2013

Lenticular Technology an Innovative Solution

Lenticular Technolo ogy An in nnovative solution

Introduction:
Marketing g impacts of a product can n be greatly im mproved by using u 3D or moving objects s. In a survey conducted d by reputed agency; peop ple preferred 3D ads as mu uch as 2.5 tim mes more than its 2D ads. In the same surv vey it was also o found that people felt th hat the 3D ad ds looked bett ter almost tw wice; as compa ared to 2D ads. r Printing tech hnology has come c very handy in making the 3D adve ertisement po ossible at the e Point of Lenticular Purchase (POP); thus assisting a in the increased sales s at afford dable advertis sing cost. The e advances in the lenticular printing and material tech hnology have e resulted in the evolution of practical and a profitable e ment applicat tions. Market ting impact on the consum mers mind is greatly g improved by using the advertisem Lenticular r Printing tech hnology. Thou ugh the advanced countrie es have adop pted this technology for several years for the t maximiza ation of the marketing, m in India I we are still s at nascen nt stage and thus t we have great potential of tapping th his market in near n future. In this article a brief of f the lenticula ar printing tec chnology is di iscussed with h relevance to o application and a usage. Lenticular r Technology y: Optical lenticular sheets are fine lin near arrays of f convex lense es with specif fic optical view wing characte eristics y known as L Lenticular. Le enticular lenses are made from special pieces of tran nsparent plas stic sheets commonly with numbers of lines on one side of o the surface e as shown in figure.

cular lenses are defined by y their numbe er of the lense es per linear inch i on the le enticular shee et for The lentic example 60 6 LPI means 60 lines per inch or 60 len ns per inch i.e e. one inch of f lenticular sheet will have 60 lines

(lens) on it. Lenticular sheets are available from 10 to 200 lenses per inch (LPI) for various commercial applications. Commercial quality optical lenticular sheets are generally produced by extrusion of optical quality polymer such as APET, PETG, PMMA, PS, PC or PVC onto cylindrical engraved mandrel. This technique is very popular due to its cost efficient and large volume production. Lenticular material can be provided as individual cut sheet or in web rolls of defined width. Lenticular sheets made from PET are becoming very popular in commercial printing applications. Lenticular printing: Lenticular printing or 3D stereoscopic printing is a technology which uses a lenticular plastic to produce images with an illusion of depth or the images have the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from varied angles. 3D Lenticular Printing can be carried out by two different methods. One is called direct lenticular printing; in this case the image is printed on the plane side of the lenticular sheets whose thickness must be less than 1mm, which is suitable for big batch manufacture. The other one is called lenticular lamination, the image is printed on the paper at first, and then the paper is laminated on the plane side of the lenticular sheets or boards, which is suitable for smaller run. Interlacing: Interlacing is the key to the lenticular printing technology. Interlacing is a process of stripping a sequence of images for creating the effects. For e.g. 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. It is mostly a mathematical formula that slices images to the right width and arranges them accordingly. The software then saves the interlaced image in a file which is ready for printing. An image print is produced whose characteristics represent a map of the interlaced images and which includes one or more desired visual effects.

Interlace Image

The interlaced image is printed directly on the back of the lenticular piece of plastic or it is printed on paper which is than laminated with lenticular plastic sheet. The lenticular lens isolates and amplifies the interlaced image underneath it in such a way that only one original image at a time is seen to the viewer. The image changes with the change in the angle of observation. When the lenses are placed vertically, each eye sees a different image and thus creates an illusion of a 3D image. Lenticular images are very attractive and 3D effects can be produced with amazing effects. Applications: Lenticular printing is finding innovative and attractive applications in various fields such as advertizing and packaging. Few application of lenticular printing is as listed below: Cards Calendars Coasters Electrostatic stickers ID cards Magnets Mouse pads Playing cards Scratch off cards Vinyl stickers Trading cards Video / CD covers Post cards In store signages Membership cards Loyalty cards Frequency cards Key rings Stickers Mobile covers Posters Menu boards Brochures Magazine inserts Comic books Mini catalogs Pressure sensitive and self adhesive labels etc.

Lenticular Effects: Various effects are possible with lenticular technology such as Direct Flip, Zoom, Morph, Animation, and 3D. Based on the effect required the artwork needs to be modified to obtain desired effects. Direct Flip: This process is one of the most basic forms of lenticular effects. It works great for illustrating before and after effects. Flip is a good way to deliver multiple messages within the same space. This process involves 2 to 3 different images which switch back and forth, the animation may be up/down movement or side/side movement. Up/down movement is crispest switch since both the eyes 4

are on the same plane when viewing. Flip imagery is great for associating a product or brand with an appropriate message. For example, a photo that illustrates a product feature or lifestyle could then change to company logo.

