This one is creepy: The new Shapeways' Photoshaper is the latest "printing" technology, turning any home photographs into a 3D plate which—when looked through light—will reveal the original image with a spooky ghost effect.
Photoshaper can be used by anyone with a digital camera and an Internet connection. Basically, the service will take any digital photograph you can send them using their web site, creating a 3D image out of it.
First, to create the 3D information, Photoshaper analyzes the photograph, converting it to black and white. It then uses the resulting picture as a guide to create the 3D layers: Darker tones correspond to thicker parts of the plate, while lighter tones correspond to thinner parts.
The plate is made then using a 3D printer, which lays down multiple layers of resin like an inkjet printer. The resin layers solidify instantly, allowing for more to be printed on top, constructing the 3D out of multiple paper-thin surfaces.
The result is a slab of white resin with a weird, rough surface. When you look at it straight on, it resembles a negative of the original image, but much less defined than a real negative. However, when you look at it through the light, the image appears magically in front of you, with a spooky effect.
At least it is spooky for me. I don't know about you, but this freaks me out. [Sh rugged apeways]