Hologram Applications

Hologram is a symbol of security and product authentication. The craze and demand for hologram has not just increased its applications are also widely visible in almost all industrial sectors including commercial and residential applications.

Some major areas of hologram applications

As a representation of new visual language in communication, Holography can be used for broad range of applications. There is no doubt about the fact that in few years from now, we are going to see a new world of holograms in every aspect. Let’s have a look at their applications.

Hologram Applications – Security factors

The application of hologram indicates the authenticity of a product. The fastest and the most popular growing area for the use of hologram is the security and product authentication. The security holograms not only provide powerful obstacle to counterfeiting but also have proven to be unrivaled with its anti-counterfeiting, tamper-proof features and more.

Hologram Applications – Packaging

The use of holograms have become very much popular in packaging. Proper holographic packaging on consumer durables not only provides an eye catching visual impact but serves as an important way for brand protection and authentication as well. Such packaging includes flexible packaging, board packaging, pack packaging etc.

Hologram Applications – Promotional

Holograms are widely used for promotional purposes. The use of hologram completes the packaging, the promotional activities associated with your product and add some attraction towards it.

Hologram Applications – Tax stamp

As a security symbol, holograms are widely used on tax stamps of many countries. Such tax stamps are issued by government on alcohol and tobacco to ensure proper paying of duty and to distinguish genuine products from fake one.

Hologram Applications – Medical applications

In various medical applications, holographic techniques are widely used. It is used in CAT scans, X-ray, Ultrasound, Opthalmology, endoscopy, orthopedics and many more.

Other hologram applications

Apart from the above mentioned uses, holograms are used in decorations, Art and interactive graphics, sports events, IT consumables, entertainment and many more.

 

Hologram Stickers

In this market of false and fabricated products the use of hologram sticker for security benefits are unparallel. Such stickers are more popular and highly in demand compared to other visual mediums that represent visuals on a two-dimensional surface, as they are holographed with an added dimension of depth.

These days hologram stickers are used to carry a multiplicity of messages in a wide range of shapes, sizes and forms across a large spectrum of products and objects. Such stickers are self-adhesive and tamper proof hologram stickers, offering verification, security and protection against imitation.

What are its types?

DOT- MATRIX Holographic sticker – The dot- Matrix hologram features unlimited computer controlled and laser beam engraved dots. Each dot means a separate diffraction grating that creates a striking impact of variable images on a single sticker. Such hologram stickers can have lots of zooming, moving and flipping effect that adds as bonus to their popularity.

True color Holographic sticker – True color holograms are such holograms that are made up of photographic quality artwork. These stickers are much in demand, as they are a very good way to achieve anti-counterfeit performance.

2D/3D hologram stickers – These hologram stickers are made up of multiple two-dimension layers. Here you will find images lying one over other with visual depth which create an effect of three dimensional structure on the stickers.

Flip-Flop holographic sticker – Flip-flop holograms are unique holograms that boast of displaying two images from two different viewing angles. In other words, when the viewing angle changes left to right or upside and down, different images are seen emerging through hologram.

Application of Hologram stickers

Hologram stickers are mainly used to improve security and brand image in various types of industries. Such stickers are used as a very attractive and practical option in product packaging and security applications. Its applications are found in fine jewelry, watches, automotive or engineering machine parts, driving licenses, certificates, bank cheques, passport, revenue stamps etc.

 

How to Make Hologram?

Make hologram in the most easiest way as it is nothing more than illuminating the 3-D object with help of a powerful laser light. The object reflects the light rays and the pattern is recorded on a particular type of plate which is also known as holographic plate. On being developed it recreates the original object. The image gives the impression of a 3D object. This is indeed an easy way to make a hologram by yourself. Moreover, they can be used a wonderful gift too. However, there are certain steps involved in the making of holograms. They are as follows:

Make Hologram – Mastering

The laser which illuminates the object actually helps the reflected ray to fall on the photoresist plate. Another reference light beam falls on the light beam directly and this causes interference between two rays to react with the photosensitive coating and provide a holographic image. The plate where the original hologram is located is given a chemical bath with the help of standard photographic developers.

