WO2009036916A1

WO2009036916A1 - Data carrier having a recess printing motif

Info

Publication number: WO2009036916A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/007388
Authority: WO
Inventors: Klaus Meindl; Roger Adamczyk; Christof Baldus; Karlheinz Mayer; Peter Franz
Original assignee: Giesecke & Devrient Gmbh
Priority date: 2007-09-17
Filing date: 2008-09-10
Publication date: 2009-03-26
Also published as: RU2010114849A; CA2699234C; CN101801679B; EP2203315A1; DE102007044227A1; WO2009036916A8; RU2488491C2; CN101801679A; CA2699234A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a data carrier (10) having a recess printing motif (12) that, when viewed with the naked eye, appears as a halftone image having a continuous tonal value progression, wherein the recess printing motif (12) comprises a plurality of fine, projecting printed lines (20) not resolvable by the naked eye that are modulated in the width and/or height thereof in order to produce the different tonal values of the halftone image.

Description

DATA CARRIER WITH STITCH PRESSURE MOTOR WITH CONTINUOUS PONING SPEED

The invention relates to a data carrier with a gravure printing motif and to a gravure printing plate and a gravure printing process for printing a motif and to a process for producing such an intaglio printing plate.

Data carriers in the sense of the present invention are, in particular, security or value documents, such as banknotes, passports, identity documents, check forms, shares, certificates, stamps, vouchers, airline tickets and the like, as well as labels, seals, packaging and other elements for product assurance. The term "data carrier" in the following includes all such documents and product securing means.

Security and value documents, the commercial value or value of which far exceeds the material value, are usually identified by suitable measures as genuine and distinguishable from counterfeits and counterfeits. They are usually provided with special security elements, which are ideally not or only with great effort imitable and not falsified.

In the past, especially those security elements have proven to be that can be identified by the viewer without aids and recognized as genuine, but at the same time can only be produced with high technical or economic effort. These are, for example, watermarks which can only be introduced into the data carrier during papermaking, or printed images produced by intaglio printing, which are distinguished by a characteristic tactility that is easily recognizable even to the layman Printing process and in particular by copying machines or scanners not reproduced leaves.

The line or intaglio printing technique, in particular the Stahlstichtiefdruck- technique, has in particular for the printing of securities, such as banknotes and the like, a great importance. The intaglio printing is characterized by the fact that linear depressions are introduced into the printing plates in order to produce a printed image. The ink-transferring areas of the printing plate are thus present as depressions in the printing surface. These depressions are produced by means of a suitable engraving tool, by laser ablation or by etching. In the case of the mechanically produced printing plate for intaglio printing, a wider line is produced with increasing stitch depth due to the usually tapered engraving tools. In addition, the ink receptivity of the engraved line, and hence the opacity of the printed line, increases with increasing stitch depth.

Line intaglio printing technology allows a relatively thick color order on a data carrier compared to other common printing techniques, such as offset printing. The comparatively thick ink layer produced in the line intaglio printing process, together with the partial deformation of the paper surface resulting from the press-in of the paper into the engraving of the printing plate, can also be easily felt manually by the layman, depending on the depth of the engraving, and thus on the basis of their tactility easily recognizable as an authenticity feature. The tactility is with one

Copier not imitate, so that the Linichtichtiefdrucktechnik provides high-quality protection against counterfeiting. In order to be able to combine full-surface printing with tactile elements in a single pass, it has been proposed in WO 03/052702 A2 to provide a data carrier with a half-tone image produced by intaglio printing, which comprises printed subareas directly adjoining each other in at least one subregion of the image the faces have certain tonal values and at least a portion of the image is tactile perceptible. The term "halftone image" refers to an image that has intermediate tones between the brightest and darkest image areas.

In order to produce such a printed image, WO 03/052702 A2 subdivides a template into halftone-value-related partial areas and assigns different engraving depths for the printing plate to be produced to the individual tonal values or groups of tonal values, matched to the printing ink used. The tonal values of the original are converted into corresponding engraving depths on the printing plate, whereby the engraving depth necessary for the production of a specific tonal value can vary from printing ink to printing ink. In practical application, with such methods, particularly technical representations can be implemented well, while other half-tone representations, in particular portraits, often have a somewhat unnatural effect.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to create a data carrier with high security against forgery, which has a motif produced by intaglio printing and appearing as a halftone image when viewed. In particular, the intaglio motif should be advantageously combined with tactile elements.

