WO1990010546A1

WO1990010546A1 - Identification article

Info

Publication number: WO1990010546A1
Application number: PCT/GB1990/000339
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher John Dixon; Martin John Caudell; Stephen Andrew Whitmore
Original assignee: The De La Rue Company Plc
Priority date: 1989-03-07
Filing date: 1990-03-06
Publication date: 1990-09-20
Also published as: GB8905148D0

Abstract

An identification article, such as a financial transaction card, is provided with a number of substantially identical, non-overlapping images (4) of information relating to the article holder.

Description

IDENTIFICATION ARTICLE The invention relates to identification articles, for example identity cards, financial transaction cards such as credit, charge, and cheque cards, and other articles which serve to identify either the holder of the article, including passports, licences and the like, or groups of holders, including passes, tickets and the like. Many methods have been proposed to reduce the risk of counterfeiting of such identification- articles including printing complex patterns onto the article, providing optical devices within the article, such as holograms and the like, and by providing regions on which. the holder applies a personal marking such as a signature.

EP-A-0176403 describes the printing with invisible UV revealable inks of a logo of the Issuing institution which is then overwritten in a conventional manner by the holder's signature.

GB-A-2132136 illustrates the printing of the name of the issuing institution in comparatively small print.

The methods described in GB 2132136 and EP 0176403 rely on the use of standard data such as the name or logo of the Issuing Institution to provide the ' security feature.

DE-C-3137275 describes a method of inhibiting the copying of laser written: identity, -cards,. - simply by preparing different, non-standard character fonts for alphanumeric information. A multitude of typefaces can be produced from a single basic character set. The method has the disadvantage that the overall print area covered would be only slightly greater than the normal print size of the text. We have devised a new form of anti-counterfeiting measure in which an identification article according to one aspect of the invention has provided thereon a number of substantially identical non-overlapping images of information relating to the article holder.

This invention is particularly useful since the additional anti-counterfeiting measure can be incorporated with minimal alteration to existing, well established manufacturing and issuing procedures and can allow conventional identification article formats to -be retained.

The information relating to the article holder may comprise a signature, the holder's name, a photograph or other photo image of the holder, the holder's account number or the like. The invention is particularly concerned with reproducing the information in colour.

Typically, the images comprise alphanumeric characters. Coded variants such as machine readable bar codes could also be used. The multiple images may be all identical or there may be introduced variants between one and another while containing the same information about the holder. Thus with holder information such as name, address and account number which will be in the form of text, the image may change in colour from one to the next. The coleur changes may be made from image to image or within characters of a given image. There may be gradual colour changes creating the effect of rainbow printing which is much used, iir security printing. Finally the individual images may be caused to change in size from the original font for example allowing a sinusoidal variation in height of the characters.

These changes can be achieved by electronic imaging software control and so make counterfeiting more difficult. The images can also be imaged in colour to coincide with the presence of a graphical background image, the data defining which may be combined with the multiple images.

The image changes must be appropriate to the holder information employed. Thus while colour changes 5 throughout a reproduction on normal or reduced scale of a signature may be acceptable and not detract from its identification, geometrical changes of such biometric features will be less acceptable unless there is one true replica for comparison. Preferably, the height of the o characters is not greater than 0.5 mm. Heights as small as 0.2 mm are achievable using laser controlled thermal dye transfer techniques.

In a particularly preferred arrangement, a larger version of the identical image is provided in the same. 5 region as the identical images. This larger version may be generated by electronically controlled means or could be inscribed by the holder upon receipt of the article.

In other arrangements, the region carrying the o identical electronic images could also contain a different image of information relating to the article holder such as a photo, fingerprint or the like.

In still further arrangements, additional, different identical electronically reproduced images could be 5 provided, for— example interleaved with the identical images of holder information. Thus images of the holder's name could be mixed with images of the name of the article issuing organisation;. This also makes it possible to record information which allows groups of 0 people e.g. passengers on a given airline flight, or individual or groups of objects to be identified. Thus for example from the population of road vehicles it may be desirable to provide tamperproof identification documentation for groups of cars or individual cars. In this instance the cars would have individual vehicle identification numbers, engine numbers and the like. References to the article "holder" should therefore be construed not only to include male and female holders but also inanimate but identifiable objects such as road vehicles.

Preferably, the identical images are reproduced in a region of the article normally reserved for the holder's signature. There exist International Standards (such as ANSI X 4.13 - 1983) which define the format of certain identification articles, particularly financial transaction cards, and the location of the signature region is fairly closely defined. By utilising this region, minimal changes to the construction of the article need to be made. However, it is possible for the multiple images to be provided elsewhere on the article if necessary.

As already mentioned above, the article may include a larger version of the same, multiply reduced image and in the case of a signature this could be a full size image of the signature.

If the holder of the article has to sign the article in ink, it is important that the signature strip be able to accept ink in addition to electronically generated images. In order -to accept ink the signature strip must have a degree of microporosity in order to make the ink, which will normally be ball-point pen ink, substantive. Thus smooth plastic surfaces on their own- are unsatisfactory. The surface of the signature strip must be modified to impart such properties for example by pigmentation (for example with particles of titanium dioxide, or fumed silica) , by microabrasion or by creating vesicles.

The strip may be made of plastic, plastic coated paper or filled paper. The paper may be filled for example with clay or a white pigment such as baryta. The strip may also have a weakly bonded antitamper layer bearing security printing on the surface.

