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A unique 50-cent coin from the Royal Canadian Mint showcases two different Christmas-themed images as its tilted from side to side. Appearing as the ninth release from the Mint’s annual series of holiday lenticular coins is the 2015 50c Holiday Toy Box Coin. Previous coins in the series sold out.

Designed by Canadian artist Joel Kimmel, the coin’s first image is of toys, a closed toy box and wrapped presents as they would appear on Christmas Eve.

Tilt the coin to its side and a second image emerges that shows the box overflowing with new toys that were unwrapped on Christmas morning. Newly opened presents around the toy box include a model airplane, a world globe, a tin robot, blocks, and an antique style metal toy car.

For more on this holiday toy box coin, visit coinnews.net.

Source: Printing Impressions

PHILADELPHIA—May 29, 2015—This 2015 Gold Ink Awards entry, titled “Universe,” was entered into the Direct Mail category, by lenticular specialty printer Virtual Images, headquartered in Redland, California. The direct mail piece was designed by Adam Johnson, lead creative at Virtual Images.
A lenticular lens was applied to this direct mail piece the 3-D world.

A lenticular lens was applied to this direct mail piece to create a 3-D world.

“Universe” was printed on a 40″ KBA Rapida 104 sheetfed offset UV press, for a press run of 10,000 sheets. Multiple colors were used for this project, as well as diecutting (rounded corners). According to Maile Kaulukukui, sales and marketing program manager at Virtual Images, a lenticular lens was also applied (21.5 mil/100 lip), which she says, creates lots of depth that can be viewed at a hand-held distance. “Lenticular printing is a highly specialized process, and the design, art preparation (interlacing), and printing require substantial expertise and experience,” Kaulukukui further explains.

“Universe” was produced in Virtual Images’ production facility in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. The plant is G7 certified, as well as humidity and temperature controlled. Kaulukukui adds that the company has made investments to its press to optimize cooling and to allow for exceptional image register and consistency on lenticular materials.

Back of the direct mail piece.

The back of the mailer invites readers to learn more about the art of dimension.  Read more about the Gold Ink awards and how to enter here.

02 19 2015

The groundbreaking photo-editing tool marks a quarter of a century with a new ad campaign and a creative showcase.

To celebrate this milestone, Adobe is launching an advertising campaign, entitled Dream On, on The Academy Awards, featuring work from artists and iconic movie images that used Photoshop, including Avatar, Gone Girl, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Shrek.  Adobe is also marking the occasion by showcasing 25 of the most creative visual artists under 25 who use Photoshop. To be considered, artists need to upload their projects to Behance and use the tag Ps25Under25.

Read this entire story at Creative Bloq.

Design still matters, according to a University of Chicago study by Sian Beilock.  "Subtle changes in the placement or packaging of products can have big effects on peoples desire to buy them," Beilock tells NPR. In one study, the scientist asked volunteers to move one of two objects on a table, whichever one they preferred. The study’s subjects were more likely to grab a spatula or a spoon placed with the handle pointed toward them than one that was placed with the handle facing away. More than 60% of the time, people liked the object that was easier to grab.

In 2008, Coke redesigned its two-liter bottle a few years ago to make it curvier and thus, easier to hold and pour, in the words of a Coca-Cola representative. And suddenly, Beilock reports, Coke was selling a lot more of its two-liter sodas than archrival Pepsi.
   

Does this mean Coke knew all about the way the body influences the mind? Beilock says: ‘My guess is [in tests] people preferred that bottle.’
   

Based on her research, she believes that the enticing shape of a soda bottle ‘might push you to buy it even knowing its not the right decision.’

Read the entire article on FastCodesigns.com

"Undoubtedly, there was an evolutionary advantage to fast judgments about whom to trust, to follow, to challenge, and so on. In today’s world of business, though, such snap judgments aren’t always a good thing. Choosing a vendor, a political candidate, or a job applicant based on a 100 millisecond impression may not always yield the best results."

Numerous studies have been conducted on faces and first impressions, using both photos of real people and computer-generated faces. It was a 2006 study by Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov at Princeton that established the power of those first 100 milliseconds.

Read this entire article by Roger Dooley on Forbes.com.

3D printed Pizza premiered at Rome Maker Faire. 

In the future, 3D printers will be as common a kitchen fixture as the microwave oven, and youll print everything from ready-made meals to fresh fruit on them. It sounds like something out of Star Trek – and in fact, the first people to try out 3D printed food will likely be astronauts.

Anjan Contractor is working with NASA to develop a food printer that can be used by astronauts; hes already produced a 3D-printed pizza complete with tomato sauce and cheese. Though it may not rival Romes street food, its a vital step towards long space missions such as a manned flight to Mars. At present, NASA uses Meals Ready-to-Eat; packaged foods that are heated up aboard a spaceship.