The term "halftone image" is not uniformly used in the literature on printing technology and especially in the patent literature he refers to only "real" halftone images, ie images whose tonal values show true gradations between black and white, as they can be produced with photographic processes.However, in the field of printing technology, the term is often used for line images that actually only discrete , printing (eg black) and non-printing (eg white) picture elements exist in which the printing and non-printing picture elements are so finely formed that creates an image for the viewer through the integrating effect of the eye, the real The printing or non-printing picture elements are typically halftone dots which are arranged in a regular grid with a small screen ruling, for example the human eye can read at a normal reading distance from a 60s grid, ie a raster with a Grid frequency 60 lines / cm, the individual points no longer recognize the Bil d appears visually smoothed for the viewer and looks like a real halftone image (see

H. Kipphan, eds., Handbuch der Printmedien, Springer, 2000, pages 92-93).

Given this, the term "halftone image" in the context of this description is used in the sense of a true halftone image The fact that a line image, ie an image with discrete, printing or non-printing image elements, with a correspondingly fine design of the image elements for a human viewer In the context of this description, the visual effect of a true halftone image may be expressed by the formulation that such an image appears as a halftone image when viewed with the naked eye.

The above object is achieved by the disk with the features of the main claim. An intaglio printing method and an intaglio printing plate for producing a tenträgers and a method for producing such intaglio printing plate are given in the independent claims. Further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a data carrier of the type mentioned at the outset contains an intaglio motif which, when viewed with the naked eye, appears as a halftone image with a continuous tone progression. The intaglio print motif comprises a multiplicity of fine, sublime, non-resolvable, raised printing lines which are continuously modulated in width and / or height to produce the different tonal values of the halftone image.

The term "continuous tone progression" also refers to the perception of the subject with a human eye, meaning that a continuous tone value curve does not have to be infinitely different

Have tonal values, but only such a large number that creates the impression of a continuous course for a human observer.

In an advantageous embodiment, the intaglio motif of the data carrier comprises a family of parallel printing lines. According to current knowledge, particularly good results can be achieved if the intaglio motif comprises a regular cross-grid, which is preferably formed by two sets of parallel printing lines intersecting at an angle α. For the angle α, values between 40 ° and 80 °, in particular between 50 ° and 70 °, have proven to be particularly favorable.

The parallel printing lines of the intaglio printing motif advantageously have a center-to-center distance of 400 μm or less, preferably of 50 μm 200 microns, more preferably from 60 microns to 150 microns and most preferably from 70 microns to 120 microns on.

The distance of the printing lines can be constant over the entire intaglio motif or else vary. For example, the intaglio motif can be divided into partial areas and each partial area has a specific spacing of the lines which differs from the other partial areas. The spacing of the lines may also vary over the entire subject.

In addition, it is alternatively possible that the line spacing of two adjacent lines is continuously modulated, that is, there are no parallel lines. With a larger distance one obtains lighter tones, with smaller distance darker tones. The tonal range can thus be further increased.

In an advantageous embodiment of the data carrier according to the invention, the printing lines are arranged with an accuracy of +/- 5 microns or less, preferably from +/- 2.5 microns or less, more preferably from about +/- 1 micron or less, especially in one or a plurality of parallel families.

The width of the printing lines is preferably below 250 microns and in non-tactile areas with advantage between 3 microns and 150 microns. In tactile areas, the width of the printing lines can also be larger. In dark subject areas and especially in tactile print areas, the print lines may also partially overlap. In a further advantageous embodiment, the motif is grasped as an outer contour with a pressure line modulated in its width and / or height. The line ends of the motif are covered by the printing line serving as an outer contour. In particular, the pressure line serving as an outer contour is modulated in such a way that broadly outgoing lines, corresponding to dark motif areas, are overlaid with a broader outer contour, narrow line ends corresponding to bright motif areas, with a narrow outer contour. The line width of the printing line serving as an outer contour is preferably in the range from 5 μm to 250 μm, preferably in the range from 10 μm to 120 μm. Coordinated with the brightness levels in the subject, the width of the outer contour line is preferably in the range of 5 μm to 30 μm for bright motif areas, preferably in the range of 60 μm to 150 μm in the case of dark motif areas.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the intaglio motif contains printing lines with a width of 15 μm or less, in particular even with a width of 10 μm or less. The use of such narrow printing lines makes it possible on the one hand to utilize a particularly wide range of widths with a correspondingly large dynamic range, on the other hand very high resolutions and very fine tonal gradients can be achieved by using very narrow printing lines.

