Century-Old Technology Reaches Adulthood

Lenticular printing—once reserved for a kid’s trinket in a candy box--is set to reinvigorate today’s marketing communications.

Marketing in print just got more interesting, not to mention fun, lively and impactful. Lenticular technology, a process that creates the illusion of 3D effects on 2D surfaces, is energizing print communications by adding something that was traditionally unattainable in the medium: motion.

“The lenticular process has come a long way since it was developed in the early 1900s,” said Jorge Cortes, market manager at Eastman Chemical Company, part of a recently formed industry group called Lenstar.org whose goal is to promote and support the technology. “What started out as those magic picture-shifting prizes that as kids we pulled out of popcorn candy boxes, is now being used by designers in mind blowing advertising and marketing pieces.”

                                                             Four Times the Effect 
Lenticular offers four effects, each with unique results that provide designers and printers with capabilities they’ve never had until now.
Morphing is an effect in which one image transforms into another. Movement from background to foreground is created by the zoom effect. Flipping gives the illusion of a quick switch between two images. Lenticular can even achieve the previously unthinkable—animation in print. Made from layers of various plastics with highly advanced properties, lenticular’s effects can be created from standard high-resolution images or video footage. Depending on the effect, final printed pieces range in thickness from .0008 to .40 of an inch, and are available in sheets of varying sizes (20 x 28 in. and 28 x 40 in. are two of the most common).

A Full-Service Resource 
In addition to Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Company, Lenstar.org includes the following industry leaders in the lenticular plastics market: Pacur, Inc, Heidelberg Druckmaschinene AG, KBA-Koenig & Bauer AG, MAN Roland, Inc., Komori Corporation, Presstek, Inc., Sun Chemical Corporation, Flint Ink Corporation, Flipsigns, and Photo Illusion.

Lenstar.org aims to serve designers, agencies, brand owners and their printers with an interactive resource for information on the lenticular process. The group is dedicated to providing helpful information that will raise awareness of lenticular’s benefits within the creative community.

For more information visit: www.Lenstar.org