A lenticular print is a nice form of wall decoration or decoration elsewhere in the house. It gives a unique look.

If you want to make images for this, there are a number of best practices. These best practices apply to all types of images, but especially to graphic designs (this is what this blog is specifically about!).

In this blog we talk about how to design good images for lenticular prints.

The basic rules

With lenticular prints there are a number of things to keep in mind for the best results. It is a very good and widely useful technique, but there are a few things that have quite an influence on the result. Here we explain what the basic rules are. Later we explain exactly how it works!

- 1. Avoid white areas as much as possible.

- 2. Non-solid backgrounds work best. The more detail the better.

- 3. Use low contrast.

- 4. If you want text, make sure the text overlaps.

1. Avoid white areas

White areas generally don't work very well with this type of printing. This is because you can see all colors very well on white. A lenticular lens is transparent and you always look through the lens a little, so you see both photos. With white surfaces, this so-called 'ghosting effect' is greatly increased. ( You can see what that looks like in the video below )

This does NOT mean that you can never use the color white. This is certainly possible, but keep in mind that the white pieces do not become too large or are not different from the other picture.

2. Not even surfaces

With this printing technique: the more detail, the better (this is why photos always work very well). Plain surfaces fit slightly less into that picture. If only the color changes per picture, there is nothing wrong. But as soon as the complete picture changes, you may see the other picture through it a bit, just like with white areas.

When you are designing pictures, remember to use as much detail as possible. Detail can be added in multiple forms. For example, you can use color gradients in your designs. This often provides that little bit of extra detail needed to counteract the ghosting effect .

You can also divide surfaces into smaller pieces. For example, you can use light, shadow and/or lines. By doing this you bring a lot of extra detail into your design and the solid surfaces remain small.

With solid surfaces the ghosting effect is not nearly as great as with white surfaces. Solid surfaces are something to take into account, but it is not a must to avoid them. Smart use of color does many more wonders ( more about this below ).

3. Use of color

Smart use of color is essential for designs with many solid surfaces. There are two main types of contrast to take into account:

• The contrast between light and dark.
• The contrast on the color wheel.

If in one picture you have an area with a very light color, for example light blue, and in the other image the same area is black, then the light blue area can become slightly darker because it is slightly mixed with the black area.

It is therefore best to use colors that are equally light or equally dark. This reduces the ghosting effect to almost zero.

The contrast on the color wheel is the least important. Complementary colors can minimally overlap each other, but at the same time they provide the best effect.

To reduce the ghosting effect here you could opt for 'split complementary' colors. In the video below you can see a map where these colors have been used.

4. Texts

You can create very nice effects with text with lenticular printing. At this point we actually bring the second and third points together. Text often consists of solid surfaces and to make it visible, the contrast is high. This can be a problem, but there is a solution for this too!

When using text (which changes) it is important to place it in the same place on both images. This will blur the ghosting effect so much that it is actually no longer visible. This is especially important with white text.

Conclusion

These are the most important points to take into account. Although it is important to take this into account, see them as guidelines. Often more is possible than you think. Still unsure? You can always send us a message here!