Inovinks’ New IR Pigments – More than a Mirage

Infrared (IR) is part of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies immediately beyond red light and is therefore invisible to the naked eye. Because of this, IR inks are widely used in the banknote industry to create covert features that are both highly secure and machine readable, particularly by high speed systems.

The IR ink was for many years based on carbon black and as such was camouflaged behind black ink, the hidden feature only being visible under IR radiation. But the inherent dark colour of the carbon black limits the choice that designers have when choosing the colour of the base ink. Over the years, research has been undertaken to improve infrared absorbing pigments, one of the main objectives being to find materials that were IR absorbing, yet light in colour.