EP0470131A4 - Secure image production. - Google Patents

Secure image production.

Info

Publication number
EP0470131A4
EP0470131A4 EP19900906739 EP90906739A EP0470131A4 EP 0470131 A4 EP0470131 A4 EP 0470131A4 EP 19900906739 EP19900906739 EP 19900906739 EP 90906739 A EP90906739 A EP 90906739A EP 0470131 A4 EP0470131 A4 EP 0470131A4
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
image
carbon
glue
layer
laminate
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP19900906739
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0470131A1 (en
EP0470131B1 (en
Inventor
Edward Stanley Radclyffe
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
3M Co
Original Assignee
Commonwealth of Australia
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=25643673&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0470131(A4) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Commonwealth of Australia filed Critical Commonwealth of Australia
Priority to EP96108494A priority Critical patent/EP0737595A3/en
Publication of EP0470131A4 publication Critical patent/EP0470131A4/en
Publication of EP0470131A1 publication Critical patent/EP0470131A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0470131B1 publication Critical patent/EP0470131B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Revoked legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/45—Associating two or more layers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
    • B41M3/14—Security printing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M7/00—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock
    • B41M7/0027—After-treatment of prints, e.g. heating, irradiating, setting of the ink, protection of the printed stock using protective coatings or layers by lamination or by fusion of the coatings or layers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/405—Marking
    • B42D25/41—Marking using electromagnetic radiation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/405—Marking
    • B42D25/415—Marking using chemicals
    • B42D25/42—Marking using chemicals by photographic processes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/45—Associating two or more layers
    • B42D25/455—Associating two or more layers using heat
    • B42D2033/04—
    • B42D2033/20—
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/45—Associating two or more layers
    • B42D25/465—Associating two or more layers using chemicals or adhesives
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/45—Associating two or more layers
    • B42D25/465—Associating two or more layers using chemicals or adhesives
    • B42D25/47—Associating two or more layers using chemicals or adhesives using adhesives
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D25/00—Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof
    • B42D25/40—Manufacture
    • B42D25/48—Controlling the manufacturing process
    • B42D25/485—Controlling the manufacturing process by electronic processing means

