Remember in Scooby Doo, when Shaggy and Scooby are walking down the creepy corridor, being followed by the eyes in the picture frame? It’s only after they think they are safe, that a monster would emerge from the frame and chase them.
We can’t—and wouldn’t want to—print real life monsters, but we can recreate the experience of a set of eyes following you down a hallway from a picture frame with lenticular printing. This process uses specific lenticular lenses that act as magnifying glasses to enlarge different images from different angles, creating the illusion of movement. Lenticular printing can give artists and printers tremendous flexibility for creative exhibitions and experimental artwork. There are five commonly seen products that feature lenticular printing:
As early as 1952, political collateral leveraged lenticular printing of the “I Like Ike” moniker for eventual president Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower. Buttons promoting pro-Ike messaging were produced for his campaign, a marketing technique later borrowed by future presidents such as JFK and Richard Nixon.
Postcards commonly use lenticular printing to bring scenery to life, giving the illusion of moving animals, twinkling city lights, idyllic tourist attractions, etc.
The 1958 invention of ocular toys by Victor Anderson allowed children to experience things like miniature television screens depicting animated lenticular content. Due to their cheap manufacturing costs, this type of novelty toy became a popular gumball machine prize.
Similarly, cereal box prizes often use lenticular printing techniques. Colloquially referred to as “tilt cards,” lenticular products became a prominent marketing tool for competing snack and cereal brands. Often, brands led their messaging with information about the prize inside the box rather than the snack itself, due to the overwhelming popularity of the prizes amongst children.
Lastly, lenticular printing techniques are often seen on covers for creative media such as music albums, movies and video games. One of the most famous examples is the Rolling Stones album, “Their Satanic Majesties Request.” Though many prominent artists, such as The Beatles, Johnny Cash and The Velvet Underground have used lenticular art, the Rolling Stones ushered in its popularity on album covers.
Explore Lenticular Printing at Duggal
Duggal Visual Solutions’ lenticular printing department can help bring the awe of motion to your next project. For example, we recently created large-scale lenticular signage for a conference in Austin.