Lenticular Digital Printing

National Graphics, Inc. is bringing lenticular capabilities to digital printing. The company was recently issued two U.S. Patents for applying its technology to digital printing.

Patent Number 7,083,340 B2, titled “Systematic Lenticular Lens Selection in a Digital Printing Environment,” is for a method and an apparatus for determining a lenticular lens resolution for use in digital presses.

The lens selection process accounts for variations in digital press machine resolutions, lenticular lens resolution variations and various screening algorithms. The company says the process yields a high-quality, commercial-grade digitally output lenticular image that can have many applications, including use in products such as containers, packages and labels. National Graphics is offering to license this patent to select interested digital printers.

Patent number 6,995,913 B2, titled “Digitally Imaged Lenticular Products Incorporating Customized Elements,” allows for lenticular imaging in variable-data applications (shown). The patented technology enables digitally imaged lenticular products to have a wide range of variance and versions, both from one lenticular run to the next, as well as within a run, thereby accommodating individualized data.

Donald Krause founded National Graphics in 1976 to produce color separations for local printers in and around the Milwaukee, WI area. In 1993, the company's engineering and development team had an idea that resulted in the creation of its patented ExtremeVision mastering and interlacing software. National made the move from color separations to lenticular production in 1994 as the number of lenticular projects began to outpace separations work.

Graphic Arts Monthly's front cover this month was produced using National Graphics' ExtremeVision Lenticular Imaging technology. The image was rendered with 3-D software and printed on a Komori press; for an in depth explanation, see this month's “How'd We Print This?” on page 110. www.extremevision.com