1. How many kinds of effects could be made from
lenticular printing?
It could be broadly
classified as
a.
flipping - one image swap to another, sometimes
completely different, image; mainly 2-3 views
b. animation - multi-views or frames that mimic
motion
c. zoom – images change in size from big to
small, and from small to big
d. morphing – one image changes incrementally
to another image
e. 3 dimensional (with depth illusion) - further
subdivided into:-
i. layered 3D - objects appear in different
layer; traditional type without additional cost
for set up
ii. real 3D - 3d object with round corners created
by software; more time, effort and cost are
required for production and not all graphic
are suitable for th is type
2.
Can we combine several effects together onto
the same images?
It is possible
to combine more than one effect together but
you shall note particularly that there is some
constraint on the result.
For
flip, morph, motion and animation, the alignment
direction of the lenses is flexible - it could
be horizontal or vertical depending on your
required applications. However, for 3 dimensional,
lens must be vertically aligned so as to obtain
the visual parallax of depth illusion.
In
other words, flip, morph, motion or animation
could combine freely with each other but if
you wanted to have 3 dimensional as well, the
flip, morph, motion or animation will become
left to right changing as the lens must be vertically
aligned for 3 dimensional. Less promising flip,
morph, motion or animation will then be the
result.
3.
What is the maximum size of your lenticular
sheet?
To
cater for the requirements of different industries,
we are currently offering two main types of
materials, namely soft PVC and semi-rigid PET.
The maximum size for PVC is 400 x 500mm or 16
x 20" approximately. For PET, our maximum
size could be up to A2, that is 420 x 594mm
or 16.54 x 23.4". However, t he maximum
size is not equivalent to the optimal working
size.
4.
What is your minimum ordered quantity?
We
don't impose any particular minimum ordered
quantity to our clients. However, we do suggest
our client to make at least 1,000 lenticular
sheets to achieve the most economic production
run. It was calculated based on our normal working
size of 14" x 20" for PET or 16 x
20" for PVC.
For
instance, for 5cm diameter PET lenticular 3d
sticker, we could make 54pcs per sheet and thus
our suggested minimum ordered quantity will
be 54,000pcs, say 54pcs per sheet x 1000 sheets
of our suggested minimum.
5.
Will you accept order with quantity less than
your suggested minimum?
Yes,
but please be reminded that the most economic
production run is always achieved based on suggested
minimal ordered quantity. If your project is
not big in scale, please contact our marketing
staff for discussion, we will try our best to
make it happen.
6.
What is lpi of lenticular sheet? Which is the
current market standard?
LPI
stands for "Lines Per Inch" or "Lenses
Per Inch". Generally speaking, high lpi
is required for jobs that require high degree
of fineness and low lpi is required for large
format printing, such as poster.
The
current market standard is 75lpi that can be
used for most general applications. It could
be used to make all kinds of lenticular effects.
For specific applications, there also exists
lens with other lpi, gauge and material.
7.
What do you mean by orientation of change?
Unlike
3 dimensional, the flip, animation, motion and
morphing effects could be shown up only if the
cards are viewed in the correct direction –
we called it "orientation of change".
"Orientation
of change" could be "up-to-down"
or "left-to-right" depending on how
the lenticular sheet is positioned by the lenticular
maker.
For
"up-to-down" changing, the tiny rows
of parallel convex lens are positioned horizontally.
Flip, animation, motion, morphing effects could
be seen only if you rotate the image along the
x-axis or you view the image from different
up or down position.
For "left-to-right" changing, the
tiny rows of parallel convex lens are positioned
vertically. Flip, animation, motion, morphing
effects could be seen only if you rotate the
image along the x-axis or you view the image
from different up or down position.
8.
What is the difference between "up-to-down"
and "left-to-right" orientation of change?
In
general, "up-to-down" changing is
preferred to "left-to-right" changing
for flip, animation, motion and morphing as
the image will be more clear and the ghosting
will be less. It is because our left and eye
see same frame, or view, at the same time for
"up-to-down" changing image but it
is not the case for "left-to-right"
changing effect.
