News in Brief

Holographic Embossing of Idvac White Metallised Film

Idvac Ltd, UK, a specialist in advanced vacuum and thin film technology, has been investigating the properties of its recent development of white metallised coating with high reflection.

Idvac white metallised film is produced by using a special polymer which is transparent when applied on a flexible film. However, the polymer changes its colour to white following vacuum metallising with aluminium. The metallised aluminium can be applied by using thermal evaporation or sputtering. The final product has a bright white metallised finish on front and back surfaces of the film. In this process no inks or white pigments are used.

In a recent development, Idvac in collaboration with IQ Structures, has succeeded in embossing the white metallised film with a holographic structure. This resulted in an aesthetically appealing holographic image on a white background.

Holographic embossing was carried out without using an extra base coat, which is usually used for embossing films. The polymer used by Idvac to produce the white effect acts at the same time as the base coat is embossed.

Idvac is based in Manchester Science Park, England, and has over 25 years of experience in the holographic industry and 40 years in advanced vacuum coating technology markets including UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Far East, to improve the image, brand and durability of their products. The company develops new processes and supplies process know-how and retrofits to convert standard vacuum metallisers to produce unique coatings for different applications including security documents.

For further information please contact Professor Nadir Ahmed email: [email protected] or visit the website www.idvac.co.uk.

Viridian™ – Sustainable Holographic Packaging

Customer concerns over sustainability is a growing issue in all industries – and packaging is no exception. As a manufacturer of holographic substrates for over 20 years, K Laser Technology is committed to sustainability in metallic and holographic specialty materials. Formulated to be eco-friendly, Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard® eliminates the laminating film previously required to print metallic effects on paper and paperboard. By eliminating the plastic film, packaging produced with Viridian™ can now be 100% recycled. Rest assured, there is minimal metal transferred to the paper or paperboard, which does not affect the re-pulping process, making it a fully renewable solution.

To achieve stunning holographic packaging in the past, offset printers might have to invest in a cold foil rail system, specialty adhesives, printing plates, and other foiling supplies and inventory space. Additionally, the problems caused by achieving proper registration, mastering cold foil release, and reducing waste would have added to production downtime for many offset printers.

Viridian Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard was formulated to solve these issues that plague both printers and designers. Available in sheets or full rolls, Viridian™ comes as a sustainable holographic paper or paperboard substrate with wallpaper or registered hologram patterns. With the specialty effects pre-printed, you can create premium designs by overprinting the substrate with white ink using various screens of opacity to cover, reveal, and colorise the holographic underlayer in a single pass. Now, offset printers can remain competitive in the holographic packaging market without investing in additional equipment and supplies or the specialised operator skills for foil printing.

There is also a service for designers and printers to collaborate with K Laser’s foil designers to create sustainable holographic packaging at the K Laser Cold Foil Design Lab located in Sarasota, Florida.

ISDH2023 – Call for Papers

The 12th International Symposium on Display Holography (ISDH) is scheduled to take place 26 June to 1 July 2023 in Seoul, South Korea.

The first ISDH was convened by Professor Tung H Jeong in 1982 at Lake Forest College in Illinois, USA. The aim of ISDH is to synthesise history, education, art, science and economic developments that involve holography. It is organized by Kwangwoon University and the Hologram Forum, which includes over 20 organisations and was established to create a hologram business ecosystem between companies, universities, research institutes and the Korean government.

The organisers have issued a call for papers along 7 interconnected tracks including colour holography, recording materials and electronic, digital and computer-generated holography. The deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 27 March 2023.

Within the framework of the ISDH2023 conference, a hologram contest will be run by the Hologram Forum in collaboration with Yves Gentet (Ultimate Holography) and Kwangwoon University to find the best projects submitted using the CHIMERA™ recording technique. CHIMERA is a digital holographic printing system jointly developed by Ultimate Holography and Kwangwoon University.

The SOFITEL Ambassador Seoul is the venue for the conference, and you can find more information at http://isdh2023.kr/about221226.php.

Zeiss Becomes Sole Owner of AR/VR Developer ‘tooz’

The interplay between diffractive optics and Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) wearables continues with the news that German optics giant Zeiss has become the sole owner of optics technology developer tooz technologies.

The change in ownership will see tooz become Zeiss’ ‘competence centre’ for AR/VR technology.

‘In the future, tooz will also equip optical systems from other manufacturers of AR/VR optics with prescription lenses to place products with an integrated prescription on the global markets,’ announced Zeiss.

‘Augmented reality glasses without prescription can only serve small niche markets – regardless of which combiner, waveguide or other technology is providing the virtual image. That is why tooz develops prescription solutions for both its own proprietary optical platform and for various other competitive optical systems.’ tooz CEO Kai Ströder said.

Ströder pointed out that current AR/VR glasses were overwhelmingly designed for people with no need for vision correction – even though the vast majority of potential users suffered from short- or long-sightedness or age-related presbyopia, or a combination of both.

Launched in May 2022, the ESSNZ Berlin design from tooz is described as an ‘ophthalmic wearable’ with a day-long battery life. The glasses – similar in appearance to regular spectacles, if slightly bulkier – display information in the wearer’s field of view while retaining their main function of individual vision correction.

‘The curved waveguide lens is the centrepiece of smart glass solutions by tooz,’ said the firm. ‘With several high-precision, free-form surfaces, and an invisible combiner, the lens guides the light from the monochromatic micro-LED display in the right temple to the wearer’s eye.

‘This allows the user to see a virtual image in its field of view that provides valuable information. The curved waveguide allows for seamless integration of vision correction and thus, ophthalmic smart glasses.’