Definitions

  • This invention concerns the production of security documents, such as passports, identity cards, identification badges and labels, driving licences and the like. More particularly, it concerns a technique for providing, within a laminated structure, a printed image that is significantly more secure than images obtained by conventional procedures.
  • the most common method of producing identity cards, identification badges and the like involves the steps of (i) mounting a photograph on a backing sheet of light card, (ii) sandwiching the card (with the photograph attached) between two sheets of a transparent plastics material, then (iii) bonding (using heat) the transparent sheets together at their edges.
  • Such cards and badges do not possess the degree of security that is required for passports and for passes to regions containing secret and classified information, for it is possible to cut the cards and badges near the edges of the transparent sheets, remove the card, substitute a new photograph, and then seal the modified card between two new sheets of transparent plastics material.
  • Passports are still produced by a technique which involves bonding a photograph to a page of the passport, using a conventional paper glue, then covering at least part of that page (with the photograph affixed) with either a transparent strip of a polyester material having adhesive on one side or a glass bead laminate. In this way the photograph is covered by the transparent strip or the glass beads and its security is improved.
  • a determined person it is possible for a determined person to separate the components of the passport page, then substitute a fresh photograph for the photograph that has been mounted in the passport using this technique.
  • an image can be produced on (or in) a layer of a high temperature glue (that is, a glue having a melting point of about 95°C) at low temperature, and that image is not destroyed, if the toner or other carbon-containing material used to create the image has set, when the glue layer is heated to create a bond.
  • a high temperature glue that is, a glue having a melting point of about 95°C
  • a sheet of a transparent medium for example, a polyester material or a layer of glass beads
  • a high temperature glue for example, a high temperature glue
  • an image is printed on the glue layer using (for example) a laser xerography technique or printing ink, and that transparent material is subsequently bonded to a sheet of paper or other substrate by a thermal process
  • the image is presented without deterioration within the laminate thus produced, provided the toner or ink used for the printing of the image has set on the glue before the thermal bonding is effected.
  • the image includes printing, that printing is machine readable.
  • the present invention provides a method of producing an image within a laminate which comprises the steps of
  • Some manufacturers produce a laminate in the form of a sheet of a transparent medium to which a layer of a high temperature glue has been applied. Such a product can be used in the present invention, which then comprises the steps of
  • step (d) of the first recitation above of the method of the present invention and step (c) of the second recitation of the present invention in the last preceding paragraph - is well known, so that detailed discussion of that technique in this specification is not necessary.
  • the image (which may consist of or include printing) will be viewed through the transparent medium, the image will normally be printed on the glue as a reverse image.
  • the image may be created by laser xerography or other photo-copying technique, by an ink-jet printer (provided the ink used is chosen - or thickened - so that it does not flow on contact with the glue layer), by a dot matrix printer using a typewriter ribbon (preferably a carbon typewriter ribbon), or by a typewriter adapted to print mirror images of the normal characters of the typewriter.
  • Ink jet printers and dot matrix printers can be used to create the equivalent of photographic images by an appropriate printing of dots.
  • the printing of the image is effected by programming the printer after scanning the image to determine the density of dots in the pixels which make up the image.
  • a typewriter ribbon is the medium through which the carbon or carbon-containing compound is applied to the glue layer, there is no requirement to allow or cause the material of the image to set before proceeding to the thermal bonding step of the present invention.
  • an entire page of a passport, or an entire identification card or badge, comprising both a photographic image and lettering, may be printed by the printer.
  • the passport page or identification card or badge may be produced with two printing steps.
  • the first printing step will produce an image of the required lettering and the second printing step will provide the photographic image of the bearer of the passport or the holder of the identification card or badge. (Of course, the image may be printed before the lettering. )
