Security Element Ink Layering for Infrared Transparency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security elements for documents of value, such as banknotes and passports, lack effective features to prevent forgery and enhance authenticity verification, particularly in visible light conditions while being invisible to the naked eye but detectable under infrared illumination.
Innovation Solution
A security element featuring a combination of two printing inks, one opaque and dark in visible light, and the other translucent and white or silver, which together appear silver in visible light but become transparent in infrared light, allowing hidden IR-absorbing elements to be visible, enhancing detection with IR sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single printing ink is used that is opaque in visible light, then the security feature is visible to the naked eye, but it cannot provide infrared transparency for hidden security features
Solution Approach 1:
The security element is divided into multiple functional layers: a first printing ink layer that is opaque in visible light, a second printing ink layer that is transparent in infrared wavelengths, and underlying security features. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function without interfering with others, resolving the contradiction between visible opacity and infrared transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structure with at least two different printing inks having complementary optical properties. The first ink provides visible opacity while the second ink provides infrared transparency, and their combination creates a material system that satisfies both requirements simultaneously, enabling both visible security features and hidden infrared-detectable features.
2Reliability
If printing ink is made transparent in infrared wavelength range, then hidden security features become visible under IR illumination, but the ink must be layered to maintain visible light properties
Solution Approach 1:
The printing ink system is segmented into functional layers: a first printing ink layer with visible light opacity and a second printing ink layer with infrared transparency. This segmentation allows the infrared-transparent layer to enable hidden feature detection while the visible-light-interacting layer maintains appropriate visual appearance, resolving the contradiction between infrared transparency and visible light properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite printing ink structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: the first ink layer provides visible light interaction for normal appearance, the second ink layer provides infrared transparency for security verification, and together they create both visible security features and hidden infrared-detectable features, achieving multi-functionality that resolves the contradiction.
3Reliability
If two printing inks are combined to achieve both visible and infrared properties, then security verification is enhanced, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The printing process is segmented into distinct steps: first applying the visible-light-interacting ink layer, then applying the infrared-transparent ink layer. This segmentation of the manufacturing process allows each ink to be optimized and controlled separately, making the complex multi-functional printing process manageable and manufacturable despite the enhanced security features.
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 solution provides an additional layer of authenticity verification by making hidden security features visible under infrared illumination, thereby increasing protection against forgery and enhancing the security of documents.
Implementation Method 1
a first printing ink (D1) which is transparent in the infrared wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and opaque in the visible wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and which inherently has a dark or black color
Implementation Method 2
a second printing ink (D2) which is transparent in the infrared wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and translucent in the visible wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and which inherently has a white or whitish-silver color
Implementation Method 3
making hidden security features visible under infrared illumination
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
A first printing ink (D1) is arranged on the substrate of a security element. This ink is translucent or preferably transparent in the infrared wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and opaque in the visible wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation, and is inherently dark or black. A second printing ink (D2) is arranged in the viewing direction between the viewer and the first printing ink. This second printing ink is also translucent or preferably transparent in the infrared wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and translucent in the visible wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation, and is inherently white or silvery-white.From the viewer's perspective, the first and second printing colors are arranged one above the other in at least one overlapping area, resulting in an overall silver hue within the visible wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation in that at least one overlapping area. The substrate has a front and a back. The viewer views the substrate from above, from the front.