Lenticular Prepress Package
Every Lens Counts
The special effects in lenticular printing are fascinating. Their implementation, however, is anything but a walk in the park. Even the smallest inaccuracies spoil the desired effect. A special prepress package from Heidelberg lends a hand.
When it comes to lenticular printing, the devil is in the details, or, better said, in the tiniest of lenses. Hundreds of them reflect graphic data onto a film, depending on the observer's viewing angle. That can lead to interesting eye catchers - for example an ad with an ice-cold bottle of beer suddenly appearingin desert landscape quivering with heat - and just as magically disappearing again. Such effects require utterly precise prepress work: to avoid errors, the printing and lens screens have to match, and the films have to be imaged exactly in line with the lenses. Otherwise, moirés may appear, or both images may be visible at the same time. "The prepress package from Heidelberg targets exactly these two focal points, screens and imaging," explains Mark Ihlenfeldt, Product Manager of Imaging Systems.
True-to-lens screen at the push of a button
Depending on the design, avoiding moirés can be a real feat, even with standard printed products. And with lenticular printing, prepress becomes even trickier, "The screen dots may not overlap with the rod-shaped lenses," explains Ihlenfeldt's colleague Uli Bader. That's easier said than done, because films often vary from batch to batch and expand or shrink depending on the temperature and humidity in the pressroom. Thus, a square inch of film might contain only 74.89 lenses instead of the set 74, for example. So far, printers keep adjusting the angles until they "fit". With the Prinect Screening Editor, however, all you do is simply identify the film that is being used. The tool will then automatically create a screen that fits the film, with ideal screen rulings and angles.
The special effects in lenticular printing are fascinating. Their implementation, however, is anything but a walk in the park. Even the smallest inaccuracies spoil the desired effect. A special prepress package from Heidelberg lends a hand.
When it comes to lenticular printing, the devil is in the details, or, better said, in the tiniest of lenses. Hundreds of them reflect graphic data onto a film, depending on the observer's viewing angle. That can lead to interesting eye catchers - for example an ad with an ice-cold bottle of beer suddenly appearingin desert landscape quivering with heat - and just as magically disappearing again. Such effects require utterly precise prepress work: to avoid errors, the printing and lens screens have to match, and the films have to be imaged exactly in line with the lenses. Otherwise, moirés may appear, or both images may be visible at the same time. "The prepress package from Heidelberg targets exactly these two focal points, screens and imaging," explains Mark Ihlenfeldt, Product Manager of Imaging Systems.
True-to-lens screen at the push of a button
Depending on the design, avoiding moirés can be a real feat, even with standard printed products. And with lenticular printing, prepress becomes even trickier, "The screen dots may not overlap with the rod-shaped lenses," explains Ihlenfeldt's colleague Uli Bader. That's easier said than done, because films often vary from batch to batch and expand or shrink depending on the temperature and humidity in the pressroom. Thus, a square inch of film might contain only 74.89 lenses instead of the set 74, for example. So far, printers keep adjusting the angles until they "fit". With the Prinect Screening Editor, however, all you do is simply identify the film that is being used. The tool will then automatically create a screen that fits the film, with ideal screen rulings and angles.
To do so, the Prinect Screening Editor measures the number of
lenses and their distance, also known as the film's
"pitch". "The generated screen formula is precise to the
hundredth of an inch. This precision makes a difference,"
emphasizes Bader. The human eye, which is normally used to check
the quality while the test form is tilted and turned until a line
looks entirely black or white, cannot compete with this technology.
"The Prinect Screening Editor is far more reliable,"
concludes the lenticular expert.
Automatic true-to-pixel imaging
Different spaces between lenses also impair the imaging process as they cause the number of laser points under the individual lenses to vary. If there are 34 pixels under one lens, there may only be 33 under the next. But if the resolution is not set with an exact number of pixels, undesired "side effects" occur which become worse and worse over the entire width of the film. The three-dimensionality of images can disappear, for example, or one color can change sooner than the others. The Suprasetter lenticular solution Resolution Adjustment (adjustment of the lenticular resolution - not offered in the United States of America) therefore increases or decreases the size of the pixels needed, so each lens covers the same number of pixels. If the manufacturer wants a film to have 75 lenses per inch, but 75.34 are actually measured, the Suprasetter will adjust the resolution accordingly and automatically save it for later use in the workflow.
Lucrative niche
"Thanks to the Heidelberg Prinect Lenticular Workflow, print shops can reach new level of production reliability," explains Ihlenfeldt. "Our customers no longer have to waste time on elaborate test runs, but can rely on the precision in prepress to lead to a high-quality end product." That is of benefit for both experienced lenticular specialists as well as printers who are new to the field and want to offer their customers special applications. Until now, the learning curve has often resembled a suffering curve, particularly for beginners. "The Prinect package clearly reduces the suffering of beginners with some previous knowledge. Nevertheless, those who have never worked with lenticular printing before do require training," emphasizes the product manager. Lenticular printers with comprehensive experience can produce more economically with the prepress package while maintaining or even improving their quality at the same time. Both experts are sure that "there is plenty of room to grow," and they conclude that "lenticular printing will remain a lucrative niche."
Automatic true-to-pixel imaging
Different spaces between lenses also impair the imaging process as they cause the number of laser points under the individual lenses to vary. If there are 34 pixels under one lens, there may only be 33 under the next. But if the resolution is not set with an exact number of pixels, undesired "side effects" occur which become worse and worse over the entire width of the film. The three-dimensionality of images can disappear, for example, or one color can change sooner than the others. The Suprasetter lenticular solution Resolution Adjustment (adjustment of the lenticular resolution - not offered in the United States of America) therefore increases or decreases the size of the pixels needed, so each lens covers the same number of pixels. If the manufacturer wants a film to have 75 lenses per inch, but 75.34 are actually measured, the Suprasetter will adjust the resolution accordingly and automatically save it for later use in the workflow.
Lucrative niche
"Thanks to the Heidelberg Prinect Lenticular Workflow, print shops can reach new level of production reliability," explains Ihlenfeldt. "Our customers no longer have to waste time on elaborate test runs, but can rely on the precision in prepress to lead to a high-quality end product." That is of benefit for both experienced lenticular specialists as well as printers who are new to the field and want to offer their customers special applications. Until now, the learning curve has often resembled a suffering curve, particularly for beginners. "The Prinect package clearly reduces the suffering of beginners with some previous knowledge. Nevertheless, those who have never worked with lenticular printing before do require training," emphasizes the product manager. Lenticular printers with comprehensive experience can produce more economically with the prepress package while maintaining or even improving their quality at the same time. Both experts are sure that "there is plenty of room to grow," and they conclude that "lenticular printing will remain a lucrative niche."
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Lenticular Printing
Lenticular films produce special flip (animation/ stereo), motion, morphing (transformation) and 3D effects. More