Make Hologram –

Make Hologram – Electroforming

The plate is then sprayed with silver paint to make it a better electrical conductor and is then finally electroplated with nickel. Once it’s electroplated, it is washed with deionized water and the thin nickel coating or shim is removed. The negative image of the hologram is intact in the master hologram. The process is used to produce several shims and these shims are called “mothers,” “daughters,” and “stamper shims, in accordance to the generation. The stamper shims, having negative images are used in the later part when the final product holograms are printed.

Make Hologram – Embossing

The embossing machine is responsible in making the shim push the holographic image on to the film. The embossing machine has the stamper shims, a roll of polyester film which is coated with acrylic coating. All these work under tremendous heat and pressure to serve the purpose.

Make Hologram – Metallizing

The aluminum wire is heated to 2000°F or 1,093°C inside the vacuum chamber and the roll is exposed to the vaporising wire. Then the film is treated to provide the moisture it has lost in the vacuum. The last step involves applying a coating of lacquer so that it can be imprinted with ink.

Make Hologram – Converting

Steps may be different for different types of film. There are films which needs to be laminated by paper board or printed with messages. Moreover, there are pressure sensitive adhesives added to holograms so that it can be later fixed to a particular product.

Make Hologram – Finishing

The finishing part involves fixation of it to other products or packaging for shipment.

 

Hologram Machine

We live in a machine revolution and here technology stands poised to become a compelling choice for every need. Machines play a vital role in every productive and manufacturing process. Nothing can be created without the help of proper machines. Likewise, when the matter relates to hologram making, nothing stands better than holographic machinery.

These days you will find wide variety of hologram products available in the market, which are all the gifts of holographic machinery. Starting from security holograms, promotional holograms to packaging holograms and more, all are the by- products of hologram machine. Such machinery produces hologram film, hot stamping foil to make various products.

Types of Hologram machine

Master shooting system – The most important process of holography is mastering. They are known as 2d/3d master shooting system. The two master shooting systems require two different position localization equipment that comprises of manual positioning equipment and automatic positioning equipment.

The 2d system is used to shoot master by H1 glass to make hologram text or image in the background. To shoot in this type, an user or an operator need to control position platform manually.

While the 3d system is used to shoot master by hologram image-maker facility directly. In this system all background and the fore ground image can be shot in the same way.

Apart from 2d/3d master shooting system, you will find Dot Matrix Master shooting system that carries resolution like 158DPI, 317DPI, 635DPI, 1270 DPI. This system is composed of optical table, He-Cd laser, programmable controller, Optics Bridge, accurate platform, computer and software.

Hologram master Recombination machine – The recombination machinery is used to recombine small master into big master. There are two types of recombination machines, which include small recombiner and big recombiner.

Hologram electronic forming machine – This innovative machine is used to duplicate nickel operation shim from hologram mother shim for processing of hologram embossing.

Hologram Embosser – The hologram embosser is used to imprint hologram image onto the base material like aluminum foil, metalized pet film, transparent pet film etc.

Automatic die-cutting machine – This machine is used to die-cut hologram sticker accurately and fast. The machine features a slitter that can cut big hologram sticker roll into smaller one.

 

Reflection Hologram

Reflection hologram is the most common type of hologram, viewed with the light source on the same side as the viewer. Such hologram features a truly three-dimensional image near its surface. The reflection hologram is illuminated by a ray of white incandescent light that are held at a specific angle and are located on the viewer’s side of the hologram. So, finally the image, formed by this process consist of light reflected by the hologram.

Importance of Reflection hologram

Different holograms are differentiated by the way in which they are lighted or illuminated. The reasons for using reflection holograms are as follows.

The reflection hologram better known as monochromatic hologram features shorter exposure time that leads to less stringent condition on the required mechanical steadiness.

Such holograms can be viewed easily with a point source of white light or the Sun, which is not applicable with other holograms.

These types of holograms are used widely as they are viewed with reflected light. The colors of reflection hologram can be shifted by expanding the recording material.

Reflection hologram and its source of illumination

The reflection hologram selects appropriate bands of wavelengths to reconstruct the image, if the highly directed beam of white light illuminates it. Such hologram reflects light within a narrow band of wavelength. In case of reflection hologram there are different film emulsions that make images with different characteristics. Lets have a look at different film emulsions.

Silver Halide – These glass plates are used to get the highest quality images. It is considered as the most common emulsion of choice for most artists and holographers.