  • the glue layer containing the two printed images will then be brought into contact with the substrate, and the high temperature thermal process will be used to produce the completed passport page or identification card or badge.
  • the transparent sheet material is typically either a flexible, transparent polyester material, such as the material marketed under the trade mark "Mylar", or it may be a layer of glass beads in glue. Both such materials are available commercially with a layer of high temperature glue applied to one face of the transparent sheet.
  • one or more additional layers of any suitable material may be bonded to the substrate of the product laminate of the present invention, preferably (but not necessarily) using the high temperature glue bonding technique.
  • Figure 1 is a sectional view (partly schematic) through a sheet of transparent polyester material that is to be bonded to a backing sheet, using glue on which an image has been printed.
  • Figure 2 is a similar sectional view (partly schematic) through a sheet of a glass bead laminate with a high temperature glue layer, that is being bonded to a substrate.
  • Embodiment Figure 1 shows a sheet 10 of a transparent polyester material, such as "Mylar” (trade mark), or another known flexible, transparent polyester material that is available in sheet form, to one side of which a thin layer 11 of a known high temperature glue has been applied by the manufacturer. Thin layers of the high temperature glue are also transparent.
  • a transparent polyester material such as "Mylar” (trade mark)
  • Mylar trademark
  • Thin layers of the high temperature glue are also transparent.
  • Figure 2 depicts a glass bead laminate comprising a layer 20 of glass beads in glue, to one side of which a thin layer 11 of a high temperature glue has been applied.
  • An optional (but usually present) sheet 26 of backing paper is included to improve the stiffness of the laminate and to protect the glass beads at the face of layer 21.
  • images - usually reverse images of a photographic impression and associated lettering to be viewed, subseqently, through the transparent sheet 10 or 20 in the direction of the arrow A - are printed on the region 12 of the glue 11, using carbon or a carbon-containing compound.
  • laser xerography is a convenient way of producing the images. This way of producing the images is preferred, but it is acknowledged that increased use of scanners and programmed printers, and developments in that technology, may result in programmable printers becoming the preferred equipment for the image production.
  • the image of the lettering may be applied to the glue layer before, or after, the application of an image of a photographic impression.
  • the toner When the image is produced by a xerographic process or with printing ink, the toner must be allowed (or caused) to set, or the ink must be dry, before the next step in the fabrication of the product laminate is taken.
  • the setting or drying usually takes a very short time. Indeed, when laser xerography is used produce the image, the heat required to set the toner is applied as part of the printing process.
  • the glue layer 11 is not softened during its passage through the printer.
  • the transparent sheet 10 or 20 is placed on a substrate 13 of paper or other suitable material with the glue layer 11 sandwiched between the transparent sheet 10 or 20 and the substrate 13.
  • the substrate 13 may have information printed on it in regions 14 outside the area of the substrate which is covered by the image regions 12 of the glue layer 11.
  • the sandwich of sheet 10 or 20 with the substrate 13 is then heat treated in the conventional manner to bond the transparent sheet 10 or 20 to the substrate 13 and form a product laminate of the two sheets. Following this step it is very difficult to separate the sheet 10 (or 20) from the substrate 13.
  • the surprising aspect of such a thermal treatment is that the imprinted image on or in the glue is not destroyed or distorted, but retains its identity and clarity, despite the melting of the glue during the high temperature bonding treatment.
  • the substrate 13 of the product laminate may be bonded to additional sheets 27 of paper or card or other suitable material to form a thicker, and therefore stiffer, laminate. It has been found that such additional bonding does not destroy or distort the original image on the region 12 of the basic laminate. Indeed, tests using images produced by the present invention have shown that when the images include alpha-numeric characters, those characters remain machine readable to the extent required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation's specification No 9303. Thus the present invention incorporates a stable machine-readability feature into passports and other travel documents.
  • the protective backing sheet 26 is peeled off the product laminate after its formation, to expose the outer surface of the transparent layer 20.

