lenticules Per Inch (LPI).

Visual pitch: the distance at which we have the best visual result.

Prototype pitch: determined from the visual pitch, is the pitch in which we must interlace the document to acquire an appropriate prototype.

Printing press pitch: determined from the visual pitch, is the pitch in which we must interlace the document to acquire an appropriate final print.

Why different pitches?

Mechanical pitch: for exemple, a 75 LPI lens is not exactly composed of 75 lenses by inch. The pitch is more of 75.52. So, it is composed exatly of 75.52 lenses by inch.

Prototype pitch vs. printing press pitch: The lens strips are round and on a 20″ X 28″ lens format it is impossible at a short distance to visualise the center of each strips (necessary data for interlacing). We use a linear sample, a “pitch tester”. With this tool we determine at which resolution the pitch is locate for a maximum visual effect.

WHy do we have different pitches for the prototype and for the final print ?

The prototype is an ink jet print laminated manually on a lens. The final print is printed directly on the lens. These 2 kinds of print are diffrent in many ways (paper/plastic lens, resolution…) So for all different kind of printing, there’s a different pitch.

Definition : The process of striping a sequence of images for animation effects, or views for 3D effects, and arranging them in order to a given pitch to be printed and viewed through a properly positioned and aligned sheet of lenticular lens material.

Interlacing is the key to the lenticular technology. The software place the frames in order and creates the file that you will print. It is mostly a mathematical formula that slices images to the right width and arrange them accordingly.

For a flip effect of 2 images, the first band is a strip from image 1, the second from image 2, the third from image 1, and so on. The software then saves the interlaced image in a file ready for printing. An image print is now produced whose characteristics represent a map of the interlaced images and which includes one or more desired visual effects. A very high end prepress system and RIP is used to process this file to print.

Interlaced file size: Number of Frames x Proofing Pitch LPI of the Lens x (resolution÷300) = PPI. For many lenticular document, it is usual to see file size as big as 500 MB and way over that.

Here is a VERY frequently asked question. And as a matter of fact it has a huge importance for the chosen effect of your lenticular piece.

The lens is like a little magnifying glass, so it shows what’s underneath, and your eyes are pretty close from one an other (less then 3″ apart), so when you look at the vertically printed lenticular, each eyes don’t see the same group of lens. And when the lens is horizontally printed, your eyes see the same group of lens at a certain angle.

For exemple; for a Flip, you like to see image A then image B. So you need to have the lens horizontally printed so each eyes see the same thing AAA then BBB.

For an Animation, you have a lot of images, and again each eyes must see image 1 then 2 then 3 and so on… You must control what each eye see, so the lens will be printed horizontally.

For the 3D effect, it’s different, you have to trick the eyes to see something a bit different from each eyes. So the lens must be vertically printed. We use the shift in the lens to trick the brain. That’s why we can not have a 3D effect with a horizontally printed lens.

What will happen if we make a flip A/B and have the lens vertically printed?… It will flip, but not as sharp as it should be. Your right eye will see something a little before the left, so ghosting will appear.

Sometime we have no choice. So we can modify your document or change the lens type to maximize the effect, and reduce ghosting.

It’s all about the basic proprieties of the lens. Your lenticular consultant will be happy to offer you the best advises for your project.

click here to contact us

Printing lenticular on an offset press it not easy. Alter-Ego with the AlterAction process has developed a unique way to do that.

At Alter-Ego we don’t only print lenticular. We start in 2004 to print on Ez-fix, an electrostatic plastic film that sticks on all clean surfaces. At that time, Alter-Ego was one of the few to be approved to print on that kind of material. Now, with the advance of technology and techniques, Re-fix has been added to the great line of products that we offer. Re-Fix is one side coated with a special adhesive that sticks to all clean surfaces for up to 2 years WITHOUT damaging it.

With a very strong experience in plastic offset printing, going from there to lenticular was not that big of a step. The plastic sheets are different, but for the press it is basically the same.

At Alter-Ego, we have the tools and the experience to handle special plastic printing… and we continue to innovate.

Alter Ego is proud to have the Ex-fix, the Re-fix and the Lenticular as there high end produts. Alter-Ego is also a premium commercial print shop that can handle every printed projects. From business cards to annual reports and art reproductions.

Contact us at Alter-Ego

Usually, commercial printers use document digitalized at 300 to 400 dpi. With that resolution, you can make plates at a resolution of 2400 dpi for a 150 lpi screen. What does LPI means? LPI is short for Lines Per Inch, which is the number of dots per linear inch. It is basically the screen used to get the ink from the plate to the blanket and to the paper. The more fine the screen is, the more sharp your print will be, the less you will see the pattern. Generally, the higher the LPI, the better the photo (unless it is higher than the printer can allow).

Here at Alter-Ego, we don’t use that screening technique. We use stochastique screening. A sophisticated screening technology producing a continuous tone that ensures a better, more reliable production for high impact images. Very few printers in canada have the expertise and the technology to print with stochastic screening. At Alter-Ego we print in stochastic 99% of the time. We mostly use a stochastic screen of 20 micron, that is basically equivalent to 500 lpi… way higher than most of the competition.

For the lenticular printing, we tried a lot of combination of resolution and screening, and we settle for 800 lpi. Yep! the highest resolution possible now. No printer ever print at that resolution anywhere. On paper it is almost impossible to print a 800 lpi screen that stay sharp and stable, but on a lenticular plastic lens we can do it.

Alter-Ego is using the Alteraction unique process to get the best quality from the computer to the plastic lens.

Ask for free samples, you won’t believe you eyes.

Flip is fun, Animation is awesome… but can we push it to get a movie on lenticular?
The answer is yes!

HOW?

First, we have to choose the best clip of a movie. We select some 5 seconds clips and compare them to each other. The best clip will be extracted from the animation or the movie. From that 5 seconds part, the best 3 seconds will be used.

Here is some important points to know before the selection of a good clip

• Colors - go for vibrant and contrasted colors. NO black & white
• Movement - Up/Down mouvement makes a better effect than Left/Right
  Don’t put too much in the same clip. The simpler is the animation, the better is the effect.
  Ex: The movement of a dog jumping will be better reproduced and more effective than the movement of a dog jumping in the arm of a man who turns around and put the dog back on the ground… limit the movement to one

The best advice - Ask for professionnal advices from the Alteraction team before you start extracting your movie clip. They are the best people to guide you from good to best.

You can send us your movie for advice and/or approval by email of by ftp server.

So lets have a little light, a camera and…. Action !

Impact is key!

Advertising/Marketing companies always look for the most effective way to promote their business.

Lenticular promotes brand and product using motion and animation, not just one still image, which immediately makes it stand out from ordinary print advertising. It is an eye-catching marketing tool that screams for attention. Lenticular has incredible staying power. By captivating and intriguing, any lenticular effect not only increases customer view rates, but it also makes your marketing tools unforgettable. Lenticular products retain customer consciousness for a longer time. This is an efficient and effective way to get your company name remembered to potential customers.

Lenticular is cost-effective and delivers multiple high-impact messages from a single source. It is one of the most affordable, and effective type of printing in the industry. It can also increase product sales. A case study has proven that using lenticular products for promotional items can increase your return on investment up to 40%. That medium of advertising has proven itself by delivering a lot more bang for every dollar spent!

And from a more artistic point of view, lenticular allows you to expand your creative horizons with movement, depth and animation. Lenticular effects will give life and motion to your images.

No doubt that there are clear marketing and artistic benefits in the use of lenticular for advertising.

Ask for free samples, you won’t believe you eyes.