Dichromated Gelatin – This is a type of chemical gelatin mix, where the images formed using DCG have the least range of depth and are easily viewable at normal room light without the help of any spot light.

Photo polymer – Photo polymers with plastic backing are suitable for long production runs. Although its image depth is less but they look brighter with a wider angle view.

 

Hologram Theory

It is a misconception to define holography as 3D photography as it depends on hologram theory. Hologram is basically a resulting light field which has a varying intensity. It is a phenomenon which occurs when a part of the light scattered from an object or objects falls on a particular medium which records it. It results to an interference between the two beams which actually creates the light field. However, photographic film is one of the different recording materials available.

Construction of hologram and hologram theory

The construction of a simple hologram requires superimposing of two plane waves which has the same light source. It is due to interference which occurs due to the superimposition of one or more wavefronts. The phenomenon is used to construct simple holograms when the reference beam strikes the photographic plate normally along with the object beam, which hits the plate at a certain angle. As the two beams interfere to form a interference pattern it results to a change in the relative phase. The maxima and the minima of the fringe pattern is the relative phase of the object and the reference beam after it is encoded. Then comes the role of diffraction, which takes place whenever a wavefront comes in contact with an object. The fringe pattern acts as a diffraction grating and as the reference beam gets diffracted at a certain angle when it is incident upon the photographic plate along with the original beam, which is also incident. As the two waves interferes, it causes diffraction grating which reconstructs the object beam creating a hologram.

A complicated hologram can be made by using a point source of light when an object beam and a plane wave is used as a reference beam. It creates an interference pattern which is formed in curves of decreasing separation and increasing separation from the centre.

Hologram from complex object

An hologram of complex object can be made with the help of a beam splitter as it splits the laser beam. As a result the object is illuminated by one beam and the other illuminates the recording medium. Each point in the object acts a point source of light which interferes with the reference beam. The hologram gets illuminated even when the object is not there as diffraction grating diffracts the reference beam to reconstruct the wavefront. As each of the wavefronts add together to reconstruct the whole of the object beam, it creates a wavefront, same to the wavefront, which the object scattered, thus creating a virtual image. This is how transmission holograms work.

 

More About Hologram Images

Hologram images are nothing but the images that one can see in holograms. The best place to see holograms is MIT Museum which has the largest collection of holograms. Hologram images as one can see is a mix of scientific endeavor and partly an art form and one can be astonished to see the effect of a hologram image at the entrance of the MIT Museum. The entrance of the Museum has a life size hologram of Dennis Garbor, the inventor of hologram. It is not at all exaggerating to say that the three dimensional effect of the hologram image of Garbor makes it look so real that one may end up saying “Hello”.

The mechanism of 3D effect and Hologram Images

Holograms images are so fascinating because it creates 3D effect that makes it look real. When you consider the fact an image could create such an effect, it is indeed a great achievement from the days when the first pictures were drawn by cave men. Hologram images proved the true 3D effect for the first time. The 3D effect is the result of the interference pattern, which is recorded when two laser lights beams converge at a holographic field. However, the two light beams should be different, one directly from from the source and another should be bouncing of an object. According to Benton, the whole process results to a window in the memory. The exposed film liberates and reconstructs the wavefronts as soon as it is developed and reilluminated. What our eye sees is the incredibly realistic 3D image of the original object.

Mockery of the light

Holography is truly making a mockery of the light with the help of hologram images. The whole phenomenon is as amazing as coming out of the Star Trek. It sometimes seems to be a trick that plays tricks with our eyes. The whole phenomenon of holography that creates a mesmerizing effect with the help of hologram images is a combination of art and equation.

 

What is a Glass Hologram?

Known as an improved version of 3D glasses, glass hologram marks a great difference. The glass hologram with multiple purposes gives an immersed three-dimensional visual setting that proves bit different in comparison to conventional virtual reality glasses. Such glasses carry digital computer generated lenses that are available in variety of special images. Mind you, the more simpler the image, the more brighter and crisper its effects.

How do hologram glasses work?

Glass hologram boasts of 3D features. The three dimensional effect is formed when a still picture with red composite image in its right component is superposed on the left component, having contrasting color. Its effect takes place when viewed through glasses with corresponding color filters.