Abstract

A component bearing an image is produced by printing the image (12) on a layer (11) of a high temperature glue which has been applied to a layer of a transparent medium (10). The image is printed on the glue layer using carbon or a carbon-containing compound that does not flow when applied to the glue surface. The component consisting of transparent medium, high temperature glue and image is then bonded to a substrate (13) using a thermal bonding process to produce a laminate of the transparent medium and the substrate. The image is not distorted by the thermal bonding process, but remains clearly visible through the transparent medium. Typically the transparent medium will be a polyester film or a sheet of glass beads dispersed in glue. One or more additional layers (27) may be bonded to the substrate (13) to increase the stiffness of the product laminate. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE: "SECURE IMAGE PRODUCTION"
Technical Field
This invention concerns the production of security documents, such as passports, identity cards, identification badges and labels, driving licences and the like. More particularly, it concerns a technique for providing, within a laminated structure, a printed image that is significantly more secure than images obtained by conventional procedures.
Background
The most common method of producing identity cards, identification badges and the like involves the steps of (i) mounting a photograph on a backing sheet of light card, (ii) sandwiching the card (with the photograph attached) between two sheets of a transparent plastics material, then (iii) bonding (using heat) the transparent sheets together at their edges. Such cards and badges, however, do not possess the degree of security that is required for passports and for passes to regions containing secret and classified information, for it is possible to cut the cards and badges near the edges of the transparent sheets, remove the card, substitute a new photograph, and then seal the modified card between two new sheets of transparent plastics material. Passports are still produced by a technique which involves bonding a photograph to a page of the passport, using a conventional paper glue, then covering at least part of that page (with the photograph affixed) with either a transparent strip of a polyester material having adhesive on one side or a glass bead laminate. In this way the photograph is covered by the transparent strip or the glass beads and its security is improved. However, it is possible for a determined person to separate the components of the passport page, then substitute a fresh photograph for the photograph that has been mounted in the passport using this technique.
To improve the security of passports and identity cards, it has been proposed to print photographic information (including an image of the holder of the passport or identity card) on the end sheet of a passport or on a sheet of card, rather than simply mount photographs on the sheets, and to cover the 'printed image to prevent the deliberate (or inadvertent) removal of that information. However, no reasonably economic and technically viable technique for implementing this approach has been put forward.
Disclosure of the Present Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for producing an image within a laminate formed by a layer of a transparent medium and a sheet of paper, card or the like, which satisfies the requirements for the production of more secure passports, identity cards, security badges, identification labels and the like.
This objective is achievable using the surprising discovery that an image can be produced on (or in) a layer of a high temperature glue (that is, a glue having a melting point of about 95°C) at low temperature, and that image is not destroyed, if the toner or other carbon-containing material used to create the image has set, when the glue layer is heated to create a bond. Thus, if a sheet of a transparent medium (for example, a polyester material or a layer of glass beads) has one side coated with a high temperature glue, and an image is printed on the glue layer using (for example) a laser xerography technique or printing ink, and that transparent material is subsequently bonded to a sheet of paper or other substrate by a thermal process, the image is presented without deterioration within the laminate thus produced, provided the toner or ink used for the printing of the image has set on the glue before the thermal bonding is effected. When the image includes printing, that printing is machine readable.
It has also been found that compounds other than carbon or carbon-containing compounds can be used to produce machine-readable characters, provided those other compounds are highly absorbent of radiation having a wavelength in the visible spectrum or the near infra-red region. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of producing an image within a laminate which comprises the steps of
(a) coating one side of a sheet of transparent medium with a layer of a high temperature glue;
(b) producing an image on the glue layer using carbon or a carbon-containing or other radiation absorbent compound which does not flow when applied to the glue layer and, if necessary, allowing or causing the image-producing compound to set;
(c) applying a substrate to the high temperature glue layer on which the image has been produced; and (d) bonding the transparent medium to the substrate using a known high temperature thermal bonding process, thus producing a laminate of the transparent material and the substrate.
Some manufacturers produce a laminate in the form of a sheet of a transparent medium to which a layer of a high temperature glue has been applied. Such a product can be used in the present invention, which then comprises the steps of
(a) producing an image on the glue layer of a first laminate comprising a sheet of a transparent medium to which is bonded a layer of a high temperature glue, using carbon or a carbon-containing or other radiation absorbent compound which does not flow when applied to the glue layer and, if necessary, allowing or causing the carbon-containing compound to set; then
(b) applying a substrate to the high temperature glue layer on which the image has been printed; and
(c) bonding the transparent medium to the substrate using a known high temperature thermal bonding process, thus producing a second laminate within which the image has been included.
The thermal bonding technique for high temperature glues - that is, the bonding technique of step (d) of the first recitation above of the method of the present invention and step (c) of the second recitation of the present invention in the last preceding paragraph - is well known, so that detailed discussion of that technique in this specification is not necessary.
Since, in almost all uses of the present invention, the image (which may consist of or include printing) will be viewed through the transparent medium, the image will normally be printed on the glue as a reverse image.
