PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST COPYING AND ALTERATION OF SCRATCHED DOCUMENTS

Abstract

A protected, full-color document, as well as the processes and systems for manufacturing it, secured by a removable scratch-off film, where protection against attacks such as alteration and / or copying is ensured by digitally imaged Benday patterns and / or digitally imaged background patterns around variable indices. By printing Benday patterns and / or an imaged background using the same four-color imagers, ease of use and integrity of the protected document are achieved from the consumer's point of view, while offering a more secure, less expensive, and more aesthetically pleasing document design. Figure from the abstract: [FIG. 2G]

Description

Description Title of the invention: PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST COPYING AND ALTERATION OF SCRATCH-OFF DOCUMENTS

[0001] CONTEXT

[0002] — The present disclosure relates generally to documents, such as instant lottery tickets, having variable indices under a scratch-off film (in English, scratch-off coating or “SOC”), and systems, methods and devices which provide protection against document tampering attacks as well as against the use of copies of documents protected by a SOC.

[0003] — Instant lottery tickets have become a traditional way to generate revenue for local and national governments around the world. The concept of masking variable indicia (such as variable game symbols) under a SOC a also been applied to many other documents such as documents of commercial contests, phone cards, gift cards, etc. Billions of SOC-protected documents are literally printed every year, SOCs being used to ensure that documents have not been used, read or previously modified. SOC instant lottery tickets are used as main example of such documents, but are not intended to limit the present di- popularization.

[0004] — Variable indicia may be printed using a high-speed inkjet specialized in providing a human-readable indication of the value of each note instant lottery. In lottery companies where no validation system au- automated is available to verify that a given instant lottery ticket is winner at the time of exchange, the use of visual validation by the seller of these instant lottery tickets create an opportunity for illicit consumer fraud to using document alteration techniques to create ins- lottery tickets tantalized that seem to be winning. These types of document tampering attacks produce mainly in the form of cutting and gluing, one or more game symbols being removed from one or more instant lottery tickets losing donor and stuck on another losing instant lottery ticket to create an instant lottery ticket that appears to be a winner.

