Excerpt from HMP 7 Chapter 1
Introduction to Holography
This chapter assumes that you have no prior knowledge of holography and its uses. It begins with a discussion of the unique attributes of this fascinating visual medium, provides a simple explanation of what holograms are, and describes some commercial applications of the technology. Potential users of display holograms will benefit from reading the article on page 14, which debunks some common myths about holograms and provides information about how they are best used. The chapter concludes with an explanation of how basic types are produced.
Holograms Are Everywhere
You wake up in the morning and go out to breakfast. The restaurant is giving away hologram trading cards with each meal. You grab one for your son because you know he collects them. You finish your breakfast and head off to your job. Not paying close attention to the road at this early hour, you exceed the posted speed limit. The friendly Highway Patrol Officer who pulls you over takes your driver's license and examines it closely in the sunlight. He is looking for a hologram laminate that indicates your license is authentic.
At work, you open a new package of computer software. The box is sealed with a hologram label. On the way home from work you stop at the music store to buy a CD for your daughter. A 3-D holographic portrait of her favorite group is on the CD's cover and, even more amazing, the band members appear to dance a bit as you tilt the box back and forth! You pick out a greeting card to go with the gift. It has colorful holographic foil decorating the front. Then you pay for your purchases with a credit card that has a hologram on it. Once home, you pour yourself a martini. The bottle has a holographic tax stamp across the cap.
This scenario is an example of the frequency with which we see holograms in our everyday life. Unlike a decade ago, holographic images and holographic materials have entered the mainstream and are commonly used for a variety of commercial applications. This development is partly due to the standardization of manufacturing methods and the inevitable maturation of the entire industry. More important is the fact that the clients who commission holographic originations are achieving the results they desire.
Holography has proven that it is a viable technology that can be successfully integrated into a wide range of commercial endeavors, including advertising campaigns, marketing promotions, security programs and retail sales. The medium has established a track record of deterring counterfeiters, attracting shoppers, and adding value to products. As the technology evolves further and potential users become more informed about the holography marketplace, a host of other applications will certainly arise.
Major Attributes of Holograms
Although often compared with photography, holography is really a completely different medium. Holography is based on optical principles that are different than photography's and holograms have different physical attributes than photographs. They are comparable only because both are ways of recording an image onto a piece of photosensitive material (film), and because, at times, similar equipment and materials are used in making them.
The most obvious difference between a photograph and a hologram is image dimension and image depth. For instance, when we look at a photograph and move it from side to side we are unable to see "around" the scene or perceive any depth. We cannot see over or under the image. We only see a flat (two-dimensional) picture displayed on the surface of the film. The picture is actually only a collection of light and dark shapes that we recognize as a particular subject. Our memory might remind us that the subject really has dimension and depth, but this visual information is not recorded in the photograph.
MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN HOLOGRAPHY MARKETPLACE 7th EDITION. ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!