Lenticular software and interlacing

Interlacing for Lenticular, continued

• Interlace your art to the planned effect.
  There are a number of lenticular and lenticualr software packages available and we can't possibly cover them all. What we can do, however, is explain what interlacing is and what these lenticular software packages DO have in common.
  
  

  Interlacing is a process of using a sequence of images for animation effects, or views for 3D effects, and arranging them in order.

  
  For now, let's assume that we are planning a 5-phase animation effect. We have five images. Image 1 will be the start of the sequence and image 5 is the end.
  
  Let's also assume that we are working with a 60 lpi lens that has a proofing pitch of 60.15 lpi. Our goal, as well as the interlacing or lenticular software's, is to create a pattern of 1 to 5
  in which each series of 5 will fit precisely under one lenticule. (Example: 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5 and so on) By doing so, we will have a factor of 5 images per lenticule—resulting in a interlaced file size of 300.75 ppi. How did we come to this figure? Here is the mathematical formula:
  
  Number of Frames x Proofing Pitch LPI of the Lens = PPI
  
  (Our example would then be written to look like: 5 frames x 60.15 lpi= 300.75 ppi.)
  
  This method is used when your target resolution is 300 dpi, because your proofing device—the inkjet printer—works in 300 dpi increments (300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800.) The interlaced files megabyte size will vary due to the changes in physical size and target resolution. This is important to know because if the physical size is large and the target resolution is high you run the risk of creating an interlaced file too large for your computer, RIP, printer, and/or system to handle. A file size of 1-4 gigabytes is not uncommon for final interlaced art that will go to the printing company for production. The closer you are able to interlace to the proofing device's top resolution, the better quality action proof you will create—therefore, producing a higher quality lenticular piece.
  
  Again, using the example above, let's assume 1200 dpi is our target resolution. To achieve this, we will have the same series-pattern of the interlaced images, but rather than having just one set of 5 under each lenticule, we will now have four sets of 5 images under each lenticule. This "x 4" factor will result in a higher interlaced file resolution of 1203 ppi (300.75 x 4.) To do this, you will simply duplicate each frame, or image, four times. Within the interlacing software, it would look like:
  
  1,1,1,1,2,2,2,2,3,3,3,3,4,4,4,4,5,5,5,5 and so on
  
  This is the higher resolution pattern that will fit under one lenticule. Your lenticular software will take this information, slice the input images, and arrange accordingly. The lenticular software you've selected to use should also be able to walk you through this process in greater detail.