EP1293359B1 - Confidential document for laser or ink-jet printing - Google Patents

Description

The technical field of the present invention is that of printing and more particularly that of the preparation of documents containing a confidential text.

In modern life, there are all kinds of opportunities for writing documents containing confidential information that third parties, including printers and people responsible for delivering them should ignore. Only the recipient must take note. So such documents are sent by banks to their clients to disclose their credit card code to them, or by trustees to tell the occupants of a building what is the code to access it.

According to the prior art, the reverse side of such confidential texts is redacted, and often we also redact an envelope in which the document is located.

In the case of transmission of the credit card code to their customers, some financial institutions write it clearly in a registered letter or not, but this is not confidential since the code is known to the typist who writes it and that a third party can open and close the envelope without the recipient surrendering account of indiscretion.

Another financial institution uses an A4 format form which includes bottom left corner a pre-cut heel on which an adhesive label has been placed, carbonless, redacted on its front. The code is entered there using a printer at impact. When peeling off the label, the code appears and is readable by anyone indiscreet who, after reading, will replace the label exactly in its initial location, without the recipient being able to notice it. Confidentiality is therefore not guarantee.

Yet another financial institution sends more documents to its customers sophisticated which includes a first sheet kept by the issuer which includes a redacted area of intertwined letters and numbers and its back is fully coated with carbonless layer while the client receives a document in the form of a pocket glued on all four sides by a strip pre-cut in dotted lines. The front of the first copy, in addition to the emblem of the transmitter and the place of emission, contains an area or the customer's address and the reasons for possible non-distribution are printed, a small rectangular area redacted with interlaced numbers and letters intended to receive the code by carbonless duplication. The front of the second copy, inside the cover, therefore illegible before having broken the precut strips of the edges of the document, includes in particular a frame plumb with the redacted area of the front of the first copy where the code will be readable by the recipient. Finally, the back of the second copy, outside of the cover, is completely redacted to improve opacity. When IT prints the address on the first sheet, we find it on the first copy of the cover. When we also print by impact the confidential code on the redacted area, it is impossible to read it on the first copy of the cover, but it appears clearly as part of the front of his second copy.

Yet another financial institution uses a similar document, but still more sophisticated because the pouch contains another pouch to pull from the first. This, also redacted on the back of two sheets also contains borders pre-cut that must be torn to finally access the code that appears on the front of the second copy.

The prior techniques are therefore expensive and for some unreliable as to the confidentiality. In addition, printers are used to print the confidential text. impact that have become obsolete and are increasingly being replaced by laser or inkjet printers that do better work at lower cost.

A document according to the first part of claim 1 is known from AU-B-442,297. document contains a confidential inscription formed by covered surfaces ink or toner and should only be read by those authorized to read it. This document also has a redacted area on which an adhesive film, at least partially transparent, for laser printing or inkjet is glued. The adhesive film is at least partially detachable from the document. Confidential registration is printed with a laser or inkjet printer on the surface of the adhesive film. he becomes legible by separation of the adhesive film and the document at least in the area of confidential registration. The separation causes permanent changes to the document.

In the redacted area of the confidential document known to AU-B-4 442 297 is a non-stick area.

According to some achievements of the confidential document known from AU-B-442 297 the document has a tongue precut in its thickness taking care of leave attachments forming seals connecting the tab to the rest of the document. The authorized persons take note of the confidential registration by detaching the tongue precut by breaking the fasteners.

In the confidential document known to AU-B-442 297 we can glue the back of the tab on the transparent adhesive film.

The object of the present invention is to present a simple document in the manner of document known from AU-B-4 442 297, reliable as regards confidentiality.

The subject of the present invention is therefore a document as defined in the claim 1.

According to the invention, the adhesive film extends beyond the non-stick area and is stuck there on the paper support so that when the film is detached from the support, the film does not not tear while the paper backing is being shredded. We reach this characteristic by coating either the plastic film or the paper support, or the two surfaces of a permanent adhesive whose peel strength is higher than that of resistance to tearing of the fibers which constitute the weft of the paper support, and in choosing a film more resistant to tearing than the paper support. Man's art will be able to choose both the adhesive which must be sufficiently powerful and the film which must be thick enough. What is unexpected and beyond the reach of ordinary skill in the art is the application of defibration of the backing of the backing paper as proof that an attempt was made to separate the film from its paper support and that the confidential registration may have been read. The recipient will notice an indiscreet reading of the confidential text since to do this, we will have to lift the film and defibrate the paper support, which will leave visible traces even if we tried to glue the paper back. Therefore, this final feature of the invention will deter any unauthorized third party from trying to read the confidential registration thus making confidentiality more reliable.

According to the invention, at least one tab, for example of the shape and the shape, has been precut. size of the last phalanx of the thumb, extending beyond the non-stick area, part of which is covered by the adhesive film while the other part overflows it and presents fasteners in the precut. This improvement makes it easier to detach the film from its paper backing. By pushing in with the thumb in the recto-verso direction the part of the tab overflowing the adhesive film, we break the fasteners and we start the detachment of the film from its paper support, also initiating defibration, if necessary. In taking between this thumb and forefinger this part of the tab and continuing to detach of the film from its support, the part of the tab stuck to the adhesive remains there since the tab is pre-cut all around and we reveal the confidential inscription directly below the redacted area on the film, and, if necessary, the paper support is defibrated outside of the non-stick area.

