Intelligent Security with RAPID Vision and Secure Colour Movement

Crane Currency has launched RAPID® Vision, which it describes as a new, innovative and intelligent micro-optic security thread for banknotes that brings high-contrast colour movement to a new level.

‘RAPID Vision is the best banknote security thread on the market, and a tribute to Crane Currency’s R&D and production teams. It is a breakthrough innovation, unlocking for our central bank customers fluid, fast-moving colour movements never seen before. It’s an intelligent security solution given its ability to address the many needs of modern banknotes, both for the public and machines,’ said Sam Keayes, President of Crane Currency, at the launch.

The new thread feature was unveiled at Crane Currency’s Public First event in Malta, a currency learning event bringing together approximately 50 central banks, banknote printing works, scientists and industry experts from around the world.

A public ‘trigger’ feature

At the event, Prof Jane Raymond, CEO of Secure Perception Research, presented the results of a public perception study assessing the particular trigger features used in RAPID Vision.

‘The study showed that the addition of colour movement effects allowed the public to more quickly verify the feature and without any loss of accuracy. Highly accurate verification was achieved in fractions of a second,’ she said.

RAPID Vision is the latest in a long line of micro-optics innovation from Crane, which spawned a whole new generation of optically variable features for banknotes. It began with MOTION® (first unveiled back in 2004 and which made its debut on a circulating banknote in 2006), progressing through RAPID, a MOTION advancement launched in 2014 with smaller lenses displaying faster movement and lower angles of tilt, and then RAPID Detect in 2019 (with an IR element for machine readability) and RAPID HD (with high colour definition).

Up until now, the Crane’s micro-optics features have been in single colours, the security effects resting on the counter-intuitive movement of the graphics (icons). The key to RAPID Vision is that it exhibits different real time colour effects that are synchronised with the movement. This is a combination that has never been achieved before, says Crane, and represents a step-change advancement in security for banknotes.

The design of RAPID Vision threads is based on Crane Currency’s micro-optic design software, leveraging two decades of software development to deliver a transparent and linear creation process. From initial customer concepts to digitisation, sample prototyping, and scaled production, the result ensures harmonisation of the feature with the design of the banknote.

The thread can be manufactured in widths of 4-6mm, and is fully customised in terms of colour, movement and graphic combinations. It is durable and virtually impervious to soiling, and is available with IR (RAPID Detect) for high speed machine readability.

‘The excitement that RAPID Vision has created is similar to what we saw in 2014 when Crane Currency launched RAPID. At that time, no one had seen movement effects so fast and clear, with colours stable at every viewing angle. Today, RAPID Vision provides that same high-contrast movement but with multicolour effects. It provides central banks a whole new way to secure banknotes that is unexpected and attractive,’ concluded Tod Niedeck, Marketing Director at Crane Currency, at the launch.