Buzz
From this angle, the card displays one image...Motion cards are becoming increasingly popular. Although they've been around for a while, the number of images these cards can display has skyrocketed in recent years. The earliest versions contained only a few images, but modern ones can showcase enough to mimic a few seconds of video!
And from another angle, a different image appears...
At yet another angle, a different image is visible. In fact, this card features approximately 20 distinct images depending on the viewing angle.Motion cards utilize a unique technology known as lenticular printing. This technique takes multiple images and prints alternating strips of each one on the back of a clear plastic sheet. The plastic sheet features a series of curved ridges, each of which is called a lenticule. When light passes through the sheet, it reflects off the smooth white paper beneath it.
Each color corresponds to a distinct image.
Each lenticule is about 0.3 millimeters in width. If you look closely at a motion card, you can see them. You can also feel the ridges formed by the lenticules.The reflected light passes through the strips of images printed on the transparent sheet. The lenticule is designed in a way that it refracts the light at a specific angle and enlarges the image. The strips are aligned so that all the strips of a particular image are refracted to the same point. Due to the refraction and magnification, you see a single, full image that seems to cover the entire card. As you shift the card's angle, you observe the various image strips as a sequence of complete images.
A close-up view of a motion card reveals the curvature of the lenticules.To dive deeper into motion cards, make sure to explore the patents outlining the process and printing technology.
These resources will expand your understanding:
- How Light Functions
- How Corrective Lenses Function
- How 3-D Printing Works
- World Holographics Homepage
- U.S. Patent 5,424,553: Method for Aligning a Lenticular Material for Printing
- U.S. Patent 5,349,419: Method and Apparatus for Recording Stereoscopic Images
- U.S. Patent 5,716,682: Three-dimensional Card
