September 2011 - DPLenticularDPLenticular

Monthly Archives: September 2011

DPLenticular presents latest in lenticular solutions at Pamex 2011

25 September 2011 – 16:53

Dalkey, Ireland – October 24, 2011 – DPLenticular, the acclaimed European leader in the supply of Lenstar™

lenticular plastic sheets and rolls for the graphic arts industry, announces its presence at Pamex 2011, the

International Exhibition on Printing and Allied Machinery Industries. Pamex is scheduled during November 1 – 4, 2011

at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India. At the show, DPLenticular will showcase the unique range of Lenstar™ lenticular

products and innovations for offset and digital printing applications.

Lenstar™, designed by Pacur in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (USA) represents a 100% recyclable polymer technology that fits a

niche market requested by creative agencies as well as commercial offset and digital printers. Daniel Pierret,

Managing Director and founder of DP Lenticular explains: “With an expected total of more than 30.000 visitors, we

think Pamex is the best place to create more awareness for lenticular print in India. At drupa 2008, where we had

our own booth in the Innovation Park, many Indian printers were particularly interested in lenticular printing.

Since then, the demand for lenticular sheet material has grown steadily to the point where we are now looking into

establishing our own local warehouse. This would not only shorten our delivery times, but thanks to an increased

efficiency and cost saving, we could also make our pricing more competitive. And that off course is good news for

the printers and their clients.”

Publicity and merchandising opportunities

With India being one of the emerging economies and also one of the biggest film producers worldwide, the publicity

and merchandising opportunities are enormous. Lenticular printing and in particular 3D images can be applied in many

promotional and consumer applications such as POP designs, packaging, direct mail, promotional and various card

formats. This is great news for the local printing industry in general as it creates new business opportunities. At

the exhibition, DPLenticular will showcase many lenticular print samples produced in offset, as well as in flexo

print. Including some posters produced on large format digital flat-bed inkjet presses. The latest developments in

this field have led to tremendous quality improvements, making this technology very suited for lenticular printing.

“Being at Pamex will also give us the opportunity to talk to many printers and get a good picture of the local

market and their expectations,” concludes Daniel Pierret. “With over ten years of worldwide experience in lenticular

print, I think we are well positioned to help and advice Indian printers in setting up and supporting them in their

move to lenticular printing.”

We welcome you at our stand 6242 in hall 6, and for those who cannot wait to learn more about DPLenticular and its

unique range of Pacur Lenstar™ lenticular sheets, please visit our products page.

By Daniel Pierret | Posted in News | Comments Off

Lenstar Plus: ‘The best just got better!’

22 September 2011 – 12:03

Over the past 12 months, Pacur in Wisconsin and DPLenticular have been running a project with the sole aim of improving what is already regarded as the finest lenticular material available on the market today.

This project has now reached a conclusion and as a result of this we are now able to offer a ‘Category 1’ – fully recyclable lenticular material called Lenstar Plus.

Not only have we been able to bring in this important environmental improvement, but also press stability and registration have improved. And this whilst retaining its already well known benefits of clarity and process ability. As a result, initial colour to colour registration has been easier, thus potentially decreasing your press make ready times. This will help you in becoming even more efficient and successful in the lenticular print business.

And last but not least: the best news is probably that all these improvements come at no extra cost. We were able to keep the price for the improved Lenstar Plus material at the same level as the current Lenstar lenticular sheets.

You’ll find the MSDS and safety test reports on the usual page:

http://dplenticular.com/products/regulations/

A definite Plus in quality, but not in price!

Lenstar Plus now carries the PET recycle logo on all sheets.

