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Austin Harris is a different kind of guitar maker. You might say he’s an alien to the guitar-making business; a lifelong guitar player who’s making guitars with a 3D hook. The guitars built by Harris feature 3D lenticular lenses attached to the guitar body, which animate the print underneath with wild to subtle effects as your viewing angle to the guitar changes.
It's difficult to show in a still picture the full 3D lenticular effect generated by Alien Guitars' patented process, but here's the same guitar at two different angles. To see the full effect, click here and check out this video demonstration.
The lenticular process is commonly associated with the cheesy 3D flip cards found as prizes in cereal boxes. Though Harris uses the same basic process at his company, Alien Guitars, the graphics he creates are much more sophisticated. Maintaining image quality and clarity takes on greater importance so the guitars look professional and spectacular.
Harris, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., works with an artist in Los Angeles. The two collaborate on the design and create the image with illustration software. The design is then imported into a special software program that interlaces the image. Interlacing slices up the image so that it interacts properly with the lenticular lens to which the print will be attached, creating the desired effect.
The interlaced image is printed on LexJet 6.5 Mil Gloss Opaque Display Film, which is then laminated to the back of the 3D lenticular lens with a sheet of clear adhesive. Harris says a printable film works best for the process since paper doesn’t hold up as well throughout the process.
“The LexJet film is very strong, it’s opaque, has an excellent white point, it machines well with the router, and it just looks quite nice. Plus, it’s very smooth, which is important in the process because we can’t have any texture to the material. Texture traps air bubbles and ruins the 3D lens,” explains Harris.
The lenticular image is cut out to the shape of the guitar’s body on a CNC router and drops in as an inlay, usually attached to the body with 3M double-sided tape. “It will stay attached for the life of the guitar, but if someone scratches it really bad or wants a new image, they can ship it to us and we can remove the image and replace it without having to re-paint the guitar,” says Harris.
Alien Guitars is in the process of mass marketing the patented lenticular guitars, building on the success of the custom guitars made in the company’s Santa Barbara facility. Custom guitars will continue to be built at the company’s headquarters, while the mass production guitars will be made in Korea and China.
“We will import guitars made from our designs from Korea and China to keep costs down for mass production. Our USA guitars are more custom and more expensive. We have to sell those for around $1,500-$2,000 and the guitars made overseas will be sold for around $500, which is the price point we need to be at to be successful in the mass market,” says Harris.
To help speed up production, Harris plans to add a Canon printer to the mix in the near future. “The Canon is faster, and it’s large enough to handle the guitar artwork. Plus, we’ll be able to use it for other printing projects,” says Harris.