Preferably, the width and height of the printing lines are modulated together, so that wider printing lines have a greater height and narrower printing lines have a smaller height.

The intaglio motif has, in particular, a non-tactile printing area in which the printing lines can not be tactually detected. Furthermore, the intaglio motif advantageously has a tactile pressure range in which the Pressure lines are tactile detectable. The tactile printing area is expediently arranged in particularly dark image parts of the halftone image.

Particularly great advantages over conventional methods are shown by the invention in intaglio prints, which represent a person's portrait or a portrait.

In contrast to conventional engraved illustrations in hand stitching, in which the individual lines and dots are clearly perceptible to the naked eye and in which the stitched inks often appear with a gray tinge, the individual printing lines of a printed representation produced according to the invention can not be seen with the naked eye and Halftone images print colors appear strong, fresh and bright due to the high resolution.

The invention further includes an intaglio printing plate for printing a motif which, when viewed with the naked eye, appears as a halftone image with a continuous tone progression. The intaglio printing plate contains an engraving motif which comprises a multiplicity of fine engraving lines which are not resolvable with the naked eye and which are continuously modulated in their width and / or depth in order to produce the different tonal values of the halftone image.

The gravure motif advantageously comprises a family of parallel engraving lines. Particularly good results are achieved if the gravure motif comprises a regular cross grid of engraving lines, which is preferably formed by two sets of parallel engraving lines intersecting at an angle α. For the angle α, values between 40 ° and 80 °, in particular between 50 ° and 70 °, have proven to be particularly favorable. The parallel engraving lines preferably have a center-to-center distance of 400 μm or less, preferably from 50 μm to 200 μm, particularly preferably from 60 μm to 150 μm and very particularly preferably from 70 μm to 120 μm. In particularly advantageous embodiments, the engraving lines are arranged with a high accuracy of +/- 5 μm or less, preferably of +/- 2.5 μm or less, particularly preferably of about +/- 1 μm or less, in particular in one or a plurality of parallel families.

In dark areas of the subject, the engraving lines may also partially overlap one another. To generate correspondingly narrow printing lines, the gravure motif advantageously contains engraving lines with a width of 15 μm or less, in particular even with a width of 10 μm or less.

The spacing of the engraving lines can be constant over the entire intaglio motif or else vary as well. For example, the intaglio motif can be divided into partial areas and each partial area has a specific spacing of the lines which differs from the other partial areas. The distance between the lines can also vary over the entire motif.

The width and height of the engraving lines are preferably modulated together, so that wider engraving lines have a greater depth and narrower engraving lines have a smaller depth. Such a common modulation can be achieved, for example, by using a conically tapering engraving stylus.

The gravure motif advantageously has a flat engraving area for printing a non-tactile printing area, in which the engraving lines have a depth of up to 80 μm, preferably from 2 μm to 70 μm. The width of the engraving lines in the flat engraving area is preferably below 250 μm, in particular between 3 μm and 150 μm.

Furthermore, the gravure motif advantageously has a deep engraving area for printing a tactile printing area, in which the engraving lines have a depth of 70 μm to 300 μm, preferably of 70 μm to 200 μm, particularly preferably of 80 μm to 120 μm. The width of the engraving lines in the deep engraving area is preferably below 400 μm, in particular between 120 μm and 250 μm.

