Transparent Banknote Security Printing Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic banknotes, while more durable than traditional cotton notes, face challenges in incorporating certain security features like real multitone watermarks and windowed security threads due to their material properties, making them easier to counterfeit.
Innovation Solution
A method for printing security items on transparent substrates, such as polyethylene or polyester, using a combination of opaque and transparent images, where the opaque pattern is printed on both sides and a third image is visible only through the transparent zones, making it difficult for counterfeiters to separate and align the images accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If plastic substrate is used for banknotes, then durability is improved, but security features like watermarks and security threads cannot be effectively incorporated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple images (first image on front side, second image on back side, third image on transparent zone) into a single security item that functions as an integrated security feature. This merged structure creates security elements that are inherently tied to the plastic substrate itself, rather than relying on separate components like traditional security threads or watermarks that cannot be effectively implemented in plastic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the transparent zone of the plastic substrate to print a third image that is visible only when light passes through the banknote. This adds a new dimensional aspect to security features - the transmission dimension - which is unique to plastic substrates and cannot be replicated in traditional paper banknotes, thereby creating new security capabilities rather than limiting to conventional features.
2Reliability
If opaque pattern is printed on both sides of transparent material, then security level is improved, but manufacturing precision is required to prevent image misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The security item is segmented into three distinct images printed in different locations: the first image on the front side opaque pattern, the second image on the back side opaque pattern, and the third image on the transparent zone. This segmentation allows each image to be printed and verified independently, and the registration marks provide separate reference points for alignment, making the manufacturing process more controllable and easier to verify than attempting to print a single complex image requiring perfect alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
Registration marks are introduced as intermediary elements that facilitate the alignment process. These marks are printed on both sides of the substrate and serve as reference points that guide the positioning of the opaque patterns and images. The registration marks act as mediators between the printing processes on different sides, enabling precise alignment without requiring direct visual alignment of the final images themselves.
Data Source
Figure 1~1.b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for printing a security item on a substrate (1) of which at least a part is made of a transparent material, whereby the method comprises following steps: - printing a first image (4), which is visible or can be visualized, on one side of the transparent material; - printing a second image (5), which is visible or can be visualized on the opposite side of the transparent material, wherein the first (4) and second image (5) at least partially overlap; - printing a third image (6), which is visible or can be visualized in transmission on the zones of the transparent material that are not covered by the first (4) and/or second image (5).