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Barrier Screens

	Power Illusion has always had the capability to print 3D and Flip without lenticular lens. Don't be fooled by fancy names, what we are talking about here is called "Barrier Screening" and has been around for many years. The process is simple, create a pitch the exact width and height of your output lenticular interlace and use the solid black lines to "block" certain views from the lenticular interlace. Barrier screeniing is a backlight only process and is not suitable for reflective lighting. Barrier screening can also result in significant darkening of the image, so a good backlight and diffusion source works best. The example below shows how a barrier screen works.

	The barrier screen is created at the same size and LPI as the interlaced image. The barrier is then printed or mounted to the side facing the viewer. The lenticular image is then printed or mounted to the backside of the plastic sheet. As light comes from the rear light source, the barrier blocks certain views from reaching the viewers eyes, resulting in a effect almost identical to regular lenticular. However because barrier screening completely blocks the light from certain views, 3D and flip will be sharper. In addition, because you are printing on a flat sheet of plastic with no lenticular frequency, there is no need to pitch the file. This maintains the clarity of the pattern, as pitching blends and muddies the pattern. Follow this simple proceedure in Power Illusion to create a barrier screen. Lets say we have a 8 frame 75 LPI lenticular interlace at 600 DPI. Start by launching Power Illusion and from the "Tools" menu choose "Create Calibration"

	For this example we will create a barrier screen 8.5 inches wide and 11 inches tall. Leave the width at the default 8.5 and set the height to 11. Once you have the size entered, click the "Editor" button under the alignment area. The custom editor will pop up.

	Black areas will be blocked while white areas will be clear. In this instance we have blocked the 2 outside frames on both sides of the order. This will vary from machine to machine and you will need to experiment to get the optimal blockage for your system. Using letter size sheets of acrylic with sheets of clear inkjet receptive plastic allows for quick testing of different barrier screens. The great thing about Power Illusion and its custom alignment editor is that it will allow you to create barrier screens in any combination you wish. Once you have choosen the blocking pattern, click "OK" in the alignment editor and then click "Create" in the Create Calibration window and name the file to start generation. Now you area ready to print your lenticular image and barrier without using lenticular lens. Print or mount the barrier screen to the front side (facing viewer), then print or mount the lenticular image to the backside of the plastic sheet. If you are printing directly to the surface of the plastic, don't forget to mirror the lenticular image. Mount in front of a good light source and enjoy the 3D or changing image.