[0005] — A known preventive measure against ticket tampering attacks is to use a Benday pattern (printed with static printing plates like described further) in the instant lottery ticket area under the SOC (which is often referred to as a scratch-off area) to attempt to render ticket alterations involving more obvious cutting and gluing processes for sellers during visual inspection of these instant lottery tickets. [Fig. 1 A] shows two examples of Benday pattern plates printed on the backgrounds of the scratch-off areas of two known instant lottery tickets. [Fig. 1 A] shows the two different examples of instant lottery tickets 100 and 101 with Benday pattern plates 105 and 106 printed in the respective backgrounds of the scratch-off areas under the respective variable indicia 103 and 104. Instant lottery ticket 100 is shown with a portion of SOC 102 remaining on the substrate of instant lottery ticket 100. The examples of Benday pattern plates 105 and 106 printed on the respective backgrounds of these examples of instant lottery tickets 100 and 101 are of low contrast to their respective backgrounds.This low contrast background is necessary to ensure sufficient contrast with the variable indicia so that the consumer can easily identify any winning symbol on these 100 and 101 instant lottery tickets. By applying a digital filter (which eliminates any object wider than the Benday lines as well as any object that is not the same color) to the instant lottery ticket 100, the ticket's Benday pattern 105 becomes more evident as shown by the enlarged Benday pattern 105' also shown in [Fig. 1A]. From the enhanced filtered Benday pattern 105', it can be seen that any attempt to cut and paste to mortise a winning pattern of symbols onto a single instant lottery ticket would cause a break in the Benday lines (provided the cut and pasted donor tickets have different Benday patterns). However, since known Benday patterns are not imaged, but rather printed with static printing plates (such as flexographic, rotographic, or offset printing plates) on a printing press, any given known Benday pattern will repeat periodically within a pack of instant lottery tickets.Since it is not difficult to access losing instant lottery tickets (given that there is no perceived value in losing instant lottery tickets), it is not complicated to amass a collection of such losing instant lottery tickets with identical plate-printed Benday designs on the background distributed on a periodic basis. Once the collection of identical plate-printed Benday designs is acquired, it becomes possible to generate instant lottery tickets that appear to be winning counterfeit by cutting and pasting using only identical Benday designs, thereby circumventing this known intended preventative measure by using such plate-printed Benday designs. In addition to the visible Benday patterns printed on instant lottery ticket plates in [Fig. 1 A] which serve as a preventative measure against cut-and-paste counterfeiting, normally invisible (under white light illumination) Benday patterns have been plate-printed on instant lottery ticket substrates. tantanée. Such plate-printed Benday patterns become visible under ultraviolet (UV) illumination. For example, [Fig. 1B] illustrates a portion of an instant lottery ticket 107 with its SOC removed and showing variable indicia 108 that are visible under normal white light as well as a hidden plate-printed Benday pattern 109 that is only visible under UV illumination. These Benday patterns are used by lotteries as a method to verify the authenticity and integrity of an instant lottery ticket as well as potentially proving a preventative measure against cut-and-paste counterfeiting attacks. In addition to the above examples of plate-printed Benday patterns used on instant lottery tickets, a known preventative measure to protect against copying of various types of documents is to use Void pantographs to print additional information that is visible when the document is copied (e.g., by photocopying, scanning, or otherwise), but invisible or not apparent when the document is viewed with the naked eye. For example, [Fig. 1C] illustrates an original document 110 and a photocopy 111 of the same document. Embedded in the background 112 of the original document 110 is a hidden message 113 (in this example, "VOID") that is difficult to detect with the naked eye. However, if the original document 110 is photocopied to create the photocopied document 111, the hidden message 114 becomes readily visible.This Void Pantograph effect is made possible by printing a light-colored hidden message with a halftone screen that is manipulated to produce a dot pattern that is not visible to the naked eye, but which a wide range of scanners and photocopiers will detect. BRIEF SUMMARY Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a document such as a lottery ticket comprising: a substrate; an imaged background printed on a first area of ​​the substrate; variable indicia printed on a second area of ​​the substrate; a Benday pattern printed on the first area, the Benday pattern including a Void pantograph, the Void pantograph being printed such that the Benday pattern is not visible to the naked eye when viewing the lottery Benday pattern on the first area, but is readily visible to the naked eye when viewing a copy of the Benday pattern; and a scratch-off film covering at least a portion of the first and second areas. Various other embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a plurality of documents such as a plurality of lottery tickets for a single lottery game, wherein the plurality of lottery tickets comprise: (1) a first lottery ticket comprising: a first substrate; a background imaged on a first area of ​​the first substrate; variable indicia imaged on a second area of ​​the first substrate; a Benday pattern imaged on the background imaged, the Benday pattern being printed with an ink dye-based; and a scratch-off film covering at least a portion of the first and second areas of the first substrate; and (2) a second lottery ticket comprising: a second substrate; an imaged background on a first area of ​​the second substrate; variable indicia imaged on a second area of ​​the second substrate; a Benday pattern imaged on the imaged background and variable indicia, the Benday pattern being printed with a dye-based ink; and a scratch-off film covering at least a portion of the first and second areas of the second substrate. Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a document such as a lottery ticket comprising: a substrate; an imaged background on a first area of ​​the substrate; variable indicia imaged on a second area of ​​the substrate; a Benday pattern in the imaged background, the Benday pattern being printed in four-color process color; and a scratch-off film covering at least a portion of the first and second areas. Other features are described below and will become apparent from the detailed description below and the figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS The patent or application file contains at least one drawing implemented in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fees. [Fig.1A] illustrates front views of two examples of known instant lottery tickets with known Benday patterns printed on the background areas below the variable indicia and showing an enlarged portion of an example Benday pattern removed from an instant lottery ticket. [Fig.1B] illustrates a front view of a portion of a known example of a scratch-off lottery ticket showing an ultraviolet fluorescent Benday pattern which would normally be invisible under white light and is visible (as shown) under ultraviolet illumination. [Fig.1C] illustrates two front views of an example portion of a document exhibiting Void pantographs, the first view showing how the original document would appear to the naked eye, and the second view showing how a photocopy of the same document would appear to the naked eye. [Fig.2A] illustrates front views of examples of multi-color Benday patterns imaged on instant lottery tickets showing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure shown after the SOC on the instant lottery ticket has been partially removed. [Fig.2B] illustrates front views of various examples of multi-color Benday patterns imaged on instant lottery tickets showing additional examples of the embodiment of [Fig.2A]. [Fig.2C] illustrates a front view with different examples of multi-colored continuous imaged background patterns printed on an instant lottery ticket showing an exemplary alternative embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated after the SOC has been removed from the instant lottery ticket. [Fig.2D] illustrates a front view with different continuously imaged backgrounds of multiple colors printed behind each indicia on an exemplary instant lottery ticket showing a second exemplary alternative embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated after the SOC has been removed from the instant lottery ticket. [Fig.2E] illustrates front views of imaged backgrounds that include different examples of artistic images (i.e., Joker faces) printed behind the variable indicia of the ticket showing a third example of an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated after the SOCs have been removed from the instant lottery tickets. [Fig.2F] illustrates front views of exemplary rotational imaged background patterns (i.e., stars) that are rotated from ticket to ticket and printed behind the variable indicia and showing a fourth exemplary alternative embodiment of the present disclosure illustrated after the SOC has been removed from the instant lottery ticket. [Fig.2G] illustrates front views of three examples of instant lottery tickets with the SOCs removed, the first view showing how the original instant lottery ticket would appear to the naked eye, and the second and third views showing how a photocopy of the original instant lottery ticket would feature previously hidden Benday designs that are not visible to the naked eye on the original instant lottery ticket. [Fig.3A] illustrates a plan view of a representative example of a method of the present disclosure that includes combining the multi-color Benday patterns of Figures 2A and 2B with varying indices, and then flattening the resulting homogeneous combinations. [Fig.3B] illustrates a plan view of a representative example method of the present disclosure that includes combining the multi-color imaged background patterns and variable indicia of Figures 2C, 2D, and 2E, and then flattening the resulting homogeneous combinations. [Fig.3C] illustrates a plan view of a representative example method of the present disclosure that includes combining the imaged background pattern and variable indicia of [Fig.2F] with a variance of the imaged background pattern obtained by rotation before flattening the resulting homogeneous combinations. [Fig.3D] illustrates a plan view of a representative example of the process of the present disclosure which involves combining various Benday patterns and varying indices of [Fig.2G] such that the Benday patterns are not visible to the naked eye, and then flattening the resulting homogeneous combinations. [Fig.4A] illustrates an overall block diagram of a representative example system and method of the present disclosure showing a schematic graphical overview for generating instant lottery tickets with digitally imaged variable Benday patterns consistent with Figures 2A-2E. [Fig.4B] illustrates an overall block diagram of another representative example system and method of the present disclosure showing a schematic graphical overview for generating instant lottery tickets with digitally imaged variable Benday patterns consistent with [Fig.2F]. [Fig.4C] illustrates an overall block diagram of another representative example system and method of the present disclosure showing a schematic graphical overview for generating instant lottery tickets with one or more Void pantographs with digitally imaged variable Benday patterns consistent with [Fig.2G]. [Fig.5] illustrates an isometric view of an exemplary printing press capable of producing the exemplary banknotes of Figures 2A through 2G. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Certain terms are used herein for convenience only and should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure. As noted above, instant lottery tickets (which are sometimes referred to herein as a “lottery ticket” or “ticket”) are intended to be examples of any “scratch-off document” and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. The terms "image" or "print" are used to mean an indicia or indicia created directly or indirectly on any substrate or surface by any known or new imaging or printing process or equipment. The term “Void Pantograph” is used to refer to additional information printed in the scratch-off area of ​​a document that is not visible when viewed by the naked eye, but becomes visible when viewed by a suitable technique or device (e.g., camera and mobile phone application). Although the term “Void Pantograph” has been used in the industry to refer to a specific steganography technique, for the purposes of this disclosure, it is used to refer to any type of steganography technique used to print a Benday pattern that is not easily visible to the human eye. The terms "full color" and "process color" are used interchangeably to refer to a variety of colors produced by discrete combinations of applications of the primary "CMY" inks or dyes (i.e., Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow), or the four more common "CMIN" colors (i.e., Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), or in some cases six colors (e.g., the Hexachrome printing process uses CMIN inks plus orange and green inks), or eight colors, e.g., CMYK plus lighter shades of cyan (LC), magenta (LM), yellow (LY), and black (YK). The term "ink" is used to refer to either "pigmented inks" or "colored tints." The term "composite color" is used to refer to two or more individual colors used to make up an overall "process color." The term "component color" is used to refer to a single individual color that is used with at least one other component color to create a combined color "composite color" or "process color." The term "variable indicia or indicia" is used to refer to pictorial indicia that indicate information relating to an asset, such as, but not limited to, a value of the document (such as, but not limited to, an instant lottery ticket, coupon, commercial game piece, or the like), wherein the variable indicia or indicia (such as winning or losing symbols) is concealed by one or more SOCs (until the information or value is permitted to be viewed), such as by a holder (such as a purchaser) of the document removing the SOC, revealing the variable indicia or indicia). Examples of variable indicia as a printed embodiment include letters, numbers, symbols, icons, or figures. The terms "photocopy" and "copy" are used to refer to a reproduction or facsimile of a document (such as an original document). This "photocopy" or "copy" may be a scanned image of the document that is subsequently printed, a photocopy of the document, a printed photograph of the document, or other. The term "imaged background" is used to refer to the background area immediately surrounding variable indicia and comprising imaged four-color ink. Reference will now be made in detail to examples of the present disclosure, various embodiments of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided for the purpose of explanation of the present disclosure, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. For example, features illustrated or described in one embodiment may be used with another embodiment to provide yet another embodiment. The present disclosure encompasses these and other modifications and variations that fall within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. As mentioned above, instant lottery tickets are used herein as an example of the documents in this disclosure for the sake of brevity and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to documents such as instant lottery tickets with variable Benday patterns digitally imaged at the same time (e.g., with the same physical print head) as the variable indicia. The present disclosure also relates to methods and systems for printing both the variable Benday patterns and the variable indicia, each of which may potentially vary with a plurality or with each instant lottery ticket printed for a given lottery game, resulting in instant lottery tickets for a lottery game with significantly improved preventative measures against ticket tampering attacks. In various embodiments, the digitally imaged Benday patterns comprise multiple colors (as shown in Figures 2A and 2B) that may vary continuously from ticket to ticket in a lottery game.The present disclosure provides that the Benday patterns may be created as discrete artwork designs or digitally generated mathematical functions (such as, but not limited to, sine waves of varying phase, frequency, and / or amplitude; phase-encoded waveforms; complex sinusoids; etc.) substantially plotted on an X / Y grid that coincides with the scratch-off area of ​​an instant lottery ticket. Various embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to an instant lottery ticket (and methods and systems for creating the same) with digitally imaged Benday backgrounds printed in the areas behind the variable indicia. In various embodiments, these imaged backgrounds may be a solid color (as shown in Figures 2C and 2D) that varies depending on the instant lottery ticket and / or from ticket to ticket. By varying the solid color imaged backgrounds surrounding the variable indicia, the benefits of traditional plate-printed Benday patterns' preventative measures against ticket tampering attacks may be realized with the additional benefits of a more difficult-to-replicate ticket and a more aesthetically pleasing ticket appearance due to the associated less cluttered background.The present disclosure provides for the enhancement of the solid color imaged background preventative measure by requiring a perpetrator of the illicit act to find the desired indicia in a losing instant lottery ticket that also has the same imaged background color (from a limited collection of losing instant lottery tickets for that specific lottery game) before attempting a ticket tampering attack. Thus, by sufficiently varying the solid colors . of imaged background, the preventative measure of solid color imaged background offers higher levels of security than traditional monochromatic Benday patterns due to the higher amount of possible combinations without the disadvantage of potentially lost aesthetics. In various alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the instant lottery ticket may include a digitally imaged background having a low-contrast graphic representation (such as an image or illustration as shown in Figures 2E, 2F, and 2G) in areas behind the variable indicia as a preventative measure against ticket tampering attacks. The addition of the graphic representation (such as the image or illustration) to the imaged background provides both ease of identification of variable indicia by the consumer (due to the low-contrast background) as well as improved security against ticket tampering attacks as compared to traditional plate-printed Benday designs while at the same time creating a generally more aesthetically pleasing instant lottery ticket.This increased security is due to the graphic representation (such as an image or illustration) effectively defining different locations of the scratch-off area, requiring a perpetrator of the illicit action to find any desired clue in the same location from different losing instant lottery tickets, which also allows a preventative measure to be implemented with much greater variation than is possible with plate-printed Benday designs. The addition of a digitally imaged background with an embedded low-contrast image according to the present disclosure is more complex and therefore more likely to reveal a ticket tampering attack. The present disclosure also provides that by altering the image in the digitally imaged background from ticket to ticket by either changing the color (e.g., [Fig. 2E]) and / or the background image itself (e.g., [Fig.2F]), a very large number of background permutations can be obtained that would not be possible with traditional plate-printed Benday patterns. Various other embodiments of the present disclosure provide digitally imaged Benday patterns not readily visible to the human eye imaged in areas behind and / or above the variable indicia such that the imaged Benday pattern is not visible to a naked eye perceiving the instant lottery ticket, but which become readily visible using a device (as shown in [Fig. 2G]). These embodiments are particularly suitable for the forensic examination of an instant lottery ticket that appears to be a winner, where the perpetrator of the illicit action of a ticket tampering attack is likely unaware of the hidden Benday pattern. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, an imaged Benday pattern that is difficult to see with the human eye is implemented via an app- Hidden Benday application of a "Void Pantograph" that, through steganography, has additional printed information in the scratch-off area of ​​the ticket that is only visible when the document is copied or viewed by a device, but not visible when viewed with the naked eye. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, this Void Pantograph is made possible by printing a light-colored hidden Benday pattern with a half-tone screen that is manipulated to produce a dot pattern that is not visible to the naked eye, but that a wide range of scanners, photocopiers, as well as custom smartphone applications can detect.With this exemplary embodiment, the machine detected the intact presence of the Benday pattern that is difficult to see with the human eye, which provides a very high level of confidence that the instant lottery ticket has not been altered, copied, and is in fact the original document for forensic analysis. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the imaged Benday pattern that is difficult to see with the human eye is implemented with a digitally imaged UV fluorescent ink that only becomes visible under the appropriate UV illumination. With these embodiments, the UV detected the intact presence of the Benday pattern, which provides a very high level of confidence that the instant lottery ticket has not been altered, copied, and is in fact the original document for forensic analysis. In various embodiments, the above-discussed preventative measures (which are described in more detail below) against ticket tampering attacks may be implemented using the same imagers that are already deployed to print the variable indicia of the instant lottery ticket. Using the imagers to print both variable indicia and Benday patterns and / or imaged backgrounds results in a more secure, less expensive, and more aesthetically pleasing ticket design than previously available. Various embodiments and advantages of the present disclosure are further set forth in the following description, or may be apparent from this description, or may be learned by practicing this disclosure. The present disclosure also describes example printing mechanisms and methodologies that provide practical details for reliably producing digitally imaged Benday patterns that are highly resistant to cut-and-paste counterfeiting attacks for SOC-protected documents. For example, Figures 2A-2G illustrate various exemplary embodiments of different preventive measures (for documents such as instant lottery tickets) against cut-and-paste counterfeiting attacks for full-color documents such as instant lottery tickets for a lottery game in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. [Fig. 2A] illustrates three different examples of digitally imaged multi-color Benday patterns of exemplary instant lottery tickets. [Fig. 2B] illustrates a plurality of different examples of multi-color Benday patterns superimposed on different colored backgrounds usable on instant lottery tickets. [Fig. 2C] illustrates an example of an instant lottery ticket with its indicia imaged on three different colored imaged backgrounds, thereby providing a functional equivalent of a possibly more aesthetically pleasing Benday pattern. [Fig. 2D] illustrates an exemplary instant lottery ticket with varying indicia imaged on different colored imaged backgrounds, but with much greater variance on the background color since each indicia is placed on its own isolated background color. [Fig.[Fig. 2E] illustrates two imaged background patterns with two different color perspectives of two example instant lottery tickets that increase the variance in both the imaged background pattern and the color. [Fig. 2F] illustrates a digitally imaged instant lottery ticket where the variance in the background is achieved by rotating the imaged background example star field from one ticket to the next. [Fig. 2G] illustrates three different views of the same digitally imaged instant lottery ticket, including one view showing how the ticket would normally appear to a consumer and the other two views illustrating how a photocopy of the same ticket would appear revealing a previously hidden Benday pattern, thereby providing covert preventative measures for both cut and paste as well as counterfeiting attacks. More specifically, as shown in [Fig. 2A], the example “Holiday Winnings” instant lottery tickets 200, 201, and 202 illustrate different examples of Benday patterns printed on the substrates of the instant lottery tickets 200, 201, and 202 with a four-color digital imager and without a variable indicia for illustrative purposes. The example tickets 200, 201, and 202 show four different digitally imaged four-color Benday patterns 203, 207, 208, and 209. In practice, a virtually unlimited amount of different Benday patterns is possible according to this embodiment by varying the digital inputs to the mathematical algorithm that plots the Benday patterns on an X / Y grid that coincides with the scratch-off area of ​​the respective instant lottery ticket.The digitally imaged Benday pattern of the instant lottery ticket 200 is shown plotted with three different four-color colors, including orange 204, green 205, and purple 206. However, many other different color variations in association with such different Benday patterns are also possible in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, [Fig. 2B] illustrates representative examples of sixteen different four-color color Benday patterns 210-225 usable on instant lottery tickets. tantaned according to the present disclosure, Benday patterns 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 222, 223, 224 and 225 are superimposed on different solid color backgrounds and Benday patterns 218, 219, 220 and 221 are superimposed on different gradient backgrounds. [Fig. 2C] illustrates a representative example of an instant lottery ticket 230 with three different colored imaged backgrounds surrounding variable indicia 231, 232, and 233. In this exemplary embodiment, by digitally imaging variable indicia on different colored backgrounds, anyone attempting a cut-and-paste attack must find a losing dealer instant lottery ticket with the desired variable indicia printed on the same respective colored imaged background(s). These different colored backgrounds essentially replicate the preventative security measure of Benday patterns without the drawback of what some players may consider unattractive and / or confusing lines in the background.The present disclosure provides that, using four-color digital imagers, the color imaged background can be varied as desired from ticket to ticket for the same lottery game, with the greater variety of color imaged background preventative measures becoming more secure than traditional Benday patterns. This variation in background color from ticket to ticket need not be profound, with subtle differences in the tint or shade of background colors from ticket to ticket in the same lottery game appearing to be similar when viewed without particular focus by a consumer, but becoming readily visible when an indicia is taken from a losing dealer instant lottery ticket in an attempt to create an instant lottery ticket that appears to be a winner. Thus, if a sufficient quantity of different digitally imaged color background areas surrounding varying indicia are printed from ticket to ticket for the same lottery game, effective security against cut and paste attacks can be provided with the added benefit of improved aesthetics without the drawbacks inherent in the Benday plate printing process. The present disclosure provides that a sufficient quantity of different digitally imaged color background areas on instant lottery tickets of a lottery game can be used to achieve security against cut and paste fraud. As discussed earlier, known Benday patterns are printed plates wrapped around printing cylinders typically measuring 12 to 30 inches in circumference. Since known Benday patterns repeat after each revolution of the printing cylinder, optimal variability of known Benday patterns would be achieved with cylinders 30 inches in circumference. The best-case scenario for Benday pattern variability would be achieved by printing the known banknote 101 of [Fig. 1A], which has a height of 3 inches, thus allowing ten tickets with potentially different Benday designs to be printed on a 30-inch cylinder before repeating Benday designs. However, shorter instant lottery tickets, such as the example ticket 101, generally sell for less (one euro in this example) than larger tickets. As retail ticket prices increase, the lottery industry has generally adopted the strategy of increasing the actual size of tickets accordingly to indicate a higher retail value. For example, $5 (and above) retail tickets offered for sale are generally 6 to 8 inches tall, with some as high as 12 inches. Therefore, assuming an example of an 8-inch-tall ticket on a 24-inch circumference cylinder, the quantity of unique Benday designs before repeating would be three.Thus, the security of the known plate-printed Benday pattern tends to decrease inappropriately as the market value of the instant lottery ticket increases. Continuing with the example of instant lottery ticket 230 of [Fig. 2C], the three different colored backgrounds 231, 232, and 233 can be considered to provide approximately the same level of security as traditional plate-printed Benday patterns for 8-inch-tall instant lottery tickets with three different patterns. The embodiment adds background Benday patterns to add the variance of "swapping" (i.e., the Benday lines behind an indicia in one area of ​​the instant lottery ticket do not necessarily correspond to the lines behind an indicia in another area of ​​the instant lottery ticket). With the solid colored background patterns 231, 232, and 233 in the example of [Fig. 2C], the swapping would be confined to the three different colored areas 231, 232, and 233. As shown in [Fig.2C], the ticket layout 230 has twelve different rows by three different columns of indicia on the substrate of the instant lottery ticket, and thus thirty-six different locations. . With the use of digital imaging according to the present disclosure, the creation of one hundred and eight different background colors for tickets in an instant game can be employed. In the example instant lottery ticket 230 of [Fig. 2C], the processor that generates the imaging files can be programmed to vary the three different background color areas 231, 232, and 233 per ticket across thirty-six different tickets. However, this does not necessarily mean that the thirty-six different background color tickets must appear significantly different from one another. With more or less minor variations in the percentage of CMYK ink with each color or component combination (e.g., < 4% black, < 7% cyan and magenta, < 13% yellow) used to produce the four-color background colors, subtle changes in background color from ticket to ticket can be obtained, Similar colors can be quantified by first plotting a given process color as a point on a color gamut, and then defining a circle on the color gamut of limited radius with the plotted point of the given color at its center, i.e., a color gamut graphically shows the subset of process colors that can be accurately produced by a given printer (e.g., a CMYK printer), thereby illustrating the printer's color space or range of colors that can actually be reproduced with adjacent or nearby points on the gamut constituting similar colors. For example, the enlarged dice index 234 shows four different examples of subtle background colors 226, 227, 228, and 229, which would not necessarily be visible when comparing one bill to another, but become readily visible when the background colors are placed adjacent to each other on the same bill. The present disclosure contemplates that such subtle changes in background color from one bill to another are not necessarily visible to an observer without particular concentration, but become readily visible when cut and placed on another bill such that the different colors are placed adjacent to each other, thereby increasing the effectiveness of this preventative measure against cutting and pasting. In various embodiments, this variable color imaged background may be further extended by varying the colors behind each variable indicia individually, as shown in [Fig. 2D]. With the exemplary "Cleopatra" instant lottery ticket 235 of [Fig. 2D], any given variable indicia may be imaged with a large plurality of different color imaged backgrounds. For example, the variable indicia symbols "9" and "À" are imaged with yellow backgrounds 235 and 237 for the "9" and "À" symbols respectively, blue backgrounds 238, 239, and 245 for the "9" symbols and 236 and 246 for the "À" symbols, orange backgrounds 244 for the "9" symbols and 241 for the "À", and a red background 243 for the "À".Thus, with this embodiment, the large amount of different colored backgrounds that are available for each variable index greatly increases the variance and therefore increases the complexity of a successful cut and paste attack and constitutes a preventive measure against such attacks. In various embodiments, the [variable indicia image backgrounds on the instant lottery tickets are solid or mixed colors. In various embodiments, the variable indicia image backgrounds on the instant lottery tickets are not limited to solid or mixed colors. For example, [Fig. 2E] illustrates two representative examples of instant lottery tickets 250 and 251 with the same distribution of variable indicia 256 and 257 printed on two color image backgrounds different 254 and 255 that include an embedded translucent graphical representation of a multi-colored joker face 252 and 253. With this example, it appears that the same variable indicia 256 and 257 from an example donor ticket 250 cannot be successfully cut and pasted into a second example recipient ticket 251, since the immediate area background colors surrounding the variable indicia are different. In various embodiments, the addition of the graphical representation (such as the joker face 252 and 253) of the imaged background also restricts the dealer indicia to be cut and pasted only to instant lottery tickets having the same color background with the required indicia in the same X / Y grid location in the scratch-off area.Such embodiments provide a large amount of permutations and therefore complexity associated with finding the correct candidate donor index with the same color background that is also within the appropriate X / Y grid position requirements and greatly exceed the amount of permutations created by traditional known plate-printed Benday patterns and therefore become a more secure preventative measure against cut-and-paste attacks. Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide that the multi-color imaged background patterns with embedded graphic representations (functioning as a more complex and possibly more aesthetically pleasing Benday pattern) may be further enhanced by rotating or realigning the imaged background patterns embedded on different instant lottery tickets of a lottery game. For example, [Fig. 2F] illustrates a representative example of an instant lottery ticket 260 with variable indicia 262 on a low-contrast star field imaged background 261. In this exemplary embodiment, multiple copies of the star field imaged background 261 are rotated at least 15° from each other as shown in the different patterns 263-267, allowing the imaged background to be modified in terms of star positioning on the X / Y grid without having to modify the artwork itself.In various embodiments, to be effective as a preventative measure against cut-and-paste attacks, a background pattern that is progressively rotated from bill to bill to achieve greater variance must also exhibit rotational anisotropy to ensure that the progressive rotations imaged in the backgrounds of the various bills provide a human-observable difference in background orientation relative to the varying indicia. Thus, the pseudorandomly rotated star field imaged background of this exemplary embodiment also functions as a potentially more aesthetically pleasing Benday pattern preventative measure against cut-and-paste attacks since a donor index must be selected from a certain position with the identically rotated star field in the imaged background. If the field rotations of imaged background star are selected on a pseudorandom rather than periodic basis (as would be the case for plate-printed Benday patterns), collecting desired clues from losing instant lottery tickets becomes more difficult due to the lack of predictability due to the pseudorandom distribution. The present disclosure contemplates that the pseudorandom imaged background rotation selection process may be applied to other imaged background shapes and / or colors (e.g., Figures ZA-2E) and is not necessarily limited to different rotation variations.The present disclosure also relates to the fact that obtaining greater variation using a rotated imaged Benday and / or background pattern may be extended to include: (a) mirroring one or more imaged Benday and / or background patterns about the vertical and / or horizontal axis (or other angle); (b) floating positioning the imaged Benday and / or background pattern on the X / Y grid such that the imaged Benday and / or background pattern is in a different background orientation relative to the indicia; or (c) a suitable combination of rotation, mirroring or floating to obtain greater variation. In addition to preventative measures against cutting and pasting of unique Benday, color, and imaged background patterns imaged behind the variable indicia that are visible to the consumer, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide Benday and variable imaged background patterns on instant lottery tickets that are imageable and are not visible to the consumer under normal lighting (white light) when viewed with the naked eye. For example, [Fig. 2G] illustrates an example lottery ticket 270 as it would normally appear to a consumer with variable indicia 273 imaged on a patterned imaged background 279. Also shown in [Fig.2G] two different images of the same ticket 271 and 272 as they would appear if the ticket were photocopied with a Benday pattern 276 appearing behind the variable indicia 274 of the ticket image 271 and a Benday pattern 277 appearing behind and above 278 the variable indicia 275 of the ticket image 272. Although this embodiment of the imaged Benday patterns not readily visible to the human eye 276 and 277 provides an additional preventative measure against cut-and-paste attacks (i.e., it is unlikely that a perpetrator of the illicit action of a ticket tampering attack would be aware of the hidden Benday pattern), this embodiment has the additional advantage of also deterring counterfeiting since any attempt to copy the instant lottery ticket will alter the appearance of the copy from the blank original appearance. . With the embodiment of [Fig.2G], the imaged Benday pattern that is difficult to see with the human eye can be implemented by means of a “Void pantograph” which, by steganography, prints in the scratch-off area of ​​the ticket in- additional formations that are only visible when the document is copied, but not visible when viewed with the naked eye. This Void Pantograph is made possible by printing a light-colored hidden Benday pattern with halftone screening that is manipulated to produce a dot pattern that is not visible to the naked eye, but that a wide range of scanners, copiers, and custom smartphone applications will detect. With this embodiment, the machine detects the intact presence of the shorthand Benday patterns 276 and 277, providing a very high level of confidence that the instant lottery ticket has not been altered, copied, and is in fact the original document upon forensic analysis.Additionally, in various embodiments, by optionally continuing the imaged Benday pattern not readily visible to the human eye onto the variable indicia 278, additional protection against cutting and pasting is provided that would not be practical with Benday patterns that are visible to the naked eye (i.e., a visible Benday pattern imaged onto variable indicia would at the very least detract from the appeal of the ticket design and could create confusion for the player). In an alternative embodiment, Void pantograph Benday patterns that are difficult to see with the human eye on the background of instant lottery tickets may be produced using printing plate technology instead of digital imagers (e.g., flexographic, gravure, offset). However, with this embodiment, printing plates of Void pantograph Benday patterns that are difficult to see with the human eye has the disadvantages of increased press complexity and the potential creation of interference with the primer for receiving the inkjet indicia. In addition, unlike digital imaging of Benday patterns that are difficult to see with the human eye, plate printing of Void pantograph Benday patterns would not be possible on the indicia. Printing Benday patterns that are difficult to see by the human eye using the known Void pantograph methodology is just one possible steganography technique to hide Benday patterns in an imaged background and on the variable indices. For example, Benday patterns that are difficult to see by the human eye can also be imaged in the background in a pattern that only becomes visible with the help of a lenticular lens. In various embodiments, the imaged Benday pattern that is not readily visible to the human eye may be implemented with a digitally imaged ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent ink that only becomes visible under the appropriate UV illumination. With these embodiments, the UV detected the intact presence of the Benday pattern, which provides a very high level of confidence that the instant lottery ticket has not been altered, copied, and is in fact the original document for a forensic analysis. Invisible UV fluorescent inks are dye-based and can be applied either via a static printing plate or via a digital imager. When invisible UV fluorescent inks are applied by an imager, the most cost-effective process is usually to apply the UV fluorescent ink by a spot color imager (e.g., 508 in [Fig. 5]) that is in-line with any four-color process color imaging head (e.g., CMYK heads 504 to 507 in [Fig. 5]). However, in this type of application, the printed four-color colors will likely not be fully cured if the spot color imager is placed in-line with the four-color process color imaging heads, and therefore, the spot color dye-based UV ink will be applied over the uncured four-color inks already applied to the banknote.Therefore, to better ensure compatibility of uncured inks, the present disclosure provides that the four-color inks may be pigmented based on the overprinting of imaged UV Benday pattern which is dye-based. This application of the UV Benday pattern by digital imaging immediately after the printing of four-color colors may be implemented to print only Benday patterns on the background of the instant lottery ticket (as with conventional known UV plate printing) or, optionally, on both the background and the variable indicia. Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D together depict portions of the exemplary instant lottery tickets of Figures 2B-2G that illustrate both the variable indicia as well as Benday pattern and / or imaged background images. [Fig. 3A] illustrates selected variable indicia that are combined with a portion of the variable Benday patterns of [Fig. 2B] prior to imaging according to exemplary methods of the present disclosure. [Fig. 3B] illustrates selected variable indicia for the ticket of [Fig. 2C] being combined with an imaged background of multiple colors (which would also be applicable to Figures 2D and 2E) according to other exemplary methods of the present disclosure. [Fig. 3C] illustrates selected variable indicia consistent with the ticket embodiment of [Fig. 2F] being combined with a single imaged background that is rotated multiple times to obtain a variety of imaged backgrounds according to other exemplary methods of the present disclosure.