# What are those "moving" photographs with plastic coating called?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 11, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046 "2009-08-11T11:37:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046/1 "2009-08-11T11:37:44Z")

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A guy I know wants to create one of those photos with two alternating strip images on, it that changes the overall view depending on the angle of viewing - facilitated by hundreds of tiny plastic prisms in the coating on the photograph.

Neither of us know what the hell they’re called, and thus are unable to Google it.

Anyone know the official term for them?

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046/2 "2009-08-11T11:39:55Z")

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[Lenticular printing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_printing)?

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046/3 "2009-08-11T11:59:02Z")

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Yeah, I’ve always to know, too! Many people mistakenly call them holograms, but this is way wrong. Two entirely different things…but I can understand why one might think so. Especially due to the lack of having the right term floating around in our pop-tech lingo!

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-moving-photographs-with-plastic-coating-called/506046/4 "2009-08-11T12:28:47Z")

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Fantastic, thanks a million.