By Daniel Pierret | Posted in News | Comments Off

Lenticular Flexographic printing ready for the big jump

16 September 2011 – 11:52

Dalkey, Ireland – September 26, 2011 – DPLenticular, the acclaimed European leader in the supply of Lenstar™ lenticular plastic sheets and rolls for the graphic arts industry, announces together with OMET the successful conclusion of printing trials with Lenstar lenticular roll material on the OMET X-Flex flexographic printing press. According to Gianluca Vitali from OMET Technical Dept., the results look very promising and will certainly create new possibilities and markets for many flexo printers. Samples from the print run will be distributed at OMET’s booth 6H90 during LABELEXPO EUROPE 2011 in Brussels.

The trials were done on the Omet X-Flex press. This modular press has full servo driven web control devices, web ride, tension control, and full auto registration with camera at the end of press. The Lenticular material used for the test was Lenstar™ 150lpi, 262 micron roll. The test image was supplied by Pixalen Studio, a company who specializes in high end lenticular pre-press service that includes everything from creative design, interlacing and imposition, to delivering the flexo plates. The latest generation Kodak Flexcel plates were used for the test in combination with Zeller+Gmelin UV-inks.

Not eager to engage in lenticular flexo printing

While printing lenticular images on offset presses has been around for some time, the technology was not an instant hit on flexographic presses. Daniel Pierret, Managing Director of DP Lenticular explains: “Although some successful tests and print runs have been done before, issues around print resolution, dot size, and press registration prevented it from becoming a mainstream technology. One of the biggest problems we had with roll-fed flexo presses was poor registration. Compared to a sheet-fed press, it’s difficult to take a sample during the run to check the image quality. Only when the material is printed, cut and finished, you can see the final result. So, it was quite understandable that people were not eager to engage in lenticular flexo printing.”

Good quality lenticular flexo printing is a reality

However, the combination of higher resolution flexo imaging devices, combined with servo driven presses with auto registration systems and stable Pacur Lenstar™ lenticular roll sheet material, make good quality ‘direct-to-lens’ lenticular flexographic printing a reality today. Bob Marriott from DP Lenticular assisted Omet during the test run. “Matching the best lenticular material with the latest technology and the right equipment is all it takes to make it work,” he says, “and that’s exactly what we wanted to show people by running these print tests together with OMET. Thanks to the servo motors that provide direct drive to the plate and impression cylinders, the servo driven X-Flex has the ability to print with minute changes in pitch. Besides that, the latest generation Lenstar lenticular roll material has proven to be very stable on the press, which is key in getting good results. That, combined with Omet’s automatic register system, made it possible to print 3D images that all looked pretty nice and I believe most people would find them of good quality.”

Added value for package design

This technology allows high volume 3D lenticular production at low cost, and should create more opportunities for lenticular within the packaging market. Daniel Pierret: “It’s just much more cost-effective to print rolled flexographic lenticular for labels, than to convert sheet lenticular to rolls. The short set up times, high speed running, and low waste levels fit today’s market for top label printers. There is no doubt brand owners will see the value of motion graphics for higher-end packaging options and new product introductions. Adding motion or 3D effects to a label is going to be a great way to give a package design added value.”

Bob Marriott concludes: “We are very happy that OMET was willing to help us with the testing. However, having said that, I’m quite sure we can reproduce similar result with any other state-of-the-art flexographic press. Off course, gaining confidence in this field can only be achieved through experience. Every flexo printer will have to go through the same learning curve as the offset guys, but I’m sure that with the combined effort of our lenticular specialists and the technical knowledge of flexo press manufacturers we can bring this to a good end.”

By Daniel Pierret | Posted in News | Comments Off

DPLenticular blows out 10 candles

15 September 2011 – 15:18

Dalkey, Ireland – Oktober 20, 2011 – DPLenticular, the acclaimed European leader in the supply of Lenstar™ lenticular material for 3D and multiple changing animation application for the graphic arts industry, is pleased to announce its 10th anniversary. Founded on September 4, 2001, by Daniel Pierret, DPLenticular acquired a vast experience in the lenticular market, and has earned its reputation as a trusted and leading provider of lenticular products in the EMEA.