Without limiting the generality of the carbon-containing or radiation absorbing compounds that may be used in the present invention, the image may be created by laser xerography or other photo-copying technique, by an ink-jet printer (provided the ink used is chosen - or thickened - so that it does not flow on contact with the glue layer), by a dot matrix printer using a typewriter ribbon (preferably a carbon typewriter ribbon), or by a typewriter adapted to print mirror images of the normal characters of the typewriter. Ink jet printers and dot matrix printers can be used to create the equivalent of photographic images by an appropriate printing of dots. The printing of the image is effected by programming the printer after scanning the image to determine the density of dots in the pixels which make up the image. Clearly, if a typewriter ribbon is the medium through which the carbon or carbon-containing compound is applied to the glue layer, there is no requirement to allow or cause the material of the image to set before proceeding to the thermal bonding step of the present invention.
If a programmable printer is used for the image-producing step of the present invention, an entire page of a passport, or an entire identification card or badge, comprising both a photographic image and lettering, may be printed by the printer.
If the printer used to produce the lettering cannot also produce a photographic image, then the passport page or identification card or badge may be produced with two printing steps. The first printing step will produce an image of the required lettering and the second printing step will provide the photographic image of the bearer of the passport or the holder of the identification card or badge. (Of course, the image may be printed before the lettering. ) The glue layer containing the two printed images will then be brought into contact with the substrate, and the high temperature thermal process will be used to produce the completed passport page or identification card or badge.
The transparent sheet material is typically either a flexible, transparent polyester material, such as the material marketed under the trade mark "Mylar", or it may be a layer of glass beads in glue. Both such materials are available commercially with a layer of high temperature glue applied to one face of the transparent sheet.
If greater stiffness of the final product laminate is required, one or more additional layers of any suitable material may be bonded to the substrate of the product laminate of the present invention, preferably (but not necessarily) using the high temperature glue bonding technique.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional view (partly schematic) through a sheet of transparent polyester material that is to be bonded to a backing sheet, using glue on which an image has been printed.
Figure 2 is a similar sectional view (partly schematic) through a sheet of a glass bead laminate with a high temperature glue layer, that is being bonded to a substrate.
Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment Figure 1 shows a sheet 10 of a transparent polyester material, such as "Mylar" (trade mark), or another known flexible, transparent polyester material that is available in sheet form, to one side of which a thin layer 11 of a known high temperature glue has been applied by the manufacturer. Thin layers of the high temperature glue are also transparent.
Figure 2 depicts a glass bead laminate comprising a layer 20 of glass beads in glue, to one side of which a thin layer 11 of a high temperature glue has been applied. An optional (but usually present) sheet 26 of backing paper is included to improve the stiffness of the laminate and to protect the glass beads at the face of layer 21.
In each case, images - usually reverse images of a photographic impression and associated lettering to be viewed, subseqently, through the transparent sheet 10 or 20 in the direction of the arrow A - are printed on the region 12 of the glue 11, using carbon or a carbon-containing compound. As indicated above, laser xerography is a convenient way of producing the images. This way of producing the images is preferred, but it is acknowledged that increased use of scanners and programmed printers, and developments in that technology, may result in programmable printers becoming the preferred equipment for the image production.
If, as in the example shown in the drawings, the images are in part lettering, the image of the lettering may be applied to the glue layer before, or after, the application of an image of a photographic impression.
When the image is produced by a xerographic process or with printing ink, the toner must be allowed (or caused) to set, or the ink must be dry, before the next step in the fabrication of the product laminate is taken. The setting or drying usually takes a very short time. Indeed, when laser xerography is used produce the image, the heat required to set the toner is applied as part of the printing process.
Surprisingly, although the heat applied to set the toner should be sufficient to melt the high temperature glue, the glue layer 11 is not softened during its passage through the printer. When the toner of the image has set, or the ink used for printing the image has dried, the transparent sheet 10 or 20 is placed on a substrate 13 of paper or other suitable material with the glue layer 11 sandwiched between the transparent sheet 10 or 20 and the substrate 13. The substrate 13 may have information printed on it in regions 14 outside the area of the substrate which is covered by the image regions 12 of the glue layer 11.
The sandwich of sheet 10 or 20 with the substrate 13 is then heat treated in the conventional manner to bond the transparent sheet 10 or 20 to the substrate 13 and form a product laminate of the two sheets. Following this step it is very difficult to separate the sheet 10 (or 20) from the substrate 13. The surprising aspect of such a thermal treatment (during which the temperature of the components of the sandwich reaches at least about 5°C to enable the high temperature glue layer 11 to bond the sheet 10 or 20 and the substrate 13 together) is that the imprinted image on or in the glue is not destroyed or distorted, but retains its identity and clarity, despite the melting of the glue during the high temperature bonding treatment.
After the heat treatment step, the substrate 13 of the product laminate may be bonded to additional sheets 27 of paper or card or other suitable material to form a thicker, and therefore stiffer, laminate. It has been found that such additional bonding does not destroy or distort the original image on the region 12 of the basic laminate. Indeed, tests using images produced by the present invention have shown that when the images include alpha-numeric characters, those characters remain machine readable to the extent required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation's specification No 9303. Thus the present invention incorporates a stable machine-readability feature into passports and other travel documents.
If the glass bead laminate of Figure 2 is used, the protective backing sheet 26 is peeled off the product laminate after its formation, to expose the outer surface of the transparent layer 20.
It will be appreciated that using the technique of the present invention, it is possible to produce identity cards, passport pages, security passes, identification labels and the like, which are both durable and significantly more secure than those products made using the methods currently in use.
Those skilled in this field will acknowledge that although two specific realisations of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, modifications to the described embodiments can be made without departing from the present inventive concept.

