- Avoid thin lines, especially going the same direction as the lens.

- Avoid type smaller than 12 points for regular fonts.

- Avoid solid color, black, and white backgrounds – photographs or busy, noisy images work best. Unlike turning a page to reveal a second image, flip images become visible when the image under the lens comes into view as you move the pad up & down. Since both images are present under the lens, some bleed through or “ghosting” of one image into the other is usually present. The effect of this ghosting is minimized when busier images and backgrounds are used which mask or hide the ghosting.

- Avoid flipping from one high contrast element to another. Flipping from a red ball to a white square, for example, would not work well as the red ball will surely ghost into the white square. Flips work best when the general color, shape of 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.

- Artwork is in Full color process and can be in major formats: PSD, EPS, PDF, TIFF.  Provide in 300 dpi, CMYK.

- Allow 1/8" Bleed (for 3-D effect, allow 5/8"); which means you should extend your background (but NOT the important information) 1/8" on each side, so when it is cut, it covers the "entire" area.  So, for a business card of 3-1/2" x 2", artwork should be 3-3/4" x 2-1/4" (for 3-D effect, it should be 4-3/4" x 3-1/4").

- For Animation Effect: can be submitted as a sequence of images (recommended), or as a movie clip file such as a high res .mov, .avi. Low resolution movie files will not work.

- For Zoom Effect: please send the image at its smallest, and largest state. Zoom effects work best on a common background using layered files so that the zooming element is editable.

- For Morph Effect: can be generated with two images, or sending a sequence of images.

- For 3-D Effect:

• All images submitted for 3-D printing must be layered files with all elements editable — no placed images. Submit art as a layered Photoshop® .psd file when possible. Layered Illustrator® or Freehand® files can be used but will be converted to a Photoshop® layered file before processing. Image resolution should be 300 dpi or higher.
• Avoid solid color, black, and white backgrounds. Black or very dark backgrounds reduce the sense of depth. The background in a 3-D print must contain some sort of image or texture in order for your eyes to register a difference in position for the rest of the elements in the picture.
• Create as much "visual" 3-D and perspective in the original picture as possible. The more 3-D the image looks to start with, the better the 3-D lenticular effect. In general, foreground elements are larger and lighter and background items are smaller and darker. Good color contrast between elements also helps. If elements have their own perspective, shaped with shadows and highlights, exaggerating these properties will add depth.
• Overlap elements when possible. Image elements that overlap even slightly provide additional position reference points for the images printed in front of or behind them increasing the sense of depth.
• In 3-D prints there is one special layer called the "zero layer" or "key plane". This is a layer in the print that is shown in the same position to both eyes so it doesn't shift or change position when the printed piece is moved. This zero layer is always the clearest printing layer in the print. Art elements, such as logos or type that you need to be very clear and not affected by the image shifts required to generate the 3-D effect, should be positioned on the zero layer or close to it. In 3-D space, items printing closer to the zero-layer are clearer and become less sharp as they move into the foreground and background of the picture.
• Custom shapes can be interesting but keep in mind that the foreground and background images will shift right to left as the printed piece is moved. Custom shapes that try to capture a floating foreground or background element will not work as the printed image will move in relation to the die cut edge and may appear cut off in certain views.
• 3-D products are always printed using vertically oriented lens material which is viewed by moving the piece side-to-side
• Allow 5/8" bleed size for 3-D files.

	Poor Artwork	Good Artwork
Flip (2-Phase)	Solid white background allows both images to be seen at the same time -- ghosting effect.	A colorful, busy background minimized the ghosting; making the flip effect much better looking.
Animation (Multi-Phase)	Too many frames lead to a fast and blurry animation.	Using a smaller number of frames (3-9) yields a smooth and crisp animation.
3-D	Dark and solid backgrounds kill depth. No objects overlap. The 3-D effect is hard to be perceived.	Low saturation background allows bright foreground objects to pop forward. Many overlapping objects create a sense of real depth. Larger objects are on top of smaller objects.

Don't have Camera Ready Art?  Not to worry!  Our skilled graphics artists can CREATE your entire artwork from scratch with minimal charge.

If you only want text/numbers to be imprinted (no design), let us know and we shall typeset it for you FREE as our complimentary service!
  lenticular, magic motion, flip, hologram, holograph, holographic, advertising