[Fig. 3D] illustrates the variable indicia and static imaged background of the note of [Fig. 2G] combined with variable Benday designs that are either printed as a second imaged background layer behind the variable indicia or as an overprint of both the imaged background and the variable indicia, in accordance with other exemplary methods of the present disclosure. More specifically, [Fig.3A] illustrates a series of selected indices 300, 301, 302 and 303, each index in the selected series being matched to a different Benday background 304, 305, 306, and 307, and then "flattened" into various digital combinations 308 to 311. Flattening discrete digital indices and Benday patterns into homogeneous planes is accomplished by condensing all discrete image layers (e.g., variable index layer and Benday background layer) into a combined single-layer image. Flattening discrete image layers significantly reduces the file size, making it easier to print the image with a RIP (Raster Image Processor). Sending a file with multiple layers to a RIP takes longer to transmit and process because each layer is essentially an individual image, which greatly increases the amount of data to be processed.Thus, by first selecting separate digital images of the variable indicia and Benday patterns and then flattening the selections, the system and method of the present disclosure retain their ability to select variable indicia and match the selected indicia to different variable Benday patterns with sufficient variety to provide preventative measures against cut-and-paste attacks with the added benefit of faster and more efficient RIP processing. The present disclosure contemplates that the method of first selecting the variable indicia and background Benday pattern(s) for a given bill and then flattening the composite can be extended to digital imaged backgrounds. For example, [Fig. 3B] illustrates four different sets of selected variable indicia 315, 316, 317, and 318 that are already arranged on the X / Y grid to be compatible with the bill layout of [Fig. 2C] which are then matched to subtly varying multi-color imaged backgrounds 324, 325, 326, and 327 (shown in [Fig. 3B]) resulting in four flattened images 320, 321, 322, and 323. Thus, the exemplary embodiment shown in [Fig.3B], includes a plurality of imaged backgrounds 324, 325, 326, and 327 providing the variety necessary to provide a preventative measure against a cut-and-paste attack (as effective as conventional Benday patterns), and specifically including three bands of different color of the imaged backgrounds and subtle differences in the imaged background colors from one note to another. This prevents the use of an indicia that appears on one colored background as a donor indicia for a different colored background in a cut-and-paste attack. The present disclosure further provides that the imaged backgrounds of multiple colors may be further confined to the immediate background around each indicia (e.g., [Fig. 2D]) to greatly increase the variety and, therefore, make a cut-and-paste attack more difficult.The present disclosure further provides that the variety of the imaged background may also be increased by varying (obviously or subtly) the colors of the imaged background bands of [Fig. 3D] from note to note. The present . The disclosure further relates to the variation of the imaged backgrounds on the X / Ÿ grid which can be further enhanced by including detailed low-contrast illustrations in the imaged backgrounds (e.g., [Fig. 2E]) which identify the specific locations behind each indicia depending on where it is positioned (e.g., an indicia imaged on a portion of the joker's hat could not be used as a dealer indicia on the joker's face in [Fig. 2E]). The variety of detailed illustrated imaged background can be further increased by also varying the color shade from ticket to ticket in accordance with the present disclosure. The present disclosure contemplates that varying Benday patterns and / or imaged backgrounds is not the only way to provide preventative measures against cut and paste attacks (equivalent to or better than traditional plate-printed Benday patterns). In alternative embodiments, a single detailed imaged background pattern may rotate from bill to bill to provide sufficient variety to provide protection against cut and paste attacks. For example, [Fig. 3C] illustrates three different sets of selected variable indicia 330, 331, and 332 in addition to the detailed star pattern of [Fig. 2F] with the imaged background shown in three different rotational orientations 333, 334, and 335 of [Fig. 3C]. As noted above, the three different sets of selected indicia 330, 331, and 332 are already arranged on the X / Y grid to be compatible with the bill layout of [Fig.2F], each set corresponding to one of the rotated detailed imaged background patterns 333, 334 and 335 of [Fig. 3C] with the combined selection flattened into a combined homogeneous image 336. Thus, by progressively rotating the detailed imaged background, for example periodically or pseudorandomly from one note to the next, sufficient variety of the variable indicia background is obtained to function as a preventative measure against cutting and pasting. This embodiment has the advantages of simplified configuration of the potentially complex imaged background technique as well as the generation of similar visible notes for an observer without particular concentration. This embodiment may be limited to detailed imaged backgrounds having informational rotational isotropy such that the imaged background can rotate an arbitrary amount of degrees without loss of visual information or perceived anomalies. All of the foregoing embodiments relate to Benday patterns and / or variable imaged backgrounds that are visible to the consumer and retailer after the instant lottery ticket is read. In other embodiments, digitally imaged Benday patterns and / or imaged backgrounds may be imaged in areas behind and / or above the variable indicia such that the imaged Benday pattern is not visible to a naked eye perceiving the ticket, but becomes readily visible using a device. This alternative embodiment is particularly appropriate for the forensic examination of an instant lottery ticket that appears to be a winner, as the perpetrator of the illicit action of a ticket tampering or counterfeiting attack is likely unaware of the hidden Benday motive. For example, [Fig. 3D] illustrates imaged Benday patterns that are difficult to see with the human eye implemented via a Void pantograph which, by steganography, has additional information printed in the scratch-off area of ​​the ticket that is only visible when the document is copied as shown in Figures 361 and 362, but not visible when viewed with the naked eye as shown in Figure 360. This Void pantograph is made possible by printing a light-colored hidden Benday pattern with halftone screening that is manipulated to produce a dot pattern that is not visible to the naked eye (but can be detected by a wide range of scanners and copiers as well as custom smartphone applications).Alternatively, the generation of Void pantographs can also be accomplished via different lines-per-inch screens applied to the same background pattern, or by varying thickness of lines and / or angles, etc. Regardless of the methodology used to form Void pantographs, with this embodiment, the machine detected the intact presence of the shorthand Benday pattern, providing a very high level of confidence that the instant lottery ticket has not been altered or copied and is in fact the original document for forensic analysis. As shown in [Fig. 3D], there are six different selected variable indices 350, 351, 352, 353, 354 and 355, four different sets of imaged backgrounds 356, 357, 358 and 359, and four different Benday patterns 367, 368, 369 and 370 which are all compatible with the example of [Fig. 2G]. As before, the selected indices 350, 351, 352, 353, 354 and 355 and the sets of imaged backgrounds 356, 357, 358 and 359 are combined and flattened 360 into a homogeneous image. In various embodiments represented by image 361, the imaged background 372 also includes an integrated Benday variable pantograph Void imaged pattern not readily visible to the human eye 363 that would only be visible if the original bill were copied as represented by image 361.With these particular embodiments, since the imaged background 372 includes an embedded variable Benday pattern of imaged Void pantograph not readily visible to the human eye 363, the selected variable indicia 364 will mask portions of the Benday pattern not readily visible to the human eye 363, where they overlap the imaged background 372 as a by-product of the flattening process. Alternatively, in other embodiments represented by image 362, the imaged background 373 does not include an embedded variable Benday pattern of imaged Void pantograph not readily visible to the human eye; but rather includes a selected Benday pattern 365 flattened onto the imaged background 373 and an image . composite of variable indicia 366 that create a variable Benday pattern of imaged Void pantograph difficult to see by the human eye that appears on both the imaged background 373 and the variable indicia 366 when photocopied as shown by image 362. The present disclosure provides that the imaged Benday patterns not readily visible to the human eye 363 and 365 may also be printed with a digitally imaged UV fluorescent ink that is normally invisible to the naked eye, becoming visible only with the appropriate UV illumination. Invisible UV fluorescent inks are dye-based and may be applied either via a static printing plate or via a digital imager. When invisible UV fluorescent inks are applied by an imager, the most cost-effective method is generally to apply the UV fluorescent ink by a spot color imager (e.g., 508 of [Fig. 5]) that is in-line with any four-color process color imaging head (e.g., CMYK heads 504, 505, 506, and 507 of [Fig. 5]).However, in this type of application, the printed process colors will likely not be fully cured if the spot color imager is placed in line with the process color imaging heads and, therefore, the spot color dye-based UV ink will be applied over the uncured process color inks already applied to the bill. Generally, a dye-based UV overprint ink film exhibits excessive bleeding or blurring when applied over dye-based process inks and therefore most likely produces undesirable images. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides an improved method of applying a dye-based UV fluorescent ink over uncured process colors, which includes ensuring that the process colors are pigmented, thereby reducing the tendency of the dye-based UV overprint to bleed or blur.In an alternative embodiment, if the printing press is configured to ensure that the four-color process color images are fully cured prior to application of dye-based UV overprinting, the underlying four-color process colors may be either pigmented or dye-based. [Fig. 4A] illustrates an exemplary method (and system) 400 for creating exemplary instant lottery tickets of FIGS. 2A-2E. This method includes accessing or obtaining a plurality of already generated Benday and / or background image patterns and storing the acquired Benday and / or background image patterns in a database 407 ([Fig. 4A]). Additionally, this method optionally includes algorithmically generating Benday patterns 410 by a designated function and storing the generated Benday patterns 410 in a database 407. The stored Benday and / or background image patterns are then combined with previously selected variable indicia. 