To read more about 3D printed food, visit stuff.tv.

Magazine’s art director stresses animation by Christoph Niemann of traffic in the rain is not a ‘technical gimmick’

Famous for its front page art has unveiled its newest innovation - the first animated cover used by a digital magazine.  The animation called "Rainy Day" was created by a German artist named Christoph Niemann.   Niemann has used animated gifs in the past, including a recent projects for Google Doodles for the first days of summer/winter and a project for MoMA called DESIGN AND VIOLENCE. 

The New Yorker’s art director, Françoise Mouly, explained to Mashable how it came to commission an animated gif: “We wouldn’t have done it if it was just a technical gimmick. It had to be a good image. The rain one has the graphic quality and the aesthetic quality that meant it was a modern version of a very old fashioned New Yorker cover."  She added: “I don’t want to set up an expectation that from now on it’s always going to be some kind of added web version of the cover. Most often it will stay as it is. I think that’s the most powerful.”

Read the entire article on the New Yorkers animated gif cover here.  

In a recent video, published on the IKEA website, the furniture giant gives a subtle nod to the power of print.  

Among the features, the man says: The catalog is wireless, has an “eternal” battery life, and comes with “pre-installed” content that can be navigated page-by-page without lag. Pages can be “bookmarked” by turning down their corners, and the catalog supports multiple users via hand-to-hand sharing.

In other words, it’s a typical paper catalog.  

The video, titled "Experience the power of the bookbook" is a spoof of Apples recent ad campaigns has gone viral, creating additional buzz for the retailers catalog,.

"This irresistible attraction was a 3-D printed vehicle made by Local Motors, and interest at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens was intense. Bystanders crowded around, closely inspecting the car’s structure, which combines the body and chassis in a single unit and is made entirely from a composite, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, reinforced with carbon fiber. Commonly called A.B.S., it is the same thermoplastic used to make Lego bricks."

Read more about the first 3D printed car here.

Virtrual Images, leading provider of high-quality, US manufactured lenticular, wins pewter in the category of dimensional printing.  The piece entered, titled "Dancer" is part of Virtual Images 2014 self-promotional direct mail campaign.  

The Gold Ink Awards is the industry’s most prestigious print competition, from Printing Impressions magazine.  For more information on the Gold Ink awards, visit their website here.

VIRTUAL IMAGES MEDIA CONTACT:
Maile Kaulukukui
909-255-7312
mkaulukukui@virtual-images.com

Amazon unveiled its latest Fire brand of devices this week, its first foray into the smartphone market with the company is calling Fire Phone.  There’s several interesting features and services that were announced today.

The rear-camera is 13MP with f/2.o five elements lens, Image Stabilization, as well as a dedicated camera button, which allows you to take a picture even if the screen is off. It will take 1080p video at 30 fps from both the front and rear-facing cameras. It can take shot with Panorama, Lenticular, and Burst capture.

For more informatoin on the new Amazon phone, visit groovypost.com.

Perth Mint of Australia has released a series of 3 silver coins that integrate lenticular.  These 1 oz. silver coins feature 5 of the characters from the 2014 blockbuster, Transformers: Age of Extinction.  Available in the Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Lockdown, or as a three coin pack.  

In celebration of the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Perth Mint is proud to present a coloured Lockdown 2014 1oz silver proof lenticular commemorative.  Four million years ago on the planet Cybertron, emotional and perceptive robots with the ability to think and feel, known as ‘Transformers’, inhabited the planet. This highly intelligent race of ‘robots in disguise’ was divided into two opposing groups, the heroic and admirable Autobots, and the evil Decepticons.  With the ability to disguise themselves by transforming into everyday vehicles such as cars and trucks, the robots can live undetected on Earth."

For more information on these coins, visit the Perth Mint website here.  

A new collector coin and stamp tell the story of the Ghost Bride who has made the Fairmont Banff Springs her eternal home since the 1930s when, upon stepping onto the staircase, she suddenly stumbled and tragically fell to her death. Since then, some claim to have seen an apparition dancing in the hotel's ballroom or walking down the staircase, as she did on that fateful day which brought a tragic end to her love story.  The coin and stamp were unveiled today at the Fairmont Banff Springs.

"Canadians have long recounted ghost tales that delight and frighten people of all ages," said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "We're proud to produce coins that not only highlight such fascinating Canadian stories but also create a lasting impression through design and the innovative use of technology."

Thanks to the creative use of lenticular technology, a uniquely haunting effect is produced when the coin is tilted: the bride's eyes suddenly spring open, while the candles that lined the staircase light up the once-black background.

For more information on this stamp series, visit the Canadian Mint's press release. 