Before

After Flip

Zoom Effects: A Zoom effect begins with a smaller image and transforms it into a large version of the image. Zoom effects is a great way of communicating a message. This process is similar to using a zoom lens on a camera. Motion blur techniques can be incorporated to enhance the effect and increase focus on the central image. Zoom effect is a great way to highlight a product or LOGO within a photograph or illustration.

Before

After Zoom

Morph Effects: In this effect one image is a gradually transformed into another different image using computer animation. Better results are obtained if both the images used are of similar shape and sizes.

Morphing Sequence

Animation / Movement: This type of effect is generated by use of several sequential images which differ slightly from one image to the next one. Both the eyes tend to observe the same image; but small movements of the observer or the printed object can cause a transition to the next image in the 5

sequence. Using around 30 images, it is possible to create a full animation video that can last about one full second.

3D effects: Each eye sees a different image due to the angle the images are printed, creating a 3D effect on all or part of the image. The 3D effect requires only very small change in the viewing angle to bring about change in the observed image. Selection of lenses: Selection of Lenticular sheets based on LPI: Thin lenticular lenses are suitable for small handheld pictures; lenses above 60 LPI are considered to be thin lenses. These lenses are preferred for closeup applications where the application involves short viewing distances. Thin lenses find major applications in packaging, postcards, greeting cards, business cards, puzzles, cups, and various promotional items. Thick Lenticular lenses range from 1060 LPI; are sturdy and perfect for large outdoor and indoor advertising applications. Thick lenses are more suitable for printing wide format applications and find applications in airport, tradeshows, malls, bus shelters, train displays etc. General applications of Lenticular Sheets based on the LPI and thickness: 20 mil 60 LPI 33 mil 40 LPI 18 mil 75 LPI 14 mil 100 LPI 23 mil 100 LPI 10 mil 150 LPI Flip / animation lens and large format Large format general General lens (Hand held medium large and poster) General Lens (Hand Held Small medium ) 3D Specialty lens Labels

Selection of Lenticular Lenses based on the Printing Technique: The selection of the printing methods based on various lenticular sizes is as given in the table. For voluminous jobs it is preferred to go for the offset printing.
Print Process / LPI Large Format Inkjet Offset Flexography 10 x 15 x 20 x 30 x 40 x 50 x x x x x x x x x 75 85 100 140 200

Selection of lenses based on the Viewing Distance: If the viewing distance from the object is know than it becomes easy to narrow down the selection of the Lenticular Lenses. The relationship between the viewing distance and the LPI of the lenticular sheets is given in the table for quick reference.
Distance / LPI 6"12" 12 feet 26 feet 615 feet 1530 feet > 30 feet x x x x x x x x x x x x 10 15 20 30 40 50 75 x x x 85 x x 100 x x 140 x x 200 x x

Selection of Angle: The angle of lenticules is important when selecting the lens. For good 3D effect a narrowangle lenticular lens with a viewing angle between 1544 degrees works better. While for a good animation effect a wide angle lenticular lens having viewing angle between 44 to 65 degree works better. Lenticular sheets are available in thickness range from 0.008 to 0.385 inch. Standard sheets are available in various sizes; the most commonly sheets used for offset printing is 20 x 28 to 28 x 40. Lenticular material is also available in continuous roll form which is used for the web printing purposes. The quality of the lenticular sheet is depended on the clarity of the sheet which in turn depends on the type of material used for making the sheets and also the process controls.

L Orientat tion Choosing the Correct Lens al Lens Direct tion: The hor rizontal lens direction d is the best choice e for motion images and fo or Horizonta Flip image es.

Horizontal l Lens Direction

Vertical Lens Dire ection

Vertical Lens Direction n: It is advisab ble not to use e the horizont tal lens direct tion for walk kby displays s or al lens direction is preferre ed. Also 3D works w best wit th the vertical lens posters; for this applications vertica direction.

ons: Lenticular is a unique display medium which off fers fascinatin ng effects to flat f prints; It Conclusio increases the visual aw wareness of th he product an nd services. The T consumer r is fascinated d by the lentic cular effects wh hen they walk k past the len nticular print. Lenticular pr rint allows the e consumers to halt, move e from side to side to wa atch the display thus ensuring that the consumer spends more time with the act. product advertising for better impa r Printing tech hnology will bring b a revolu ution in the marketing m and d brand promo otion for the Lenticular products. As the maturity in the ma arket increase es more and more m people will try to exp plore this mode of ment for the better effect and brand build up. advertisem

About the Author: The author Mr. Bhupendra Singh is associated with GRACE TECHNOLOGIES. For further details:

Email: info@gracetech.in Web: www.gracetech.in