Claims

1. A method of producing an image within a laminate, characterised by the steps of (a) coating one side of a sheet of transparent medium (10, 20) with a layer (11) of a high temperature glue; (fa) producing an image (12) on the glue layer using carbon or carbon-containing or other radiation absorbent compound which does not flow when applied to the glue layer and, if necessary, allowing or causing the image-producing compound to set;
(c) applying a substrate (13) to the high temperature glue layer on which the image has been produced; and
(d) bonding the transparent medium to the substrate using a known high temperature thermal bonding process, thus producing a laminate of the transparent material and the substrate.
2. A method of producing an image within a laminate, characterised by the steps of (a) producing an image (12) on the glue layer of a first laminate comprising a sheet of a transparent medium (10, 20) to which is bonded a layer (11) of a high temperature glue, using carbon or a carbon-containing or other radiation absorbent compound which does not flow when applied to the glue layer, and, if necessary, allowing or causing the carbon-containing compound to set; then
(b) applying a substrate (13) to the high temperature glue layer on which the image has been printed; and
(c) bonding the transparent medium to the substrate using a known high temperature thermal bonding process, thus producing a second laminate within which the image has been included.
3. A method as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 , in which the transparent medium is a sheet (10) of polyester material.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the transparent medium (20) comprises glass beads dispersed in glue.
5. A method as defined in any preceding claim, in which the image is applied to the glue layer by a xerographic process, the carbon or carbon-containing or other radiation absorbent compound being the toner used in the xerographic process.
6. A method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the image applied to the glue layer is produced using a programmable printer which prints using a ribbon impregnated with, or carrying a layer of, carbon or a carbon-containing compound.
7. A method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the image is applied to the glue layer by a jet printer, the ink of which is the carbon-containing compound.
8. A method as defined in any preceding claim, including the additional step of bonding at least one further layer (27) to the product laminate to increase the stiffness thereof.
9. An image-containing laminate produced by the method of any preceding claim.
EP90906739A 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Secure image production Revoked EP0470131B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP96108494A EP0737595A3 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Security document

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPJ391589 1989-04-27
AU3915/89 1989-04-27
AU6067/89 1989-08-31
AUPJ606789 1989-08-31
PCT/AU1990/000167 WO1990012694A1 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Secure image production

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP96108494A Division EP0737595A3 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Security document

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0470131A4 true EP0470131A4 (en) 1991-11-27
EP0470131A1 EP0470131A1 (en) 1992-02-12
EP0470131B1 EP0470131B1 (en) 1999-01-13

Family

ID=25643673

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP90906739A Revoked EP0470131B1 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Secure image production
EP96108494A Ceased EP0737595A3 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Security document

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP96108494A Ceased EP0737595A3 (en) 1989-04-27 1990-04-27 Security document

Country Status (11)

