Watermarks for Polymer in New Boa Sorte House Note

The presentation at HSP Latin America by Ian Brigham of Spectra Systems covered the new house note that has been produced by Casa da Moeda do Brasil on its Fusion™ polymer substrate. The ‘Boa Sorte’ note incorporates a level 3 taggant unique to Fusion as well as, for the first time, a new level 1 optical security feature from Oberthur - Kryptonome™.

Oberthur describes Kryptonome™ as the digitalisation of the original mould made watermark that we can observe in a paper-based banknote to polymer substrates. As such, it gives customers the opportunity to secure their notes with a watermark effect as they would with the paper version.

Of course, Kryptonome isn’t a watermark, but it does look like one. It is the combination of two grids (comprising very fine lines with the same thickness as the gaps between them) printed on both sides of the substrate. When the note is tilted, movement and light and dark shadows can be observed. Each grid network is calculated precisely and printed in perfect registration to guarantee the efficacy of the so-called ‘digital watermark”.