Lenticular Art Design Guidelines

Here are some important guidelines to keep in mind when creating art for Lenticular products. Please email us or call 703.521.4843 for orders, questions or additional information.

General Lenticular Information

Since the Lenticular lens only shows a small portion of the underlying print at any one time, very small elements such as thin lines, small text, and some portions of smaller art may actually disappear from the visible image as the finished print is moved. So:

• Always have a 1/8" to 1/4" bleed all around the image (for 3D effects, horizontal bleed should be at least 1/2")
• Avoid thin lines, especially going the same direction as the lens.
• Avoid type smaller than 14 points.
• Avoid italicized or slanted fonts because they get “stepped” when the lenticules cross a letter in multiple places.
• Be aware that the fine parts of serif fonts may disappear.
• Lenticulars generally require a layered Adobe Photoshop file, with layers unlocked and editable and fonts included or font layers rasterized. There are additional specifications depending on the effect — e.g., 3D designs have to be layered a specific way and have bleeds (see below).

Lenticular Effects

Flip/Motion/Morph/Animation/Zoom Lenticulars

• Standard lens orientation is horizontal for up/down flip movement. Side-to-side flip available for signage purposes.
• Art files for these effects need not be layered but should be right resolution and must be editable. All images are converted to Photoshop TIFF files before being processed. Image resolution should be 300 ppi or higher.
• Avoid solid color, black, and white backgrounds.
• Photographs or busy, “noisy” images work best.
• Avoid flipping from one high contrast element to another. For example, flipping from a red ball to a white square, would not work well as the red ball will “ghost” into the white square. Flips work best when the general color, shape of the elements, and contrast of the "from" and "to" pictures are similar.
• Keep the backgrounds the same when possible, while flipping individual images or text of similar shape and color.

3D Lenticulars

• Lens orientation is vertical only for 3D images.
• All images submitted for 3D Lenticulars must be layered files with all elements editable — no placed images. Submit art as a layered Photoshop .psd file.
• Avoid solid color and black and white backgrounds, which reduce the sense of depth. In order to create depth, the background must contain an image or texture. Overlap art elements when possible.
• 3D files should have at least 1/2" horizontal bleed on each side.