Non-Fluorescent Toner Security Mark Printing via Substrate Fluorescence
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for printing security marks are expensive due to the need for high-cost equipment and specialty inks or toners, and they often rely on micro-printing that requires advanced resolution.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus using non-fluorescent toner that leverages the fluorescence of the substrate to create security marks, making them invisible to the naked eye but visible under certain light, by employing halftone coverage correlations to determine the appropriate toner and ink usage, allowing for printing with widely available toners and inks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If micro-printing is used to print security marks, then the security mark is invisible to the naked eye, but the equipment cost is very expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the substrate by applying a coating with specific fluorescent properties. Under UV light, the coated areas fluoresce with different intensities to form visible security marks, while remaining invisible under normal lighting conditions. This parameter change in fluorescence intensity allows standard printers to create security marks without requiring expensive micro-printing equipment.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If specialty inks or toners are used to print security marks, then the security mark can be made visible under certain light, but the ink or toner cost is very expensive
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using expensive specialty fluorescent inks or toners, the patent applies a fluorescent coating to the substrate itself. The coating acts as a background layer, and security marks are created by selectively removing or masking the coating in certain areas. This copying approach using the substrate's own fluorescent property eliminates the need for costly specialty printing materials.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If micro-printing is used to print security marks, then the security mark is invisible to the naked eye, but the printing resolution requirement is very high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional micro-printing to a different dimensional approach by using fluorescent coating intensity variations. Instead of relying on extremely small printed features, the security marks are formed by modulating the fluorescence emission intensity across the substrate surface. This dimensional shift from spatial resolution to intensity modulation allows standard printers to achieve the required invisibility and detectability without needing high printing resolution.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides a low-cost solution for printing security marks that are invisible to the naked eye but visible under specific lighting conditions, effectively preventing forgery without the need for expensive equipment or specialty inks, using readily available toners and inks.
Implementation Method 1
The present disclosure takes advantage of the fluorescence in the substrate to create the security mark. The non-fluorescent toner may have a lower fluorescence than the substrate.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method and apparatus for printing a security mark via a non-fluorescent toner is disclosed. For example, the method may be executed by a processor and includes receiving an electronic file of a security mark to be printed on a substrate, determining an amount of halftone coverage for a non-fluorescent toner based on a brightness of the substrate, converting the electronic file of the security mark into a printer description language with the amount of halftone coverage that is determined, and causing the security mark to be printed on the substrate.