Tips to Avoid Lenticular Print Ghosting

Posted on April 5, 2022

One of the most frustrating things that can happen during a printing cycle is printer ghosting. Especially when the print is lenticular, and the image does not deliver the depth and 3D effect you desired.

What is Lenticular Printing?

Recently 3D lenticular printing has taken over the marketing industry. They do a great job at attracting audiences and have thrilled the marketing industry. The innovative method adds a 3D effect to the image by giving it a certain depth and volume and making it vibrant and stand out from regular posters. The idea behind lenticular printing is that the plastic sheet is lined with many lenses such that when light hits it from different angles, it reveals different images. Since our left and right eyes are both needed to perceive depth, the image is designed in such a way that two slightly different images are visible to both eyes, giving it an illusion of depth.

What is Lenticular Printer Ghosting?

It is an undesirable result of lenticular printing when more than one image is seen at certain angles. Some of the possible reasons are that images on a lens or lenticule have too much color contrast, poor registration, different pitch, or too many frames. Technically, executing and printing a 3D animated image is a difficult task for a designer to achieve. As color contrast is one of the most difficult challenges to achieve for a graphic designer who hasn’t worked in lenticular printing, it is the most common cause of lenticular or 3D printer ghosting.

Avoiding Ghosting Problems with Animation Effect Artwork

Here are a few tips to avoid lenticular ghosting in an animation artwork-

The object is the part of the image that shifts when viewed from different angles on a still background image.

  1.   Object Color

Use a similar color pallet without a big color contrast across all images for images that will be flipped, morphed, or zoomed.

  1.   Object Location

Keep the object of the 3D effect in the same location across all images

  1.   Object Size

Maintain similar size across all images for all objects that are to be flipped, morphed, or zoomed

  1.   Background Color

A light-colored background with a dark primary object of the image is not advisable, and the chance of color leaking is high. It is better if the background is dark and the object image is light-colored.

  1.   Background Texture

Adding a texture to the background image may reduce the potential for printer ghosting.

  1.   Avoid Changing the Entire Image

Certain parts of the image are to remain static, with only some objects moving and changing shape. The background needs to remain the same unless the two images have a similar color palette and texture.

  1.   Text Length

If the image has text, make sure that the length is the same in both images.

  1.   Text Color

Keep the text color dark. It helps avoid other colors bleeding into the text.

By following these simple tips, 3D printer ghosting can be avoided to the maximum. For the best printing solutions with the most technologically advanced tools, book a free consultation with our team, and we will suggest solutions that align with your business needs.

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