These glasses with 3D effect make 3D films worth watching. It eliminates fuzziness and blurriness, making film watching a nice experience. These colored filters assist in separating the different color images being projected from different angles simultaneously.

Merits of hologram glasses

Glass hologram undeniably has its own set of advantages. These glasses are applied for variety of uses.

  • When viewed through holographic 3D glasses, you will find no difference between real and virtual.
  • The glasses help the eyes to correlate two different images as one, thus making it easier to grab the spirit
  • Such glass hologram allows color viewing.
  • It has a wide application both in the education and in the entertainment field like move theatres and film production studios.
  • The sickening flicker, which one has to face, is restricted to the minimum in hologram glasses.

The other side of Glass hologram

Hologram glasses normally have the ability to generate diffractive optical elements in the form of binary amplitude and binary phase. The binary phase holograms help in creating clear and brighter holographic images keeping blurriness at bay.

Binary Amplitude in hologram glass features clear and opaque regions and these digitally computed regions help diffract the light according to the desired pattern.

 

Hologram Projector and its features

Hologram projectors come as a new breakthrough in imaging technology, representing a compelling alternative to conventional image projection. Such projectors, better known as holographic emitters manipulate photons and force fields to create a realistic but virtual image.

With television technology always improving the quality of our entertainment, manufacturers are constantly trying to give its customers the ultimate in viewing. A 3d hologram projector or holographic display is considered to be one of the newest devices in the market today. Such projectors could well be the best of the best when we get to experience three-dimensional imagery on a holographic projector.

Mainly there are two types of 3D hologram projectors. They are Holocinema static holographic projector and the Musion Eyeliner holographic projecting system.

How to choose a hologram projector

Purchasing any types of projectors can be difficult and confusing as the published performance characteristics of the machines tend to focus on highly technical data. So when the matter relates to choosing holographic projectors, a thorough planning is always initiated. Here are some of the steps to help you choose the right projector.

The first thing you need to do is to decide how much money you would like to spend on a projector.
Choose the size of the projector you want. You will want to consider portability over focal performance.
Try to select those projectors that have higher color saturation and better performance.

Hologram projector and its features

While using a 3D hologram projectors, you will find a size variation in image. The size range may vary right from 50cmsq up to 20m x 100m. Hence, you can also customize your image content to range from virtual humans, vehicles, landscapes and other animations.

3D hologram projectors images are recorded in HDTV and broadcast on the HDTV projection systems, which are run by hard disc player or video cam players. After that they are then projected as two dimensional images using a 3D stage set.

Hologram projectors are often found to come up with video projector, a hard disc player with graphics card, a foil and 3D set, lighting and audio and a show controller. Such projectors vary in price according to the needs of consumers.

 

What are Hologram labels?

Hologram labels are very popular as they play a vital role for security in almost all possible sectors in the market. These labels are used to protect high value, high volume products and equipments from the increasing worldwide risks of counterfeit. The labels are easy to use and are a very cost effective solution against duplication. Such labels when affixed on the desired place provide a direct visual means for the final customer to verify the authenticity of the product.

Today, it is seen that that the public universally accepts as proof of authenticity only those products with hologram labels depicting depth, color and movement in an imprint. The hologram is irreplaceable in the current battle against counterfeit merchandise.

Advantages of Hologram labels

Holographic label enjoys certain advantages, which are not available in ordinary printed labels. These are as follows:

  • They cannot be altered.
  • Holographic levels cannot be copied.
  • They cannot be adapted or manufactured cheaply from scratch.
  • The unique holographic labels are able to provide covert identity and overt identity embedded within the same area of the space printed.
  • From a branding and impact point of view, hologram label fixed on any packaged product extends much more shelf-appeal and adds greatly to consumers’ perception of quality.

Some Guidelines you must know about hologram labels

  • When you are going to apply the hologram labels, remember the minimum application temperature should be +35 F
  • The application surface must be dry and dirt free.
  • After the application, remember the service temperature range of hologram should be -50F to + 200F.
  • If an ID card printer is used to printing ID cards, the hologram label should be applied after the card is printed. Well if the label is applied before printing, then there is always a chance of damage in the printing quality.
  • You can apply such hologram labels on the finished card after heat sealing.

 

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