Unique 3D effects

droptix

Displays, packaging, posters, POS items and interior decoration elements: enhance them with 3D effects and you have guaranteed eye-catchers. droptix adds the third dimension to your creations and allows immense freedom of format and design. Only clear and sharp lenses will do the job. So, the effect requires utmost precision – which every swissQprint machine has built-in to its DNA.

How droptix works

It’s simple: printed lenses refract a repeating pattern or symbol. In other words, the lenses work like tiny magnifying glasses. Depending on the design, they might cover the entire surface or only specific areas of the substrate. For instance, the product being advertised may be placed at the centre of the image and surrounded by a 3D effect to set the scene. The icing on the cake is when the whole thing is backlit.

Suitable media

Acrylic glass is most common – 2, 3, 6, 10 or 15 mm thick. When it comes to dimensions and shapes, the only real limit is the size of the swissQprint machine’s print bed. With Nyala that would be 3.2×2 metres. When printing smallish formats, you can get maximum utilization of the print bed thanks to swissQprint registration pins, which set as many registration points as needed along the width.

exact-register © swissQprint

What else is required

Of course, the printer must have a varnish channel. That can be retrofitted whenever you need it. The other element is Kea, the exclusive swissQprint software which helps you create the pattern used in droptix. It only takes a few mouse clicks to generate a pattern that will seamlessly integrate with the layout. Kea lets you experiment with parameters including lens orientation: lining them up one way or the other will enhance the effect more or less depending on the design.

swissQprint pioneered the 3D effect introduced in 2014

The technology has been refined ever since. Kea makes the process fast, predictable and fully integrated. By operating in concert with the output software, it saves users many working and thinking steps on the way to achieving precisely the envisaged result. Even tolerances in the substrate thickness can be compensated in the output phase. So altogether, you have a lot more time and latitude for creative ideas.

droptix: a pleasure to view, a pleasure to create.