It’s The Little Things That Count!

This short phrase is a truism. Another is ‘you get what you pay for’. When security fibres are used in banknotes, it is fair to say both truisms apply. Security fibres may be very small, but the level of security they provide certainly gives value for money.

Security Fibres, an independent family-owned business based in the UK, has been supplying security components for over 40 years. It pioneered the development of paper-based fibres (as opposed to synthetic ones) for use in both cylinder mould and fourdrinier papers and its prime product markets are banknotes and passports.

Security fibres are one of the earliest and most reliable anti-copy security features. The fibres can be visible (overt) or invisible (covert) to the naked eye and can also incorporate machine-readable (forensic) features (normally just one).

Of the world’s issued banknotes (just over 1,000), currently around 81% are paper, and 19% are polymer ( which is unsuitable for fibres). Some 705 (80%) of the 882 paper denominations use fibres as a security feature. Their inclusion does not affect the performance or physical properties of the banknote paper or of a banknote in circulation. The features of the fibres can be chosen to meet the specific requirements of the banknote, such as its level of security, lightfastness, and durability.