Polymer Features Pay Homage to the Universe

Security features embedded into the substrate of a banknote are particularly difficult for counterfeiters to replicate effectively – and the technology behind these features has advanced significantly in the past several years.

So says CCL Secure, with specific reference to its GUARDIAN™ polymer substrate, during the production stage of which security features are embedded seamlessly to allow for tighter exacting registration and tolerances. This means the features can take any shape and can be positioned very close or even overlapping with other features that are added at later stages of the process.

As the features are multiple layers beneath the final print layer, they cannot be removed for the purposes of replication. This process also avoids any impact to the thickness and texture of the note, which can occur in counterfeited copies.

A case in point is the Nicolas Copernicus note issued earlier this year by the National Bank of Poland (NBP).

The NBP has been a prolific issuer of commemorative banknotes since 2006, when it issued its first, a 50 zloty banknote featuring one of the world’s most famous Poles – Pope John Paul II. Since then, it has issued a further 14 commemorative notes, the majority of which (12) have been 20 zloty notes.

The latest – and the first commemorative Polish note to be printed on polymer - celebrates the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolas Copernicus, the Polish astronomer, physician and economist who is best known for his heliocentric theory – namely that the earth is not the centre of the universe but one of several planets forming part of the solar system.

Commemorative notes are frequently used as an opportunity to demonstrate new security features, and the Nicolas Copernicus note is no exception. The note was designed and printed by PWPW and the key features are Cinema™ and VIVID™.

The Cinema feature is encapsulated in a large blue window that displays multiple images of the planet Earth rotating around the sun, paying homage to the astronomer’s ground-breaking discovery. On the note, Cinema has a low tolerance to movement of less than 1mm to the watermark and 1.2mm to the offset print. This technology involves using three substrate features and four offset prints that are combined to create the whole solar system.

The 25mm-wide feature creates a dimensional illusion with a 10mm deep depth effect and a flip of the earth spinning around the sun. The fully clear and transparent window also contains embedded yellow spot colour, vignette line work and shadow images that provide further security, depth and movement.

An adjacent, smaller window features VIVID Colour technology to represent the solar system. The feature displays a white detailed image of the solar system in normal light, then transforms to become fully coloured under ultraviolet (UV) light, showcasing the colourful beauty of the universe and adding level two security. These level 1 and 2 features are then complemented by a level 3 machine readable film.

VIVID is directly incorporated into the substrate during the production process as individual design layers. This frees the banknote offset printing stage for incorporation of other feature inks and design elements.

Vice President and Managing Director at CCL Secure, Neil Sanders, said the note was a milestone for the company’s continuing collaborations with PWPW.

‘CCL Secure was extremely proud to collaborate with PWPW on this historic commemorative banknote. Not only does the note express the beauty of the universe in which we live, it also highlights the technological innovations possible on GUARDIAN polymer substrate’.