The invention also includes a method for producing a gravure printing plate for printing a motif which, when viewed with the naked eye as a halftone image appears with a continuous tone value course, with the method steps:

Providing a printing plate with a printing plate surface,

- Engraving a variety of fine, not resolvable with the naked eye

Engraving lines with a continuous in their width and / or depth modulation in the printing plate surface, so that an engraving motif for the generation of the different tone values of the halftone image arises. The local width and / or depth of the engraving lines to be engraved is advantageously determined from the tonal value of the halftone image to be displayed at this local position. Higher tone values correspond to narrower and / or less deep engraving lines, darker tone values to wider and / or deeper engraving lines. The thus determined engraving lines can then be generated with an electronically controlled stylus or another method in each case in the locally required width and depth.

Preferred in the inventive method

a) defining in the motif a tactile and a non-tactile print area and defining associated deep and shallow engraving areas for printing the tactile and non-tactile print area, and

b) the local width and / or depth of the engraving lines to be engraved are determined at this position for both print areas from the tone value of the halftone image to be displayed.

In an advantageous variant of the method will continue

cl) generates the engraving lines in both engraving areas corresponding to the determined local width and / or depth in the printing plate, and

dl) further engraving lines are produced in the deep engraving area with a depth of 70 .mu.m to 300 .mu.m, preferably from 70 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, particularly preferably from 80 .mu.m to 120 .mu.m.

After another also advantageous variant of the method c2) generates the engraving lines in the flat engraving area corresponding to the determined local width and / or depth in the printing plate, and

d2), the engraving lines are produced in the deep engraving area with a depth of 70 μm to 300 μm, preferably of 70 μm to 200 μm, particularly preferably of 80 μm to 120 μm.

According to another also advantageous variant of the method can also

c3) the engraving lines are generated in the flat engraving area corresponding to the determined local width and / or depth in the printing plate, and

d3) the engraving lines are generated in the deep engraving area with respect to the determined local width and / or depth with an increased width and / or depth, so that at least partially engraving lines with a depth of 70 .mu.m to 300 .mu.m, preferably from 70 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m , particularly preferably produced from 80 .mu.m to 120 .mu.m.

The engraving of the printing plate can basically be carried out by means of a laser beam or by etching, however, engraving is currently preferred by means of an electronically controlled, rotating stylus.

Further exemplary embodiments and advantages of the invention are explained below with reference to the figures, in the representation of which a representation in terms of scale and proportions has been dispensed with in order to increase the clarity. Show it:

1 is a schematic representation of a banknote with an intaglio motif according to the invention,

2 shows a detailed detail of the banknote of FIG. 1 in the region of

Intaglio printing in supervision,

3 shows in cross-section schematically an intaglio printing plate according to the invention for printing a halftone image

Motivs, and

Fig. 4 in (a) and (b) shows two detailed detail shown on pressure plates according to the invention with engraved lines in the form of cross gratings.

The invention will now be explained using the example of a banknote. Fig. 1 shows a banknote 10 which is provided with an intaglio motif 12 which, when viewed with the naked eye, appears as a halftone image with a continuous tone progression. In dark areas of the image, the intaglio motif 12 optionally additionally contains tactile subareas 18, in which the relief structure of intaglio printing can be detected tactilely by the user and thus forms a tactile marking.

In addition to the intaglio printing motif 12, the banknote 10 typically has further printed images which are produced using different printing methods. For example, banknote 10 may include a pattern 14 made by offset printing, such as a guilloche pattern of regularly interlaced lines, and a letterpress imprinted pattern. No 16 may also be provided by screen printing or other printing processes.

In order to create the impression of a continuous tone value progression in intaglio printing motif 12, this comprises a multiplicity of fine, sublime, non-resolvable, raised printing lines 20, as shown in detail in FIG. 2 in plan view. In the exemplary embodiment, the printing lines 20 form a family of parallel printing lines with a distance d measured from center to center.

To generate the different tonal values of the halftone image, the printing lines 20 are continuously modulated in width and height, as can be seen in FIG. 2 for the printing line width. The printing lines 20 have a smaller width and height in lighter image areas (such as on the right and left edge of the section of Fig. 2), in darker image areas (such as in the middle of the section of Fig. 2) has a larger width and height on. In the non-tactile detectable regions, the width b of the printing lines 20 varies between a minimum width bmin and a maximum width bmax. The maximum width may also be larger than the distance d of the lines in regions so that the printing lines 20 overlap and form particularly dark motif areas.

