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Xerox adds clever anti-counterfeit measures to standard colour printers
june
2007 Due to the expensive equipment required, anti-counterfeit printing
measures have largely been the domain of government money-printing
mints. Now, a bit of clever thinking at Xerox has resulted in a new
method of using standard colour printer toner to produce flourescent
anti-counterfeit watermarking that shows up under UV light, making
bogus copies easy to spot.Cautious merchants know that authentic U.S.
currency in denominations larger than $10 contains an embedded strip
that glows when they hold it under an ultraviolet light. Bills lacking
the thread can be identified – and rejected – as counterfeit money. Now
scientists at Xerox Corporation have developed a new technology that
makes it easier to add that same level of security to any document from
a personal check to a birth certificate using the same printers found
in most print shops.The innovative security printing method uses a
special combination of toners – the “dry ink” used in xerographic
printers – to create the secure imprint. Prints from a four-color
printer selectively expose the fluorescent properties found within
white paper, making it possible to embed personalized printing, hidden
security marks or codes that are only visible when exposed to
ultraviolet light.”What amazes people about the new technology is that
we can create fluorescent writing on a digital printer without using
fluorescent ink,” said Reiner Eschbach, a research fellow in the Xerox
Innovation Group and with principal color scientist, Raja Bala, the
co-inventor of the patented process. “That means a four-color digital
printer can print everything it normally would, and it can
simultaneously individualize a document with a fluorescent
identifier.The new patented technology belongs to a portfolio of
technologies Xerox is developing that build security into documents
based on a digital printer’s ability to make any element on the page –
lines, text, images – unique to the recipient.The fluorescent printing
is one of several specialty imaging technologies Xerox scientists have
developed making it easier for a suspicious recipient to tell which
checks, certificates, or other printed materials are authentic. The new
specialty technology is part of the Xerox FreeFlow Variable Information
Suite 5.0, software that Xerox sells to commercial printers and large
enterprises like banks and insurance companies that produce
personalized documents.”Just as US currency has a fluorescent thread to
authenticate it, I can imagine a time when your checks will have your
signature printed in a fluorescent stripe,” said Eschbach. “A merchant
could easily compare the fluorescent signature with the actual one to
validate the check.”The Xerox technology resulted from a “Eureka”
moment of inspiration. Eschbach’s group had been involved in the
creation of Xerox’s other specialty imaging technologies such as
GlossMark® imaging, which uses the differential gloss in toner to print
a hologram-like image, and he wondered if there was a way to make
fluorescent marks with conventional toner.They realized that paper
manufacturers put fluorescent brightening agents in paper to make it
appear “white.” Eschbach and Bala discovered certain combinations of
toner that would selectively allow the paper’s fluorescence to shine
through when exposed to ultraviolet light. Based on this insight, Xerox
developed a technology that uses the contrast to “write” fluorescent
letters and numbers.Because the fluorescent marks can be made without
fluorescent ink, there are no extra costs for special inks or for
additional steps required during printing. Users can embed the security
feature as a normal part of their printing process. The fluorescent
writing technology is available on Xerox color production printers.
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