Lenticular printing is a method of generating 3-D, or moving, images by placing multiple image frames behind a series of cylindrical lenses. Lenticular images have been around for decades as exemplified by the kids give-away cards, which typically contain two still images.In this paper, we present a novel method for generating lenticular images based on the laser thermal process. A highpower infrared multimode laser is used to thermally transfer dyes from three donor sheets (cyan, magenta, and yellow) to a lenticular card. The beam is oriented and aligned to the cylindrical lenses to allow a minimum spot size in the cross lens direction. The printing resolution is asymmetric at approximately 2500 by 300 dpi. This method allows the printing of 10 micron continuous tone lines, which yields 34 images behind a 75 lenses per inch substrate. Printing occurs in alignment with the lenticules by premeasurement, rotational alignment, and adjustment of relevant parameters.The printed card is then thermally laminated with either a transparent or reflective backing, which acts as a receiver and protection. The current printer allows individual cards to be printed in less than 5 minutes. Samples will be presented, which show the high-quality motion and stills possible by this process.
Lee Tutt, "A High-Resolution Laser Thermal Lenticular Printer" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP16), 2000, pp 176 - 180, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2000.16.1.art00048_1