In the embodiment, due to the generation of the engraving lines in the intaglio printing plate with a conical stylus width and height of the printing lines are positively correlated, that is, wide printing lines have a greater height, narrower printing lines to a low height. According to the bmin and between b χ _ma varying width thus varies the height of the pressure lines 20 hmin in the non tactilely detectable ranges between a minimum height and a maximum height h _m aχ. The maximum height hmax is chosen taking into account the nature of the ink used and the banknote paper so that the printing lines 20 are not felt by the user in the non-tactile area.

In contrast, the width bt and the height ht of the print lines 20 in the tactile detectable regions 18 are above the maximum values of the non-tactile detectable regions, thus representing very dark image areas. In particular, the height ht is such considering the nature of ink and banknote paper chosen large that for the user in Stichtief- print motif 12, a tactile mark 18 is created. Within a tactile detectable region 18, the width and height of the print lines 20 may be constant or have a modulation to reproduce still drawing portions within the dark image areas 18.

The distance d of the printing lines is below 400 .mu.m, preferably in the range of 70 .mu.m to 120 .mu.m and is in the embodiment of FIG. 2 at 100 microns. The width b of the printing lines 20 varies in the embodiment in the non-tactile detectable areas between b _m in = 4 microns and b, _TO χ - 140 microns. The height h of the printing lines 20 is always below 70 microns, so that they are tactile not detectable.

By contrast, in the regions 18 which can be detected tactilely, the height of the pressure lines is preferably between 80 μm and 120 μm, for example 100 μm, so that a mark which can be detected tactilely there is produced. The center-to-center distance d of the printing lines is in this range, for example, only 80 microns.

With these parameters, the printing lines 20 themselves are not resolvable to the naked eye, for a viewer, the intaglio print motif 12 appears thus as a halftone image with a continuous, determined by the local width and height of the printing lines 20 sound value course. The tactile detectable areas 18 give the intaglio motif an additional authenticity mark which can be easily recognized and checked when rubbing the banknote 10 between the fingers. Since the tactile regions 18 are arranged in particularly dark image parts of the illustrated halftone image, they visually merge unobtrusively with the remaining regions of the halftone image.

Fig. 3 shows in cross-section schematically a intaglio printing plate 30 for printing a motif appearing as a halftone image, such as the intaglio motif 12 described above corresponds to the printed motif 12 in the intaglio printing plate 30, an engraving motif, the plurality of fine, with the naked eye not resolvable engraving lines 32nd , 34, 36, which are continuously modulated in width and / or depth to produce the different tonal values of the halftone image.

In the representation of FIG. 3, three sections of the engraving lines 32, 34, 36 are shown by way of example, the generation of a bright tone value in the motif (engraving line 32), a dark tone value in the motif (engraving line 34) and the generation of the tactile detectable region 18 (Engraving line 36) serve.

All engraving lines are produced with an electronically controlled, tapered engraving stylus, resulting in an increasing width of the engraving lines as engraving depth increases. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, when using an engraving stylus with a conical opening angle of about 80 °, an engraving depth t "b / (2 * tan (80 ° / 2)) results, ie the engraving depth amounts to almost 60% of the engraving width. According to the present invention, it is also possible to use different engraving styli with different conical opening angles for the engraving of the engraving motif. Preferably, the conical opening angle of 60 ° to 100 °. For example, the intaglio motif can be divided into partial areas that are processed with engraving styli with different conical opening angles. Preferably, portions having a lighter tone are engraved with a gravure stylus having a tapered aperture angle of 40 °, while portions of a darker tone are engraved with a gravure stylus having a tapered aperture angle of 100 °. Instead of dividing the motif into sections, individual lines can also be engraved with different engraving styli.

Of the engraving lines shown in Fig. 3 for illustration, the portion of the engraving line 32 has an engraving depth of ti = 25 microns and corresponding to a width fy of about 40 microns, the portion of the engraving line 34 an engraving depth of t ₂ = 50 microns and corresponding to a Width b ₂ of approximately 80 μm, and the section of the engraving line 36 has an engraving depth of t ₃ = 100 μm and correspondingly a width b ₃ of approximately 165 μm.