The company started as LPC Europe (The Lenticular Plastic Company of Europe), but changed its name and corporate branding to DPLenticular in 2008. Today, the company is still headquartered in Ireland and has secured a leading position in a unique niche market. DPLenticular offers offset and digital printers in the graphic arts industry the highest quality lenticular sheets, as well as a reliable technical support and customized training services.

Lenticular runs through the veins

Everyone knows them, those nice 3D postcards, posters or other 3D gadgets, but if someone asks you how they are made, most of us don’t really know the answer. Ask founder and current Managing Director Daniel Pierret, and you immediately understand why he is one of the leading experts in this field. “Since my childhood, I have always been passionate by photography. At one time, when I was a photographer’s agent, I discovered that an American company was proposing real 3dimensionnal photography. I understood that this could be a new standard in the imaging world, and started proposing 3D photography already back in 1994. I remember selling the first 3D bus shelter’s campaign on the European continent. I guess lenticular and 3D runs through my veins, and as such, many people see me a bit as an evangelist of this magnificent technology.”

Combination of sales and service is unique

Throughout the years, many printers relied on DPLenticular to make the move to lenticular printing. Daniel Pierret sees several reasons for that: “We are not the only supplier of lenticular material on the market, but the combination of sales and service makes us unique. In 2005 Gilles Letouche joined the company and Bob Marriott in 2007. They brought solid hands-on technical experience to our team and have been instrumental in building long term relationships with our customers. Lenticular printing is no rocket science, but without initial training and support, it is very difficult to achieve good results. Every printer has to go through the same learning curve, and we help them in acquiring the basic knowledge about the technology. Once they have that experience, they can manage on their own.”

Abundant availability of lenticular stock material

According to Daniel Pierret, another reason for this success is the abundant availability of lenticular stock material. “Most companies reduced their stock levels, but since printers rely on our stock levels to respond quickly to market demand, we did exactly the opposite. With success, and I must thank my partner Rüdiger Finze for this. He always encouraged us in this way. We store not less than 9 different Lenstar™ lens designs and a total of 42 different articles in our warehouse. Thanks to this large stock in the centrally located port of Antwerp, we are able to deliver our European customers in the shortest delivery times possible. A huge advantage compared to some of the other vendors on the market.”

Collaboration with the main players in the printing market

Over the years, DPLenticular worked together with many different manufacturers of press and print equipment. During drupa 2004, they collaborated with Heidelberg and IST Metz, and at drupa 2008 they had lenticular material printed on many stands like Heidelberg, Fuji Screen, Agfa, Manroland, Presstek, and others. They also work closely together with the main software suppliers as you can see on their website. The 10th anniversary is also a milestone in the successful collaboration with Pacur in Oshkosh WI. Rick Knapp, VP Sales at Pacur, comments: “Ten years ago, Pacur and DPLenticular developed a collaboration with the purpose of promoting Lenstar Lenticular sheet in Europe. This collaboration has been very successful for both of our companies. We continue to enjoy this relationship and look forward to another 10 years of collaboration.”

Bright future for lenticular print

Promoting lenticular print as a creative way to communicate products and services to target audiences is another goal of DPLenticular. With this in mind, DPLenticular and www.lenstar.org introduced the Lenstar Lenticular Print Award (LLPA) earlier this year. Daniel Pierret: “We looked for a way to encourage and reward companies and individuals in the development and use of lenticular printing throughout the communication mix. The response was overwhelming, and we are already preparing next year’s edition, in partnership with drupa. We will also be present at the drupa Innovation Park in 2012, and judging from the many interesting contacts we had at drupa 2008, it looks very promising.” Despite the recent economic letdown of the last years, DPLenticular saw increasing sales figures year after year, supporting the fact that lenticular print is the perfect tool to stand out and generate a strong visual attraction and buying impulse. With this last thought in mind, Daniel Pierret is very confident in the future of lenticular print.