Guides
How lenticular printing works
A picture that moves without a screen or battery. Here’s the trick behind it.
A sheet of tiny lenses
The front of a lenticular print is a clear plastic sheet ridged with hundreds of tiny parallel lenses, called lenticules. Each one works like a magnifying glass that only shows a narrow stripe of what lies beneath it.
Several pictures, sliced and interlaced
Underneath, several pictures are cut into thin strips and woven together: a strip of picture one, a strip of picture two, and so on. Under every lens sits one strip of each picture.
From one angle, every lens shows you the strips of picture one. Take a step and the angle changes — now every lens shows picture two. Your eyes see one whole picture at a time, and moving makes them change.
Flip, animation or 3D
- Flip: two pictures swap — before and after.
- Animation: several frames in a row, like a flip book — that’s how our cat waves.
- 3D depth: each eye sees a slightly different picture, so the image seems to have depth.
Why the lenses run vertically
For a wall poster, the lenses run top to bottom. Then the animation changes as you walk past from side to side — not when you nod your head.
How to hang it for the best effect
- Hang it where people walk past: a hallway, an entrance, opposite a counter.
- Centre it at roughly eye level.
- Light it from the front or slightly from above; avoid direct sun and spotlights that glare on the lens.
- No glass needed: the lens sheet is the surface. Glass would only add reflections.
Caring for a lenticular print
Dust it with a soft, dry microfibre cloth. Avoid solvents and window cleaner, and don’t press anything sharp against the ridges.