Although only one engraving line 32, 34, 36 is shown in FIG. 3, the intaglio printing plate 30 of course contains a plurality of such engraving lines, which may be arranged parallel or in particular in the form of a cross lattice of parallel engraving lines. The distance of the parallel engraving lines 32, 34 in the non-tactile pressure range is in the exemplary embodiment 100 microns, the distance of the parallel engraving lines 36 in the tactile pressure range 80 microns. With a width of 40 microns and a distance of 100 microns, the engraving lines 32 produce a bright tone value within the motif 12 during printing. The engraving lines 34 with a width of 80 microns and a distance of 100 microns already produce a very dark tone in printing. The engraving lines 36, which have a width of 165 μm at a distance of 80 μm, additionally produce a tactile marking 18 when printed in addition to a very dark tone value due to the thick application of ink and the deformation of the banknote paper.

It is understood from the foregoing that the width and depth of the engraving lines are modulated along their extent according to the tone value to be displayed locally, so that the cross section of FIG. 3 shows only a local width and depth of a portion of the engraving lines 32, 34, 36. The sections 32, 34, 36 may even represent sections of the same engraving line at different locations along their extent. It is further understood that the width and depth of the engraving lines are continuously varied within a given width or depth range, and not just the discrete values shown in FIG. 3 for illustration.

The parallel engraving lines are produced in the intaglio printing plate 30 with a high accuracy of +/- 5 μm, preferably even with the extremely high accuracy of +/- 1 μm. Due to this high accuracy extremely fine tone differences can be achieved.

The inventors have also found through test series that can be printed particularly stable in different engraving depths with an arrangement of the engraving lines in a suitable cross grid. With reference to Fig. 4 (a), which shows a section 40 of a plan view of a printing plate according to the invention, such a cross grid consists of two coulters 42, 44 respectively parallel engraving lines that intersect at an angle α. For the sake of clarity, the width / depth modulation of the engraving lines, which is of course available in practice, is not shown in FIG. 4 (a). Particularly good results are obtained with cross grids in which the angle α is between 40 ° and 80 °, in particular at about 60 °. For the distances, widths and depths of the respective parallel engraving lines 42, 44, the statements made generally above for parallel engraving lines apply.

The engraving lines of the pressure plate 30 do not necessarily have to be rectilinear, as illustrated in the cutout 50 shown in FIG. 4 (b), which shows two intersecting, curved lines of lines 52, 54. Again, the clarity of the existing width / depth modulation of the engraving lines is not shown for clarity.

In order to obtain a gravure printing plate 30 with a corresponding gravure motif from a given halftone original, it is possible according to the invention to proceed as follows, for example:

As a basic modulation for the halftone image, a cross grid with engraved lines of an orientation of +/- 40 ° (intermediate angle α = 80 °) is used, as shown schematically in Fig. 4 (a). Such a cross grid can be printed particularly stably at the values considered here for width, depth and spacing of the engraving lines.

The calculation of the shape and position of the engraving lines preferably takes place with the aid of a computer, wherein commercially available programs can be used which allow the calculation of the engraving depth on the basis of the tonal values of the halftone image to be displayed. In a next step, a pressure of a gray wedge with the desired steel ink with a continuous course of 0 - 100% area coverage and the selected engraving implementation, for example in the form of the selected cross grid made.

Based on the proof, the halftone area to be used, hereinafter referred to as the effective area, is defined. The defined range of action may include, for example, a range of 3% -40% area coverage.

Then, the halftone original is converted within the range of effect, with lighter tones corresponding to a shallower engraving, darker tonal values corresponding to a deeper engraving. As a rule, the halftone image must be adjusted to the desired specific printing conditions by image retouching. The special printing properties of the steel printing ink are also taken into account, in particular the very high pigment content, which leads to a very wide spread from light to dark, as well as different additives, such as absorbers, opaque white, transparent white, machine-readable features and the like, the glaze behavior of the chromatic color sometimes significantly change.

In a further method step, the desired tactile areas of the motif are determined. For this purpose, particularly dark areas of the halftone original are recorded and supplemented with the extra desired parts. The resulting structures are overdrawn to achieve the tactile properties (excessive), optionally also subjected to retouching and initially stored separately.