404 with the combined indicia and patterns finally flattened 408 as a group or ticket by ticket before being stored 409 to print instant lottery tickets. More specifically, the method and system of [Fig.4A] begins with the creation of a seed sequence 402 that functions as a starting point for a deterministic game engine 403 that ultimately produces a sequence of pseudorandom indicia (selected from a pool of possible indicia 405) that are also arranged to meet the specifications 411 of the instant lottery ticket game being generated. The seed sequence 402 may be a large binary number (e.g., 256 bits, 512 bits) created by a Random Number Generator (RNG) or a True Random Number Generator (TRNG) 401. The variable indicia for a given ticket are selected 404 from a pool consisting of all possible different indicia for a given game 405. The selected variable indicia and possibly the arrangement of the selected variable indicia 404 are determined by whether a given ticket is a winner or not, and if it is a winner, what prize should be awarded as ordered by the original sequence 402. Once the winning state of a given ticket and its associated variable indicia have been selected 404, a Benday background pattern and / or a pictorial background pattern is / are selected 406 from a pool consisting of different possible Benday and / or pictorial background patterns 407.The process of selecting 404 Benday and / or background image patterns 407 may vary from game to game, with different games requiring: (1) a single Benday or background image pattern, (2) a simple periodic distribution of a plurality of Benday and / or background image patterns, (3) a pseudorandom selection of a plurality of Benday and / or background image patterns driven by the original sequence 402, or (4) a plurality of Benday and / or background image patterns as determined by the game generation process 403 in accordance with the game specifications 411, etc. Independent of the Benday pattern and / or background image selection process, the selected indicia and the Benday pattern and / or background image are processed by the system as separate image layers (such as the indicia layer above the Benday and / or background image layer), with the two separate image layers being flattened 408 into a single layer or raster. These layers or rasters may be converted to at least one format compatible with an on-press raster image processor (RIP) such as Portable Network Graphics or "PNG", Joint Photographer's Expert Group or "JPEG", Tag Image File Format or "TIFF", etc. before being saved in the non-volatile memory 409 for subsequent printing. Optionally, a separate algorithmic process may be used to create a series of different Benday patterns 410 that can be stored in a pool 407 for later selection. By using an algorithmic process to create different Benday patterns, a very large quantity of unique Benday patterns can be created, which greatly increases the effectiveness of the preventative measure against Benday cutting and pasting according to the present disclosure. For example, each instant lottery ticket in a game could be printed with its own unique Benday pattern. The actual function for generating Benday patterns may vary, but may be a common mathematical function (e.g., sine waves with variations in phase, frequency, and amplitude; phase-encoded waveforms; complex sinusoids; etc.) that produces a unique line pattern when plotted on an X / Y grid that coincides with the scratch-off area of ​​an instant lottery ticket and can easily vary. By algorithmically generating background Benday patterns 410, it becomes possible to create unique Benday patterns for each instant lottery ticket in a game (or alternatively a very large quantity of instant lottery tickets in a game) that are pseudorandomly distributed such that it is not possible to see when the Benday patterns will repeat. Thus, in this embodiment, a database 407 can be maintained logging which specific Benday pattern was printed on a given instant lottery ticket in a game, effectively creating and documenting a "fingerprint" for each printed instant lottery ticket. [Fig. 4B] illustrates an alternative exemplary method and system 420 for creating the instant lottery ticket example of [Fig. 2F]. As before, this method includes accessing or obtaining a plurality of already generated Benday pattern(s) and / or background image(s) and storing the acquired Benday pattern(s) and / or background image(s) in a database 427 ([Fig. 4B]). The stored Benday pattern(s) and / or background image(s) is / are then rotated 428 and optionally cropped and sliced ​​429 before being combined with previously selected variable indicia 424 with the combined indicia and pattern(s) finally flattened 430 as a group or ticket by ticket before being stored 431 for printing instant lottery tickets. The method and system of [Fig.4B] begins with the creation of an original sequence 422 (possibly created by a TRNG 421) which functions as a starting point for a delterministic game engine 423 which produces a sequence of pseudorandom indicia (selected from a pool consisting of possible indicia 425) which are also arranged to meet the specifications 432 of the instant lottery ticket game being generated. The variable indicia for a given ticket are selected 424 from a pool consisting of all possible different indicia for a given game 425. The selected variable indicia are determined by whether a given instant lottery ticket is a winner or not, and if it is a winner, what prize should be awarded, which prize is ultimately ordered by the original sequence 422. Once the winning state of a given ticket and its associated variable indicia have been selected 424, a background and / or pictorial background Benday pattern is / are selected 426 from a pool consisting of different possible background and / or pictorial background Benday patterns 427. The process of selecting 424 the background Benday patterns and / or pictorial background 427 may vary from game to game. Independent of the background Benday pattern and / or pictorial background selection process, in this embodiment, the selected pattern is then rotated 428 by a specified amount of degrees to increase background variety and therefore improve immunity to cut and paste attacks. The exact amount of rotation (if any) of a given Benday pattern and / or imaged background on each note may vary from set to set (e.g., amount, periodic, pseudorandom driven by original sequence 422, driven by set generation process 423).In various embodiments, if portions of the resulting rotating pattern extend beyond the scratch-off area of ​​the ticket, those portions of the pattern outside the scratch-off area may be optionally cropped or cut out 429 before being flattened 430 and recorded 431. [Fig. 4C] illustrates an alternative exemplary method and system 440 for creating the exemplary instant lottery tickets of [Fig. 2G] with imaged Benday patterns not readily visible to the human eye in areas behind and / or above the variable indicia. This method includes accessing or obtaining a plurality of already generated Benday pattern(s) and / or imaged background patterns and storing the acquired Benday pattern(s) and / or imaged background patterns in a database 447 ([Fig. 4C]). The stored Benday pattern(s) and / or imaged background pattern(s) are then applied over / under the selected indicia and optionally onto a finally flattened imaged background pattern 450 as a group or ticket by ticket before being stored 451 for printing instant lottery tickets. More specifically, the method and system of [Fig.4C] begins with the creation of an original sequence 442 (possibly created by a TRNG 441) that functions as a starting point for a deterministic game engine 443 that produces a sequence of pseudorandom indicia (selected from a pool consisting of possible indicia 445) that are also arranged to meet the specifications 452 of the instant lottery ticket game being generated. The variable indicia for a given ticket are selected 444 from a pool consisting of all possible different indicia for a given game 445. The selected variable indicia 444 are determined by whether a given instant lottery ticket is a winner or not, and if it is a winner, what prize should be awarded, which prize is ultimately controlled by the original sequence 442. Once the winning state of a given instant lottery ticket and its associated variable indicia have been selected 444, an optional background imaged background pattern may be selected 446 from a pool of different possible background imaged patterns 447. The process of selecting optional background imaged patterns 447 may vary from game to game. In various embodiments, the selected background imaged background and indicia layers may be flattened 448 at this time. Then, the imaged Benday pattern 447 not readily visible to the human eye is collected and, together with the selected indicia and the optional background imaged background, is applied to a Void pantograph process 449 that digitally embeds the collected Benday pattern 447 on top of the background or optional background imaged background and (optionally) the selected indicia.Exemplary methods of incorporating a pattern of letters (such as the letters "VOID") that are difficult to see by the human eye into a background image and / or indicia are described in U.S. Patent No. 9,087,288 and are readily adaptable to incorporating Benday patterns rather than traditional text messages. Similar to previous embodiments, the selection process for choosing a specific Benday pattern that is difficult to see by the human eye for a given instant lottery ticket will vary from game to game and may optionally be controlled by the origin sequence 442 or the game generation process 443. Regardless of the method used to select the Benday pattern that is difficult to see by the human eye for a given instant lottery ticket, the resulting image may optionally be flattened 450 before being stored in the non-volatile memory 451 for subsequent press printing.An exemplary press configuration capable of producing the documents such as the instant lottery ticket example of the present disclosure is illustrated in [Fig. 5]. As shown in [Fig. 5], a modified hybrid flexographic and digital imager printing press 500 is used to produce variable indicia instant lottery tickets with Benday images superimposed on the variable indicia as well as Benday imaged backgrounds. The press 500 unwinds its paper web substrate from a roll and flexographically prints 513 lower security layers (as well as optionally a primer) in the scratch-off area of ​​the instant lottery ticket. At this point, the press web enters a secure imager room 514 where the forward play variable indicia are applied by CMIN and the spot color imager 501.However, as described herein with the enlarged view of the front imagers 501, the front set variable indicia and imaged background as well as certain Benday patterns are digitally imaged as four-color processes with the separate Cyan 505, Magenta 506, Yellow 507 and Black 504 printheads synchronized together to produce a four-color process color display. (CMIN) and a variable game indicia image on the front of the instant lottery ticket substrate. In addition, a special "spot color" imager 508 may be reserved for special ink Benday designs (e.g., UV ink Benday designs). An enlarged detail view of an imager housing is also provided 503 in [Fig. 5]. Imager 502 is used to digitally image the CMYK process colors (511, 510, 509, and 512, respectively) on the return ticket. Then, a subsequent series of flexographic printing stations 515 print the top security layers as well as any decorative overprinting. At this point, the web may be rewound into a roll for storage and final processing by a separate packaging line. Various changes and modifications to the present embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art; for example, a description of an embodiment with multiple components in communication with each other does not imply that all of these components are necessary, or that each of the described components must communicate with all of the other components. Rather, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments. Thus, such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and without diminishing its intended technical scope. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims

1. Lottery ticket including: a substrate; an imaged background printed on a first area of ​​the substrate; variable indicia printed on a second area of ​​the substrate; a Benday pattern printed on the first area, the Benday pattern comprising a Void pantograph, the Void pantograph being printed with so that the Benday pattern is not visible to the naked eye when viewing lization of the Benday lottery motif on the first area, but is fa- clearly visible to the naked eye when viewing a copy of the pattern Benday; and a scratch-off film covering at least part of the first and second areas.

2. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the Benday pattern difficult to see by the human eye also covers the second area.

3. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the Benday pattern is printed on plate.

4. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the Benday pattern includes a four-color process.

5. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the Benday pattern includes variable process color.

6. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the imaged background includes a pattern.

7. A lottery ticket according to claim 1, wherein the Benday pattern hardly visible to the human eye on the first area is visible by the human eye using a lenticular lens.

8. A plurality of lottery tickets for a single lottery game, the plurality of lottery tickets including: a first lottery ticket including: a first substrate; an imaged background on a first area of ​​the first substrate; variable indices imaged on a second area of ​​the first substrate; a Benday pattern pictured on the pictured background, the Benday pattern printed with dye-based ink: and a scratch-off film covering at least part of the first and second areas of the first substrate; and a second lottery ticket including: a second substrate; an imaged background on a first area of ​​the second substrate; variable indices imaged on a second area of ​​the second substrate; a Benday pattern pictured on the pictured background, the Benday pattern printed with dye-based ink: and a scratch-off film covering at least part of the first and second areas of the second substrate.

9. A plurality of lottery tickets according to claim 8, wherein the Benday patterns cover the second areas of the respective substrates.

10. A plurality of lottery tickets according to claim 8, wherein the Benday patterns each comprise a sine wave.

11. A plurality of lottery tickets according to claim 8, wherein the Benday designs are printed with visible dye-based ink to ultraviolet (UV).

12. A plurality of lottery tickets according to claim 8, wherein the image backgrounds each include a solid color.

13. A plurality of lottery tickets according to claim 8, wherein the Benday patterns of the first and second lottery tickets are in different rotating positions.

14. Lottery ticket comprising: a substrate; an imaged background on a first area of ​​the substrate; variable indices imaged on a second area of ​​the substrate; a Benday pattern on the imaged background, the Benday pattern being printed in four-color process; and a scratch-off film covering at least part of the first and second areas.

15. A lottery ticket according to claim 14, wherein the Benday pattern covers the first area.

16. A lottery ticket according to claim 14, wherein the Benday pattern varies in color.

17. | A lottery ticket according to claim 14, wherein the imaged background includes at least one solid color.

18. A lottery ticket according to claim 17, wherein the color varies on the substrate.

19. A lottery ticket according to claim 14, wherein the imaged background includes an embedded image.

20. A lottery ticket according to claim 14, wherein: mc includes a sine wave,