Polymer substrates provide a platform for new and additional security features with durability, quality and cost-efficiency. It is a valuable addition to the arsenal of technologies available to note issuers for ensuring the integrity and quality of their currency.
With the growth of digital printing and technology, counterfeiters can reproduce paper banknotes with little knowledge or experience, and more easily and quickly than ever before. Polymer banknotes are a deterrent to the counterfeiter, as they are much more difficult and time consuming to reproduce. They are more secure, cleaner and more durable than paper notes.
From the polymer film to the finished banknote, every aspect of the production contributes to make polymer banknotes a safer alternative to paper banknotes.
The Guardian® polymer substrate starts as specialised clear plastic film produced by Innovia Films. This biaxially oriented polypropylene film is produced using a unique patented technology that results in a robust film with excellent printing and handling properties. Films of the same type and physical characteristics as the Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) used in our printing processes are not available commercially. While paper production is common place with many suppliers worldwide, the production of polymer substrate is a very specialised technology requiring substantial investment. Mass production of counterfeit polymer banknotes would consequently be a major hurdle.
The clear film is then opacified with multiple layers of specialised coatings to produce an extensive range of security features, embedded within the substrate. This includes light diffracting features, which are not commonly available even in the security printing industry. These embedded features are retained for the life of the note.
Securency manufactures the Guardian® polymer substrate on which all of Australia's polymer banknotes and export banknotes are printed at NPA. Different colours and designs can be used in the substrate on each side of the banknote to add complexity for would-be counterfeiters.
Interestingly, colour copies of polymer notes on the substrate are not possible with copiers using heat sensitive toners. The result is that the substrate would shrink and distort in the machine at around 150oC.
The clear window alone provides an excellent protection against the use of advanced reprographic technology such as colour copiers or scanners which are now capable of very accurate reproduction. Using an already opacified film would be a challenging exercise for the counterfeiter as he would have to replicate the transparent window and all other overt and covert security features. The opacity of the substrate also allows for the inclusion of a contrasted 'shadow image'. The shadow image is visible when the banknote is held up to the light, and the visual effect and security value are similar to those of a watermark in paper substrate.
The traditional printed security features applied on paper can also be applied on polymer, including intaglio, offset and letterpress printing, latent images, micro-printing, intricate background patterns, see-through registration, visible and invisible fluorescent and phosphorescent features, and the use of metallic, metameric or metachromic inks. The substrate is also an excellent surface for the application of Optically Variable Ink (OVI) enhancing its fidelity and colour shift characteristics.
Click here for the table of Polymer Banknotes printed by Note Printing Australia.