Then using a computer and a suitable program, the halftone template (projection) with the engraving definition and the desired calculated tactile area and made on the basis of the calculated engraving lines with an electronically controlled stylus a printing plate.

The basic modulation can be combined in various ways with the tactile component. In the simplest implementation, the tactile component is simply transferred to the existing milled basic model. Alternatively, the tactile portion of the basic model can be left out and then put on the ungrounded area again. In a further variant of the invention, the tactile component is left out of the basic model and subsequently the tactile region is recalculated again from the halftone image, so that a depth modulation can be produced here, which reproduces individual parts of the drawing.

As a result, there is a milled printing plate which, due to the different depths and widths of the engraving lines, reproduces the desired tonal range of the halftone image and has the tactile elements integrated in the halftone conversion. After proofing, evaluation and correction if necessary, the design for motif 12 can be incorporated into the milling file of the banknote or another desired value document.

The procedure according to the invention offers the following advantages in particular:

The steel ink allows a wide range of bright to dark, which can be exploited by the method according to the invention.

Desired tactile elements can be integrated into the motif design. The method allows an attractive implementation of halftone templates, in particular for the banknotes back.

Line printing represents an attractive alternative to stochastic raster reproduction.

The cutter can dwell continuously in the material during production of the printing plate without permanent placement and thus allows a process-favorable execution.

Claims

Patent claims

1. data carrier with a intaglio print motif, which appears when viewed with the naked eye as a continuous tone tone continuous tone image, wherein the intaglio motif comprises a plurality of fine, with the naked eye not resolvable, raised pressure lines, which for generating the different tone values of the halftone image continuously in width and / or height are modulated.

2. A data carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the intaglio motif comprises a family of parallel printing lines.

3. A data carrier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the intaglio motif comprises a regular cross grid.

4. A data carrier according to claim 3, characterized in that the cross grid is formed by two intersecting at an angle α crowds of parallel printing lines.

5. A data carrier according to claim 4, characterized in that the angle α between 40 ° and 80 °, preferably between 50 ° and 70 °.

6. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the parallel printing lines have a center-to-center distance of 400 .mu.m or less, preferably from 50 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, more preferably from 60 .mu.m to 150 .mu.m and most preferably from 70 microns to 120 microns.

7. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the printing lines with an accuracy of +/- 5 microns or less, preferably from +/- 2.5 microns or less, more preferably from about +/- 1 are arranged μm or less, in particular arranged in one or more parallel coulters.

8. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the printing lines partially overlap in dark subject areas.

9. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the intaglio motif includes printing lines with a width of 15 microns or less, in particular, that the intaglio motif contains printing lines with a width of 10 microns or less.

10. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the width and height of the printing lines are modulated together, so that wider printing lines have a greater height and narrower printing lines have a smaller height.

11. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the intaglio motif has a non-tactile pressure range in which the pressure lines are tactile not detectable.

12. A data carrier according to claim 11, characterized in that the width of the printing lines in the non-tactile pressure range below 250 microns, preferably between 3 microns and 150 microns.

13. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the intaglio motif has a tactile printing area in which the printing lines are tactile detectable.

14. A data carrier according to claim 13, characterized in that the width of the printing lines in the tactile pressure range below 400 microns, preferably between 120 microns and 250 microns.

15. A data carrier according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the tactile printing area is arranged in particularly dark image parts of the halftone image.

16. A data carrier according to at least one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the intaglio motif represents a person representation or a portrait.

17. Intaglio printing plate for printing a motif, which when viewed with the naked eye appears as a halftone image with a continuous Tonwertverlauf, with an engraving motif comprising a plurality of fine, not visible to the naked eye engraving lines, which for generating the different tone values of the halftone image continuously in their Width and / or depth are modulated.

18. intaglio printing plate according to claim 17, characterized in that the gravure motif comprises a family of parallel engraving lines.

19. intaglio printing plate according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that the engraving motif comprises a regular cross grid of engraving lines.

20. intaglio printing plate according to claim 19, characterized in that the cross lattice is formed by two intersecting at an angle α flocks each of parallel engraving lines.

21. intaglio printing plate according to claim 20, characterized in that the angle α between 40 ° and 80 °, preferably between 50 ° and 70 °.

22. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the parallel engraving lines a center-to-center distance of 400 microns or less, preferably from 50 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, more preferably from 60 .mu.m to 150 .mu.m and very particularly preferably from 70 .mu.m to 120 .mu.m.

23. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 22, characterized in that the engraving lines with an accuracy of +/- 5 microns or less, preferably from +/- 2.5 microns or less, more preferably from about +/- 1 are arranged μm or less, in particular arranged in one or more parallel coulters.

24. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that the engraving lines partially overlap in dark subject areas.

25. Intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 24, characterized in that the gravure motif contains engraving lines with a width of 15 microns or less, in particular, that the gravure motif contains engraving lines with a width of 10 microns or less.

26. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 25, characterized in that the width and height of the engraving lines are modulated together, so that wider engraving lines have a greater depth and narrower engraving lines have a smaller depth.

27. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 26, characterized in that the gravure motif has a flat engraving area for printing a non-tactile printing area in which the engraving lines have a depth of up to 80 microns, preferably from 2 microns to 70 microns ,

28. intaglio printing plate according to claim 27, characterized in that the width of the engraving lines in the flat engraving area below 250 microns, in particular between 3 microns and 150 microns.

29. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 28, characterized in that the gravure motif has a deep engraving area for printing a tactile printing area in which the engraving lines have a depth of 70 microns to 300 microns, preferably from 70 microns to 200 microns, especially preferably from 80 microns to 120 microns.

30. intaglio printing plate according to claim 29, characterized in that the width of the engraving lines in the deep engraving area below 400 microns, in particular between 120 microns and 250 microns.

31. intaglio printing plate according to at least one of claims 17 to 30, characterized in that the gravure motif is generated with a stylus.

32. Intaglio printing method for printing a motif, which appears when viewed with the naked eye as a halftone image with a continuous Tonwertverlauf in which a intaglio printing plate is used according to one of claims 17 to 31.

33. A method of producing a gravure printing plate for printing a subject which, when viewed with the naked eye, appears as a halftone image having a continuous tone progression, comprising the steps of:

Providing a printing plate with a printing plate surface,

Engraving a plurality of fine, with the naked eye not resolvable engraving lines with a continuous width and / or depth modulation in the printing plate surface, so that an engraving motif for the generation of the different tone values of the halftone image arises.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the local width and / or depth of the engraving lines to be engraved is determined from the tone value of the halftone image to be displayed at this local position.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that the engraving lines are generated with an electronically controlled stylus in each case in the locally required width and depth.

36. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 35, characterized in that the width and depth of the engraving lines are modulated together, so that wider engraving lines have a greater depth and narrower engraving lines have a smaller depth.

37. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 36, characterized in that the engraving lines in the form of a family of parallel engraving lines or in the form of a cross grid of two intersecting at an angle α flocks of parallel engraving lines is formed.

38. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 37, characterized in that the parallel engraving lines with a center-to-center distance of 400 microns or less, preferably from 50 microns to 200 microns, more preferably from 60 microns to 150 microns and most preferably produced from 70 microns to 120 microns.

39. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 38, characterized in that

a) in the motif a tactile and a non-tactile printing area are set and associated deep and shallow engraving areas are set for printing the tactile and the non-tactile printing area, and

b) for both pressure ranges from the tone value of the displayed halftone image to be engraved local width and / or depth of the engraving lines are determined at this position.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that

cl) the engraving lines are produced in both engraving areas corresponding to the determined local width and / or depth in the printing plate, and dl) in the deep engraving area further engraving lines with a depth of 70 .mu.m to 300 .mu.m, preferably from 70 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, particularly preferably from 80 .mu.m to 120 .mu.m are generated.

41. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that

c2) the engraving lines are generated in the flat engraving area corresponding to the determined local width and / or depth in the printing plate, and

d2) the engraving lines in the deep engraving area with a depth of

70 microns to 300 microns, preferably from 70 microns to 200 microns, more preferably from 80 microns to 120 microns are generated.

42. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that

43. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 42, characterized in that for engraving a rotary stylus is used.

44. The method according to at least one of claims 33 to 42, characterized in that the engraving is carried out by means of a laser beam or by etching.