New markets for lenticular

   Hollandridderkerk innovates with Screen Truepress Jet

For nearly 20 years Pixel Stereography and Hollandridderkerk have been cooperating to produce lenticular products. They are taking their cooperation to the next level with the purchase of Screen´s very fast large format printer. This investment allows them to produce highly creative lenticular applications for companies and individuals.

Pixel Stereography was started by Coen Holten who has a passion for lenticular. He was a pioneer and is now the leading expert in lenticular in the Netherlands. Making the biggest lenticular in the world – a 500 square meter lenticular used by Audi during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The printing, form milling and protective foil application was handled by Hollandridderkerk.

Watch the video about the building of this spectacular project

The principle

“We started in the 90s where the process involved making photo chemical prints which were then glued behind the lens” says Arno de Winter, Technical Director at Hollandridderkerk. The 3D and flip effects were quite good. It was however very labour intensive and the quality wasn´t as good as it is now. “The best lenticulars were made by lighting the film through the lens to get the breaking of the light exactly right. That is how the lenticular postcards were made. To do this with digital printing you will have to measure the breaking of the light and that makes the design much more complicated.”

Lenticular material consists of ribbed lenses that enlarge the lines behind the lens. Depending on the angle of view it enlarges a different line. If you are in front of a lenticular and look at the middle lens you see the line that is directly behind the lens. If you look at the side the angle is skewed and the line is more to the side. The size of the lenticular and the placement of the lines influence the distance for the best effect.”

Pioneering with inkjet

The introduction of the inkjet was both interesting and challenging for the production of lenticulars. Holten says: “We had to really search for the right carrier. As soon as ink hits the paper it will expand and shrink again after 20 minutes. Since aligning is crucial the gluing element is very important. We could have a good print, but if it was glued too late the effect would be lost. It was almost impossible.”
Once polyester became available without the stretch/shrink issues, things became easier but still challenging because the material would move when printing from the roll. A line pattern parallel to the print direction resulted in bends that didn´t fit the lenses. The UV flatbed printer was the solution for printing larger lenticulars. The lines stay aligned and there is no need for gluing because the printer prints directly on the back of the lens. The quality improved dramatically, but it was quite a slow process which made production relatively expensive.

Faster and better

Faster high quality printing on a UV flatbed printer has been De Winter´s wish for a long time. Last year he visited Screen to see the Truepress Jet W3200UV. A printer that is able to print 85 square meters an hour at 3.2 x 1.6 meter with a resolution of 900dpi. Holten tells us: “the great thing about the Truepress is that the register is perfect. The dots are exactly aligned making it possible to print the perfect lenticular. De Winter adds: “We have a lot of large format printing jobs, which we produce in three shifts, but we lacked capacity. We really needed another, possibly faster, machine. I went to the UK to visit the first printer using the Truepress Jet W3200UV. They were so enthusiastic about the machine. We did extensive quality tests at Screen´s Amsterdam location. Add to that Coen´s positive view and we were sold.”

New markets

The new printer opens new markets. Holten: “We can now do spectacular 3D prints and we can work on larger surfaces with smaller lenses – and at a much better price. The lenticular market is still dominated by offset. Small format orders up to A4 are printed with a minimum of a 1000 pieces. This printer makes it possible to do only a few pieces of larger formats and medium sized orders of the smaller formats at very competitive rates.” Holten and De Winter see new markets in event booths and posters, but also the private photo market.

Looking for creative people

An innovative look at adverts for bus shelters or trade fairs is definitely possible. De Winter: “An energy company has approached us to see how they could use lenticulars for a campaign about energy efficiency. A lenticular shows movement without using energy.”

According to the entrepreneurs any client wanting to communicate change could use lenticular to its advantage. Holten: “Lenticulars show two images. It is a great medium to do a before and after. A very short, but impactful movie. We challenge creative individuals to think of innovative applications for lenticulars.”

A great example is a project for Triumph underwear which can be seen here.

More information can be found on the websites below.

www.pixel.nl

www.lenticulair.nl

www.hollandridderkerk.nl