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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/305—Associated digital information
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/342—Moiré effects
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/351—Translucent or partly translucent parts, e.g. windows
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/36—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery comprising special materials
  • B42D25/378—Special inks
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/36—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery comprising special materials
  • B42D25/378—Special inks
  • B42D25/382—Special inks absorbing or reflecting infrared light
• • 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
  • B42D25/30—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery
  • B42D25/36—Identification or security features, e.g. for preventing forgery comprising special materials
  • B42D25/378—Special inks
  • B42D25/387—Special inks absorbing or reflecting ultraviolet light
• • B42D2035/24—

Definitions

• the first and second printed workings can be precisely registered.
• the first printed working is formed by lithographic, gravure or flexographic printing.
• the spacing of the screen in the second printed working is between 0.5 mm to 1.5mm, preferably between 0.8 and 1.2 mm, still preferably around 0.9 to 1.0 mm, measured between the centres of two adjacent screen elements.
• spacing of the screen elements in the second working is substantially equal to the grid spacing in the first working, and this is preferred to achieve a high level of concealment whilst ensuring the indicia can still be viewed on close inspection.
• the pitch of the second printed working could, for example, be n or 1/n times the pitch of the first working (where n is a positive integer). Increasing the pitch of the second printed working to a multiple of that of the first will decrease the concealing effect, whereas reducing it will have the opposite effect.
• the security feature is printed directly onto the article.
• the security feature is provided on a label adhered to the article.
• the security feature may be manufactured in an intermediary form such as a transfer element.
• the security article comprises a security document, such as a banknote, travellers cheque, certificate of authenticity, stamp, bond, tax disc, physical stamp, a secure label, passport or voucher. Examples of security features, methods of manufacture thereof, and security articles to which the security features are applied will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
• Figure 6 illustrates a first embodiment of a security feature
• Figure 2 shows a cross-section through the document of Figure 1 , from which it is apparent that the printed security feature 1 is formed of at least two print layers, or "workings", 3 and 4 which at least partially overlap one another.
• the thicknesses of the workings are greatly exaggerated in the Figure for clarity. In practice, the thicknesses of the workings will typically be very small compared to the thickness of the document 2 and , at least in areas, there may be no physical distinction in real terms between the two print layers. However, each is formed in a separate working as will be described further below.
• the first printed working 3 is defined by a screened working comprising a grid of indicia which carry information.
• the second printed working 4 is also a screened working but need not carry information and, typically, the screen elements will be of conventional form, such as line or dot elements.
• the second printed working 4 when the feature 1 is viewed (from above in the present example) the second printed working 4 lies in front of the first printed working 3, although this is not essential.
• the two printed workings are formed in register with one another and, when viewed in combination, appear as an image of varying tone.
• the first printed working 3 provides the image with gradual shading, giving it colour and a realistic three-dimensional appearance, whilst the second printed working 4 defines the sharp edges and outlines of the image. In combination, the two layers produce an effective, high-quality graphic.
• Figures 4 and 5 schematically depict exemplary first and second printed workings which could be used to form the security feature 1.
• Figure 4 shows part of a first printed working 3 which comprises a screen formed of an orthogonal grid of indicia 3a.
• each indicium takes the form of the numeral "5".
• the indicia are arranged on a regular grid of spacing P in both orthogonal directions along the grid rows and columns.
• a different style of grid could be used, such as a circular or sinusoidal grid.
• the working is a negative screen, meaning that the indicia themselves are ink-free, whilst their surroundings are printed with ink.
• the appearance of the working is varied as required across the feature in order to render the desired image, and this is achieved by adjusting the tone and/or saturation of the screen elements 3a (or, analogously, their background) across the grid.
• the indicia "5" have a greater thickness (line weight) than those to the right of the same line.
• the ink saturation is less in the region to the left of the line X-X' (since this is a negative screen) and the resulting visual effect is that this region will appear lighter in tone than that to the right of the line X-X'.
• Similar variations can be achieved by adjusting the size or spacing of the screen elements and/or by adjusting the tone of the ink itself across the grid, for example, by varying one or more of its hue, purity or lightness.