London design studio Raw Edges has designed a series of carpets that appear to change colour throughout the day.

The Lake Collection was created for Persian rug company Golran and is based on the optical-art technique ‘lenticular’, commonly used by artists such as Yaacov Agam and Victor Vasarely.

By varying the pile heights in the rugs, Raw Edges have created a patterned carpet that can be perceived differently depending on the viewer's vantage point.

The illusion means that the rugs may look bright and colourful in the morning but become more muted throughout the day, changing their appearance in a way similar to the reflection of water from a lake.

For more information about Raw Edges' rug collection, visit Design Milk. 

VIRTUAL IMAGES GRANTED PATENT FOR DIMENSIONAL PRODUCTS WITH VISUAL
EFFECT ON PRE-SELECTED AREA OF A LENS SHEET

PATENT NO. 8, 693, 101 B2; “LENS SHEET HAVING LENS ARRAY FORMED IN PRE-SELECTED
AREAS AND ARTICLES FORMED THEREFROM”

REDLANDS, CA – May 16, 2014-- Virtual Images, a division of Travel Tags, Inc., a worldwide leader in the manufacture of products containing dimensional or visual effects, including Travel Tags’ custom INFINIDEPTH® printing technology and lenticular printing technology, was recently granted U.S. Patent No. 8,693,101 titled “Lens Sheet Having Lens Array Formed in Pre-Selected Areas and Articles Formed Therefrom” by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The ‘101 Patent generally describes products that contain “spots” or areas on a sheet that have pre-selected placement of lenses and other areas of the sheet that do not contain lenses, allowing for the printing of dimensional or visual effects on very specific locations of the sheet.  Below is an example of the Spot Lens:

For over forty years, Travel Tags and divisions such as Virtual Images, have held a passion for innovative solutions that provide customers with unique and exclusive printed products. They do this by staying current on new technologies, developing applications and investing in new and improved equipment and processes. Travel Tags’ worldwide patent portfolio consists of over 100 owned or licensed patents (granted or pending), including this new advancement.

Dimensional printing includes various types of printing to accomplish special or unique graphic effects, including the illusion of depth and motion. Lenticular printing and INFINIDEPTH® printing are two such examples of dimensional printing. Each is accomplished by utilizing graphics that are specifically prepared and combining said graphics with lens sheets, including lenticular lens sheets, fly’s eye lens sheets and other lens sheets, each of which is made up of an infinite number of little lenses of various, pre-determined shape.

“Our customers have one more option to ponder when considering integrating dimensional into their product or packaging solution,” stated John Tomczyk, vice president of innovation. “Before this patent, individuals would either have had to adhere lenses to the surface of their product, or utilize an entire section of lens as their product.” Tomczyk continued by stating that “there was a niche market that we identified, worked through the possibilities of what it would take to manufacture efficiently, and patented the process that we feel brings these capabilities to market.”
For more information this patent or other print technologies, contact Virtual Images.

VIRTUAL IMAGES MEDIA CONTACT:
Maile Kaulukukui
909-255-7312
mkaulukukui@virtual-images.com

Latest report on Amazon's first branded phone, including leaked photos, suggests the company will play up the device's 3D interface, which is said to set it apart from the competition.

"The other four front-facing cameras are low-powered infrared cameras that track the position of a user's eyes. This allows the phone to constantly adjust the position of the images on the screen, creating a 3D experience."

Read more on Amazon's new branded phone on CNET.

REDLANDS, CA – November 14, 2013 -- Virtual Images®, the nation’s leading provider of high-quality lenticular and specialty printed products, is pleased to announce its recent qualification as a G7 Master Qualified Printer.

G7 is an international standard (TR015) for calibrating printing presses and proofing systems to a common visual appearance. The G7 methodology uses gray balance as the driving force for achieving visual similarity across all print processes.  Virtual Images is now part of the elite group of proof and print service providers who have successfully proven capable of providing the highest quality color printing.

By qualifying as a G7 Master Qualified Printer, Virtual Images has demonstrated that “thorough production of print and proofing, the knowledge and skill required and the fundamental practices essential to meeting the G7 methodology in a graphic communications production environment,” according to IDEAlliance, which manages the specification and the qualification process.  IDEAlliance is a non-profit industry association guiding and publishing print media methodologies, specifications, and standards.

Along with parent company and manufacturing location, Travel Tags — also G7 Master Qualified Printer — Virtual Images assures their customers that they benefit from the most modern printing technology, techniques and process controls available today in the graphic arts industry.  Achieving color consistency when printing on multiple platforms, in various geographic regions, is a critical component in brand management.

VIRTUAL IMAGES MEDIA CONTACT:
Maile Kaulukukui
909-255-7312
mkaulukukui@virtual-images.com