About Us
Authentic Cards is a small, family-owned business based in southern Oregon. We specialize in the design, manufacture, distribution and sale of lenticular 3-D products such as postcards, magnets, bookmarks and rulers.
Lenticular products were transformed in the last decade by the exponential growth of computer power to manipulate graphic images. “Lenticular” is the name of a plastic lens with tiny, parallel lines that can make an image appear to be 3-D or shift with another image. Printed lenticular products can result in one of three types of effects: 3-D, flip, or animation. Using specialized software, a 3D image is created by modeling or ‘slicing’ one photo into 17 separate layers. The flip effect uses two photos. The lenticular lens flips from one to the other as the product is shifted up and down or from side to side. Similarly, animated cards give the impression of movement by combining 17 video frames into one product.
The digital data from the selected photos is converted into a file which prints in reverse on the back side of a plastic lenticular lens. The printing process combines the 3-D model layers so a person with two eyes can see different layers of the image at the same time. Each eye sees a slightly different layer of digital data at the same place on the image, creating the impression of a 3-D effect. The combination of all 17 graphic layers makes the product appear three-dimensional.
After printing, the photograph under the lenticular lens is sandwiched inside a bright white paper sheet. The paper sheet also allows us to provide printed text on the back side of the postcards and bookmarks, telling the story of the photo for the public.
Relying mostly on photography and sometimes on artwork as needed, we strive to create authentic postcards and magnets that surprise and excite people, making souvenirs that are vibrant and real. All products are designed in the US but printed in Germany to obtain the best graphic effect.
Owned and managed by Bill and Iris Hunt, the business has grown steadily during the last ten years and now includes about a thousand different items. Orders are filled from our warehouse in Oregon.