• the element spacing is used to vary the tone, if Moire effects are to be avoided, unless the periodicity of the different tonal regions of the first working can be made to match that of the second working (i.e. the spacing is n times or 1/n times that of the second grid, where n is a positive integer), the spacing of the second working should vary similarly to that of the first. In some cases, the printed working could have a varying colour such as a rainbow variation.
• Figure 6 shows a first embodiment of a printed security feature and its constituent workings.
• Figure 6(a) shows the security feature 10 at "normal" magnification (i.e. as viewed by the naked eye).
• the printed feature 10 has three distinct regions, labelled 17, 18 and 19.
• Region 17, at the top of the page, is printed with the second printed working only. This is labelled “Working - A”, and a magnified view of a region of this working is shown in Figure 6(i), labelled 14.
• Region 19 at the bottom of the page is printed with the first printed working, comprising a grid of indicia, only. This is labelled as "Working - B" and a region is shown at higher magnification in Figure 6(H), labelled 13.
• both the first and second printed workings are present, and this labelled as "Working - A + B".
• a magnified portion of this region is shown in Figure 6(iii), and labelled 15.
• the first and second workings will entirely overlap one another to produce the combined effect across the whole printed feature.
• the printed feature could include regions of only one or other of the workings, as depicted in the present example.
• at least a portion of the security feature will be provided with both of the printed workings, in register with one another (as per region 18 in the present example).
• the first printed working 13 takes the form of a screen of indicia elements arranged in a grid.
• the centre of the depicted region appears generally darker in tone than does the lower portion.
• These variations are modulated across the working in order to provide lightness and shading for the final image.
• the second printed working in this embodiment is a dot screen of which an enlarged region is shown in Figure 6(i) labelled 14.
• the screen elements have the form of regular dots arranged along lines running at an approximately 45° angle to the horizontal direction.
• the size and weight of each dot element is modulated across the working so as to produce variation in tone as is well- known in conventional screen workings.
• the second working is generally configured to provide fine details such as outlines within the image and, as such, the amount of tonal variation across the working is typically greater than that of the first working 13.
• Figure 7 shows selected portions of Figures 6(i), (ii) and (iii) at even greater magnification.
• Figure 7(i) shows a portion of the second printed working 14 in which the individual line or dot screen elements 14a are clearly visible.
• the horizontal and vertical spacing between the centres of the elements (P,) is about 0.45mm.
• Figure 7(i) is shown at a higher magnification than Figures 7(H) or 7(iii).
• Figure 7(H) shows a portion of the first printed working 13 incorporating a grid of indicia 13a.
• the horizontal and vertical grid spacing (P N ) is approximately 0.9mm, i.e. twice that of the spacing P, between the elements in the second screen 14.
• both screens are based on an orthogonal grid pattern in which the rows and columns of indicia are arranged at approximately 90 degrees to each other.
• this is not essential and either or both of the workings could take another grid form, such as a circular or sinusoidal screen.
• the repetition distance in both screens could vary across the feature, either to produce tonal variation or to increase the complexity of the print.
• the element spacing should vary in both workings in the same manner (ensuring the periodicity of each screen matches at all points), if Moire effects are to be avoided.
• Figure 8 shows a second embodiment of a printed security feature 20 including regions 27, 28 and 29 which are comparable to regions 17, 18 and 19 of Figure 6(a).
• region 27 only the second printed working 24 is present, of which a magnified region is shown in Figure 8(i); in region 29 only the first printed working 23 is present as shown in the magnified region in Figure 8(H); and in the intervening portion 28, both workings are present as shown in magnified form in Figure 8(iii).
• the first working 23, shown in Figure 8(H) comprises a negative screen in which four different indicia types are arranged to form the grid.
• the indicia "2", ⁇ ", "M” and “C” are arranged in a regular pattern across the grid and their weight and dimensions modulated across the image so as to provide the desired tonal variation.
• the second printed working 24, shown in Figure 8(i) is again a screened working formed of line and dot elements, but in this example has a coarser pitch than that of the Figure 6 embodiment.
• the indicia are not immediately apparent, but become visible when the feature is examined in more detail as illustrated in Figure 8(iii).
• the indicia will be most readily identified at a location in the image at which the shading by the first printed working is relatively dark whilst that of the second working is relatively light, such as may be found in a relatively "flat" area of the portrait such as the person's forehead or chin.
• the indicia need not be identifiable at all points of the image. This applies to all embodiments.