According to the invention, the confidential text is printed by a laser or jet printer ink on the film. The carviardage must be sufficient to make it impossible to read confidential text printed by laser or inkjet without separating the film from the paper support. As soon as the film has been separated from the paper support, it is possible to read the confidential text on the film, but it is advisable to lay the film flat on a plain surface whose color contrasts with the confidential inscription of the film adhesive.

The new document of the invention allows traditional enveloping. He ... not has no excess thickness except that of the adhesive film for laser printing or inkjet that a person skilled in the art can make very fine, of a few tens of microns, and it is well suited to modern fast printing methods, laser printer or inkjet. Confidentiality can be taken to the extreme since whoever manipulates the printer can ignore confidential information such as codes, which it prints.

The very complexity of the prior art, and its non-adaptation to modern techniques prove that the present invention is not obvious to one skilled in the art art.

According to an embodiment of the confidential document of the invention, the redacted area of the document also has a pattern of small dots. According to the invention, is meant by point any inscription of small size because the usual circular shape of the points is not a feature of the invention. The presence of small dots has only to further hamper the reading of inscriptions made by laser printer or inkjet.

According to an embodiment of the confidential document of the invention which makes it possible to obtain a flatter document with a more aesthetic appearance, the non-stick area has no appreciable thickness. This is achieved in particular by depositing the product non-stick, known to those skilled in the art, when printing redaction.

According to another embodiment of the confidential document of the invention, a film is used matt polyester adhesive for laser or inkjet printing which is well known by one skilled in the art.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the confidential inscription is printed in inversion.

According to another characteristic of the confidential document of the invention, we have removed the adhesiveness of the film on the surface which corresponds to the redacted area in applying a non-stick substance to the film before applying the adhesive. This feature of the invention may be useful in preventing the recipient authorized to read the confidential inscription, to stick the film on any support. For example, the user of a bank card may have the bad idea of sticking the film on it to keep his code in mind whenever he uses his card. Besides that this practice is contrary to the recommendations of banks which advocate that codes be memorized and written down nowhere, the film can come off in the devices having to handle the card, especially ATMs, which can cause the failure.

According to another characteristic of the confidential document of the invention, the substance non-stick inserted between the film and the adhesive of the adhesive film is a silicone.

We know that redaction is a hindrance to the reading of an inscription, that a weft with small dots whose shape is not characteristic of the invention is a additional hindrance.

We can also use the possibility offered by laser and inkjet printers to print the signs and characters of the confidential text only at a certain percentage cover. When the coverage is 100%, the entire area of the signs and characters are covered with toner or ink, and these appear very clearly at the risk of being able to be read notwithstanding redaction and even the dot pattern. At as the coverage of signs and characters decreases, that is to say that the surface coated with toner or ink decreases, these become less apparent and it is getting harder and harder to read or guess in the redaction and the weft with small dots. It is obvious that the percentage of coverage to guarantee the impossibility of discerning confidential signs and characters depends on the quality at both redaction and weft with small dots. Therefore, the characteristic of the invention here is simply that the covering of signs and characters is not carried out than a percentage less than 100%, preferably than 30%.

The present invention is in no way limited to the present example and to the explanations which preceded it and it also concerns all the achievements evident to man of art that flow from the spirit of the invention. As other examples, we can thus communicate, in addition to credit card codes, the confidential access code to the Minitel, the code of a Telecom card, a building access code, texts and reports more important classified secrets because nothing prevents increasing the size of the area confidential which contains redaction and the laser film. The area could even occupy the entire surface of the A4 document, minus a border of approximately 1 cm from all sides.

Likewise, the present invention is not limited to A4 format documents which is in no way characteristic of the invention or of a flat print. We could just as well use any other printing mode, especially continuous.

Claims (7)

1. The document comprising a confidential message which may only be read by persons entitled to do so and comprising a blocked-out or suppressed sector in which is located an anti-adhesive area on which an adhesive film is applied, at least partially transparent, for laser or ink-jet printing, and on the reverse of which there is cut off beforehand, in the thickness of the document but without opening up or damaging the film, a tongue, while taking care to leave attachments which form seals connecting the tongue to the remainder of the document, the confidential message being printed by laser or ink-jet,
   characterised in that
   the adhesive film extends over the edges of the anti-adhesive area, and is adhesively bonded at that point to the paper support in such a way that, when the support film is dissolved, the film does not become detached until the support paper is ground up, and in that said tongue is cut out beforehand in the shape of a mitre, extending beyond the edges of the anti-adhesive area, a part of which is covered by the film while the other part extends beyond the film and exhibits attachments in the preliminary cutting detachment area.
2. The confidential document according to Claim 1, characterised in that the blocked-out or suppressed sector likewise comprises a base frame formed from small points.
3. The confidential document according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the anti-adhesive area does not have any appreciable thickness.
4. The confidential document according to one of Claims 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the adhesive film is a matt polyester film for laser or ink-jet printing.
5. The confidential document according to one of Claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterised in that the confidential inscription is printed in an inverse fashion.
6. The confidential document according to one of Claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterised in that the adhesive effect of the film has been suppressed on the surface which corresponds to the blocked-out or suppressed sector by applying an anti-adhesive substance onto the film before applying the adhesive.
7. The confidential document according to Claim 6, characterised in that the anti-adhesive substance interfoliated between the film and the adhesive of the film is a silicone.