However,
for some applications, especially POP, signage,
poster, "left-to-right" changing is
the only choice as passerby walk across to see
the changing images but will not jump up and
down to see the image unless they are asked
to do so.
9.
Do you have any inhouse design for our selection?
Most
of our jobs are custom-made but it would be
our great pleasure to support our clients in
every aspects whenever they encounter problem
or need help.
Please
feel free to contact us by email 3d@knt.com.hk
for more information.
10.
Is the sample production stage necessary? Can
I skip it?
We
strongly don't suggest our client to skip this
important step. Lenticular printing goes through
a complicated process and your original artwork
has actually been changed artificially before
you could see the effect.
Moreover,
good lenticular print requires particularly
attention to details, skillful workers for pitch
test, careful image positioning onto the lenticular
sheet, and the result sometimes depends a lot
on quite a number of factors, including at least
the design, the color, the lens, the methodology
and the experience of the manufacturer.
It
would therefore be better to see the samples
before mass production. In fact, the samples
could also be used as a yardstick to evaluate
the quality of finished goods and as means to
protect your right when you have quarrel with
your vendors about the goods quality.
11.
Can I specify any particular frame as "front"
and "side" view?
It
is theoretically possibly but not technically
possible to impose any particular view when
you are standing at any particular position.
There are two main reasons.
First, very high degree of precise positioning
is required but the current technology is not
sophisticated enough to guarantee the outcome.
Second, suppose there are two images, say A
and B, when you see the image from different
direction, the images will appear in a repeated
pattern of ABABABABAB.... so it is not possible
to see only A or B images on either left or
right.
12.
How many layers could you make? Can I specify
its order by myself?
The
answer depends on the type of lenticular effects
you are referring to.
Scenario
1: Flip, animation, motion, zoom effects
We
actually call each view as "frame"
or simply "view" instead of "layer".
Some makers will claim that they could make
12 frames whilst some other will exaggerate
their capability by saying that they could make
even 24 frames.
Actually,
there is no fixed answer and nobody could tell
you exactly how many frames could be made. The
fact is "the more the frame you make, the
less visible and brightness each frame will
be.".
To
achieve optimal result, our advice is to note
the following most important affecting parameters
before you decide how many frames you actually
want to make, "the more does not mean the
better."
a.
the size of the changing area
It
is the changing area but not the finished size
of the overall lenticular print that is important.
The size of lenticular print could be as big
as A1 but possibly only a small area will show
up the views changing effect
The
rule of thumb is "the smaller the area,
the higher the number of frames that could be
made."
b.
orientation of change
It
could be left-to-right changing or up-to-down
changing. Ghosting will appear more easily if
the lenses are aligned vertically, or the required
orientation of change is left-to-right, as left
and right eye always sees different images at
the same time.
In
other words, the number of possible frames will
be higher for up-to-down changing than left-to-right
changing.
c.
lens per inch (or LPI) of the lenticular sheet
The
current market standard is 75lpi and has been
enough for moderately acceptable lenticular
outcome but if you wanted to have a better result.
You could ask for lens with lower lpi. However,
there is some tradeoff for doing so. The edge
of graphic will possible become jagged or stair
stepped, and words will become illegible.
More
importantly, the cost will be higher as low
lpi lenticular sheet will usually accompany
with greater thickness so as to get the right
focus on the flat side of the lenticular sheet.
d.
the graphic itself
The
number of visible frame will be smaller if they
are totally different, esp. for flipping effect.
Generally speaking, we suggest making three
views or frames for flipping and, for effects
required more than 3 frames, we would suggest
animation, motion, or zooming so the visibility
of the intermediate frames is comparatively
less important even if certain degree of ghosting
will result.
Scenario
2: 3 dimensional (layered) effects
You
could specify the number of layers required
but we don't suggest our client to do so under
normal circumstances.
It
is because the requirement will reduce the "scope
of imagination" available for our designer
who is supposed to the expert in the field.
Moreover, lenticular 3 dimensional effect is
artificially created with certain degree of
imagination. It relies on the miniature lateral
displacement among different layers to show
up the effect. The more overlapping areas between
different layers, the better the result will
be. In fact, the number of layer is actually,
to a certain extent, limited by your original
graphic.