Country Link
EP (2) EP0470131B1 (en)
KR (1) KR0134670B1 (en)
AT (1) ATE175629T1 (en)
CA (1) CA2053229A1 (en)
DE (1) DE69032896T2 (en)
DK (1) DK0470131T3 (en)
ES (1) ES2127185T3 (en)
HK (1) HK1009949A1 (en)
LV (1) LV10596B (en)
PH (1) PH26483A (en)
WO (1) WO1990012694A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6153289A (en) * 1992-04-29 2000-11-28 Murray; Nicholas J. Laminates
NZ252714A (en) * 1992-04-29 1997-01-29 Nicholas John Murray Laminate comprising a layer having an electrostatically deposited image thereupon and a covering layer bound thereto by a layer of transparent adhesive material
GB9604989D0 (en) * 1996-03-08 1996-05-08 De La Rue Thomas & Co Ltd Method and apparatus for providing security indicia on a substrate
FR2763889B1 (en) * 1997-05-30 1999-08-06 Francois Trantoul INTERMEDIATE SHEET, METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A DOCUMENT WITH VARIABLE INSCRIPTIONS
FR2763890B1 (en) * 1997-09-11 1999-08-06 Francois Trantoul INTERMEDIATE SHEET, METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A DOCUMENT WITH VARIABLE INSCRIPTIONS
DE19917185A1 (en) * 1999-04-16 2000-10-19 Mueller Bauchemie Floor and/or wall cover element with a sandwich structure comprises a cover layer of transparent plastic and at least one carrier layer below a printed pattern layer
IL130585A0 (en) * 1999-06-21 2000-06-01 Curie Authentication Technolog Marked difficult-to-counterfeit documents
FR2834484B1 (en) 2002-01-09 2004-09-03 Francois Trantoul METHOD FOR PRODUCING A TRANSPARENT TRANSFERABLE SECURITY FILM PROTECTIVE DEVICE WITH SHORT ULTRAVIOLET
KR20020046257A (en) * 2002-05-09 2002-06-20 이효진 Manufacturing Method of Solid Metal Foam Composite Bodies by Enhancing the absorption of Incident Radiation
DE10333704B4 (en) 2003-07-23 2009-12-17 Ovd Kinegram Ag Security element for RF identification
EP2000320B1 (en) * 2007-05-10 2012-09-12 Hueck Folien Ges.m.b.H. Security element
GB0818270D0 (en) * 2008-10-06 2008-11-12 Rue De Int Ltd Security document

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WO1982004149A1 (en) * 1981-05-20 1982-11-25 Pratt David E Method and apparatus for making a security card and a security card made thereby
WO1983000766A1 (en) * 1981-08-17 1983-03-03 Gallagher, Terence, J. Identification card

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US3245697A (en) * 1964-01-13 1966-04-12 Universal Electronic Credit Sy Information card
US3758970A (en) * 1971-06-08 1973-09-18 Maran Plastic Co Photograph bearing identification card structure and method of manufacture
US3801183A (en) * 1973-06-01 1974-04-02 Minnesota Mining & Mfg Retro-reflective film
GB1477203A (en) * 1974-02-11 1977-06-22 Whiley Ltd G Manufacture of image-bearing cards and other documents
US4082873A (en) * 1976-11-02 1978-04-04 Monarch Marking Systems, Inc. Switch-proof label
DE2853893A1 (en) * 1978-12-14 1980-06-26 Hoechst Ag METHOD FOR PRODUCING IDENTIFICATION CARDS
JPH02223494A (en) * 1988-11-10 1990-09-05 Mitsubishi Electric Corp Production of card

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WO1982004149A1 (en) * 1981-05-20 1982-11-25 Pratt David E Method and apparatus for making a security card and a security card made thereby
WO1983000766A1 (en) * 1981-08-17 1983-03-03 Gallagher, Terence, J. Identification card

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Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 014, no. 532 (M-1051)22 November 1990 & JP-A-02 223 494 ( MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION ) *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ATE175629T1 (en) 1999-01-15
LV10596A (en) 1995-04-20
AU611340B2 (en) 1991-06-06
DK0470131T3 (en) 1999-08-30
CA2053229A1 (en) 1990-10-28
WO1990012694A1 (en) 1990-11-01
KR0134670B1 (en) 1998-04-18
DE69032896T2 (en) 1999-09-09
HK1009949A1 (en) 1999-06-11
PH26483A (en) 1992-07-27
EP0737595A2 (en) 1996-10-16
EP0470131A1 (en) 1992-02-12
AU5395890A (en) 1990-11-08
EP0737595A3 (en) 1996-12-18
KR920700932A (en) 1992-08-10
LV10596B (en) 1995-12-20
ES2127185T3 (en) 1999-04-16
EP0470131B1 (en) 1999-01-13
DE69032896D1 (en) 1999-02-25

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