Paper substrates may also contain various anti-forgery measures such as solvent soluble dyes,

5 solvent reacting chemicals, luminescent compounds, etc..

An example of a useful plastic signature strip construction consists of polyvinyl chloride filled with silica, the bonding surface of which is security printed.

By fabricating such a strip with fumed silica or o similar essentially transparent fillers, the translucency of the strip may be retained. Thus the strip may be affixed to a PVC substrate with security printing being at the interface. After the outer surface is imaged with thermally diffusable dyes, the article is heated to allow 5 the dyes to diffuse down into the security printed layer which can be seen from the surface of the article. The surface of the strip remains ink receptive.

Signature strips may also be applied by silk screen printing in a suitable polymeric composition. o ^An example of a microporous polyolefin which may be useful is PPG Industries "Tesslin" .

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of providing identification indicia on an identification article comprises electronically 5 controlling imaging means to provide a number of substantially identical, non-overlapping images of information relating to the article holder.

The method of providing the images is- preferably electronically controlled thermal dye transfer or dye _Q development using, for example, a laser beam. It is generally desirable that the electronic image be placed in such a manner that mechanical and chemical alteration are made more difficult. Thus it may be desirable to form the images with dyes which penetrate and mark two adjacent layers such as is taught in copending patent application PCT/GB89/01375.

Some examples of financial transaction cards according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 illustrates the rear surface of a transaction card;

Figure 2 shows one example of a signature region which has been imaged in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a second example of a signature region which has been imaged in accordance with the invention; and,

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate two further examples of imaged signature regions. The transaction card shown in Figure 1 has a conventional form with a plastics core 1 on which is provided a magnetic strip 2 and a signature region 3.

In one example, a signature strip having a dye receptive signable surface is affixed to the PVC core 1 iⁿ the region 3 and the name of the holder is multiply imaged in miniature to form a background printing on the signature strip. This is illustrated in Figure 2 where the multiple representations of the signature are illustrated at 4, the characters having a height of 0.2 mm. The miniature printing forms a number of closely abutting miniature printing lines which run along the length of the signature strip. The imaging is carried out by using a laser writer, for example of the type described in EP-A-202811 to cause colour dye transfer from a carrier sheet, although other forms of imaging such as multiple pin thermal printing head imaging, e.g. using thermal dye transfer may also be used. The laser writer (or thermal head) transfers dye from a carrier sheet (not shown) to a dye receptive pigmented polymeric layer on the surface of the signature strip 3. When the holder of the card sees this imaged version, he then applies his signature as shown at 5, to the signature strip in ink.

The image receiving surface may be titanium dioxide pig ented PVC.

In an alternative arrangement, the multiple images consist of the name of the card holder with the holder's account number interleaved between them as shown at 6 in Figure 3. In this case, two rows of multiply printed images 6 have been formed between which the holder applies his signature 5 in ink.

In another arrangement (Figure 4) the multiple image comprises a representation of the signature 7 and a larger version of the signature 5 is also electronically. reproduced rather than being applied by the holder himself. In this latter case, the signature of the card holder is captured in digital form for example from an application form by using a camera or scanner connected to a computer. The signature data can then be used to form both the full size image and also the miniature, multiple images. In this case, the layer on which the images are formed may comprise a metallised plastics strip which is imaged using a technique similar to that described in EP-A-217517 and EP-A-232579. In these methods, a laser -is used to remove portions of the metallisation to produce the images. The imaged strip will then be secured to the core 1 by laminating or other form of bonding. In this case, a conventional signature strip could also be provided in a separate region to which the holder could apply his signature in ink. Coloured images can be generated using the techniques illustrated in PCT/GB89/01375 and EP-A-273348.

The signature 5 in the Figure 4 example could, of course, also be applied manually. Figure 5 illustrates an imaged region 3 in which microimages of the holder's signature are provided alone.

Claims

1. An identification article on which is provided a number of substantially identical, non-overlapping images

5 of information relating to the article holder.

2. An article according to claim 1, wherein a larger version of the identical image is provided in the same region as the identical images.

3. An article according to claim 1, further comprising o additional, different identical images interleaved with the identical images of holder information.

4. An article according to claim 1, wherein the images comprise alphanumeric characters.

5. An article according to claim 4, wherein the height. 5 of the characters is not greater than 0.5 mm.

6. An article according to claim 3 , wherein the additional, different identical images comprise one or more of the name of the issuing organisation, the issuing organisation address, and logo. o

7. An article according to claim 1, wherein the images are reproduced by a thermal dye transfer process.

8. An article according to claim 7, wherein an electronically controlled radiation beam is used to effect thermal dye transfer. 5

9. An article according to claim 1, wherein the identical images are reproduced in a region of the article normally reserved for the holder's signature.

10. An article according, to claim 1 , wherein the information relating to the article holder comprises one 0 or more of the holder's signature, name, photograph or other photo image, or his account number.

11. An article according to claim 1, wherein the identical images are provided on a signature strip on which the holder can apply his signature in ink. 5

12. An article according to claim 11, wherein the strip is made of plastic, plastic coated paper, or filled paper.

13. An article according to claim 12, wherein the strip comprises PVC filled with silica.

14. An article according to claim 1, wherein the substantially identical images vary in colour.

15. A method of providing identification indicia on an identification article comprising electronically controlling imaging means to provide a number . of substantially identical, non-overlapping .images of information relating to the article holder.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the images are reproduced by a thermal dye transfer process in which an electronically controlled radiation beam is used to effect thermal dye transfer.