• Figure 9 shows a third embodiment of a printed security feature 30 which again has three distinct regions 37, 28 and 39 corresponding to regions 27, 28 and 29 of the previous embodiment.
• region 37 only the second printed working 34 is present, of which a magnified portion is shown in Figure 9(i)
• region 39 only the first printed working 33 is present, as shown in increased magnification in Figure 9(H), and in the intervening portion 38, both workings are present, as shown in magnified form in Figure 9(iii).
• the first printed working 33, shown in Figure 9(H) is identical to that of the second embodiment discussed above with reference to Figure 8(H), comprising a grid of indicia "2", ⁇ ", "M” and "C".
• the two printed workings can be formed using any desirable printing techniques provided that accurate registration between the two workings can be achieved.
• either or both workings could be produced by lithographic, flexographic or gravure printing processes.
• both of the two workings are produced using the same printing technique, since this will generally enable both prints to be produced on the same apparatus, which leads to more accurate registration.
• both workings be produced by lithographic printing since in this process, the two workings can be applied to the substrate (such as a banknote) simultaneously. The two workings are applied sequentially to an intermediary "blanket" from which the two workings are transferred together to the substrate.
• Figure 10 shows an exemplary first printed working 40 in which the screen elements 41 each comprise the number "10", arranged in a regular orthogonal grid pattern.
• the screen elements 41 each comprise the number "10", arranged in a regular orthogonal grid pattern.
• the pitch will be required to be larger in order to accommodate three digits at each grid position.
• Preferred ranges for the grid spacing are 0.5 to 1.5mm, preferably 0.8 to 1.8mm, most preferably around 0.9 to 1 mm.
• the indicia provided at each grid point are identical, i.e. each comprises the number "10". However, this is not essential and indeed the amount of information contained in the feature can be increased by using a variety of indicia types in the grid. As illustrated in the embodiments of Figures 8 and 9, a selection of indicia could be arranged in a repeating pattern across the grid or could be positioned at random. In particularly preferred embodiments subsets of screen elements are used to define codes within the grid. For example, Figure 1 1 shows an example of a first printed working 42 in which the grid comprises subset 43 containing three screen elements each.
• each subset is arranged to display the indicia "T", ⁇ " and "N", thereby forming the word "TEN" repeatedly across the grid.
• the subsets are arranged horizontally along the grid but this need not be the case.
• Figure 12 shows a further first printed working 44 in which subsets 45 are each formed of four screen elements, defining th e code "FIVE".
• Each block of four elements extends both horizontally and vertically.
• each subset could be arranged vertically, diagonally or in any other convenient manner. Any of the workings described above could alternatively be based on non- orthogonal grids, e.g. hexagonal, sinusoidal or circular screens.
• the information conveyed by the indicia preferably corresponds to a characteristic of the article to which the security feature is (or will be) applied.
• the information may be representative of its denomination.
• the information could take the form of currency information (e.g. "£” or “USD” or “DOLLARS”), bank information (e.g. "BANKOFENGLAND”), or issue information (e.g. "1996” or "ISSUE1").
• currency information e.g. "£” or "USD” or “DOLLARS”
• bank information e.g. "BANKOFENGLAND
• issue information e.g. "1996” or "ISSUE1”
• the printed security features comprises only the two printed workings mentioned, and this is generally preferred. However, additional overlying and/or underlying print layers could be added if desired.
• One or both of the workings could be printed using a security ink, such as a fluorescent, phosphorescent, luminescent, photochromic, optically variable, IR or UV responsive, or magnetic ink, to further enhance the secure nature of the feature.
• a security ink such as a fluorescent, phosphorescent, luminescent, photochromic, optically variable, IR or UV responsive, or magnetic ink.
• both workings should be visible under normal ambient lighting conditions (e.g. daylight).
• the security document or other article to which the security feature is ultimately applied may include additional security elements such as holograms, watermarks, security threads, magnetic features and the like.

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• Printing Methods (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

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Publications (3)

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• 2010
  • 2010-04-28 GB GBGB1007042.3A patent/GB201007042D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2011
  • 2011-04-21 ES ES11719610.5T patent/ES2526976T3/es active Active
  • 2011-04-21 PL PL11719610T patent/PL2566704T5/pl unknown
  • 2011-04-21 WO PCT/GB2011/050809 patent/WO2011135344A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2011-04-21 AU AU2011247090A patent/AU2011247090B2/en active Active
  • 2011-04-21 CA CA2797599A patent/CA2797599C/en active Active
  • 2011-04-21 MY MYPI2012004690A patent/MY162661A/en unknown
  • 2011-04-21 EP EP11719610.5A patent/EP2566704B2/de active Active
  • 2011-04-21 RU RU2012148837/12A patent/RU2555645C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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