The Future of Documents

You might remember previous posts on ways to secure the paper document even further – here is yet another way!

You might remember a few technologies I blogged on earlier – namely Microprinting , UV fluorescence, and Glossmarks (which I’ll blog on in more details in the future – in a nutshell a “holographic” effect to your printed images with a digital pattern). Here is yet a new way to secure your plain old paper documents – without the need for special printing devices or toner, just software: printing variable text which is only visible under IR light !

As you can read from this news release or view from this video podcast, IR marks (just like UV fluorescence) play with the light response of toner particles and color science theory to place toner particles on paper. Indeed, different combinations of toner can render the same exact color as perceived by the (limited) human eye, while having different IR responses. By playing with these different combinations, a “hidden” message can be hidden and revealed with an IR-sensitive device (e.g. a camera).

 It’s exciting in a number of ways. First, IR marks are actually even less visible than UV fluorescence marks - UV marks were noticeable to the trained eye (because natural light contains UV). Second, just like the other technologies mentioned earlier, there is no need for specific ink or hardware – it’s all done in software on standard Xerox printers, at no additional cost! Thirdly, any attempt to copy will remove or at least attenuate the IR marks so that it will become obvious it is a copy. But lastly and most importantly, this enlarges the palette of techniques that are available to protect your paper documents, and these security features can be personalized for each of your documents.

Some of you might be aware that there are over 30 techniques used for counterfeiting banknotes, a dozen of which are public  (the other ones being secret for obvious reasons – I only learnt about them by talking with euro banknote printers). So what’s the big deal with three or four technologies to secure a paper document?

Well, security is always breakable, it’s only a matter of time and energy. A protection scheme needs to match the “value” of a document – counterfeiters won’t bother copying your documents if it takes them more time than the “value” they’ll get out of it. So if you are able to combine these four technologies to secure your business documents, very few people will bother even trying to counterfeit them.

Not to mention that if someone was to “crack” banknote protection schemes, she could print millions of them;  while if your business document is counterfeited once, your other documents will not be jeopardized. Indeed, since all these security elements are personalizable at a runlength of one (it’s all digital, remember?), your security elements can be unique to your document - e.g. link the security element(s) to another variable element in your document (invoice number, logo, customer data, etc…).

Lots of potential for securing coupons, tickets, packaging, invoices, and many of your business documents !