{"id":287,"date":"2019-02-02T17:41:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T17:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/?page_id=287"},"modified":"2020-01-19T14:10:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-19T10:40:35","slug":"security-printing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/security-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"Security printing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the best printing technology to use for security application?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Different types of printing techniques are suited to different \napplications. Sometimes you need to carry a heavier weight of ink on the\n substrate in order for the security feature to work properly. In other \ninstances you need to use a technique that uses a more delicate \napproach, so that the detailing in the artwork adds to the security. We \ndiscuss below the pros and cons of the different styles and what is most\n suited to your printing job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Offset lithographic printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Offset litho is where a printing plate (or image) is a mirror image \nof the final print. The plate collects the ink from the inking roller \nand transfers it to the impression roller through a chain of rollers. \nThe additional rollers, especially the impression one conforms to the \nsurface of the substrate you are printing on and allows for finer detail\n printing. This is great for producing guilloche and intricate designs \nas you would expect on cheques and other security documents. The \ndownside of this process is that you are unable to carry much ink and \ncan cause problems and issues where vibrant colours and security inks \nsuch as thermochromic are difficult to print densely enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The image that is on the roller is either made using a light-box, \nchemicals and film or more recently computer to plate units, which are \nable to take your artwork in  electronic format and produce an aluminium\n plate ready to wrap on to the cylinder immediately. The plates are \nquite durable and can last for hundreds of thousands of impressions. \nOnce the plate is removed from the cylinder on the press it can no \nlonger be used again. You could look at this as a security benefit &#8211; as \nwhen disposed of, it would be almost impossible for a counterfeiter to \nuse them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each colour is applied through a printing station. On a litho press \nwith 5 printing stations it would only be capable to print five colours \nin one pass. Some presses provide re-insertion &#8211; this is where you can \nre-reel a pre printed roll and feed it back through the press again. \nThis would allow the press to put another five colours on the substrate &#8211;\n however, to keep costs to reasonable measures you need to know how many\n stations your litho printer has, as the additional costs of running a \njob twice may make the cost of your project prohibitive. Usually the \nminimum amount of heads on a litho press is 4 and more usually you will \nfind 6 or 8 printing stations. If you are able to reduce the colours to \nallow for one pass then you can save money on your printing costs. Also \nthe clever use of split duct printing can offer you two colours from one\n unit (find out here).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will also find that offset litho presses need to have some form \nof drying unit. This is usually  in the form of UV curing units. The \nprinter would use special lithographic inks that have an additive that \naccelerates the curing when exposed to ultraviolet rays. This prevents \ntracking which is where the ink does not dry properly and tracks up the \npaper (usually identifiable as a ghost image repeating up the sheet). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend that you get samples from your chosen litho printer to \nexamine the quality of their work. Try to get copies of work with some \nblock printing or with fairly heavy coverage as someone who can print \nthis well, without any forms of tracking, and a good ability to keep \ncolours consistent would be a good choice for your work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Government and corporation document printing <\/li><li>Brand protection and asset management<\/li><li>Cheque printing and value documents<\/li><li>Tickets and event pass production<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable inks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Any offset lithographic inks (UV curing preferred)<\/li><li>Invisible Inks<\/li><li>Biometric and taggant inks<\/li><li>Thermochromic inks (albeit not as &#8216;apparent&#8217; as flexo or silk-screen processes) <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable substrate thickness <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ranging from 40gsm up to approx 200gsm (if re-inserting then 160gsm max) <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Plates are cheap (approx \u00a310 per plate A4)<\/li><li>Set-up costs are relatively inexpensive (if 4 colours or less)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things to watch out for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Substrate needs to be supplied on roll<\/li><li>Depending upon number of colours, expect hundreds of metres of make-ready losses<\/li><li>Weight of colours &#8211; process is not good for  heavy ink coverage and may look a little washed out<\/li><li>Great for intricate details such as guilloche patterns and security printing artwork<\/li><li>Suitable for split duct printing <\/li><li>Machines normally have a wide web,  20 inches wide, allowing for two-across, or more production <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flexographic printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CHECK<\/strong> &#8211; Flexo printing uses a raised tablet that \nmakes direct contact with the substrate. The printing plates are \nnormally made of plastic or rubber and can last as long as litho plates,\n if not longer, depending upon the substrate you are printing on. The \nink can be supplied under pressure in a chamber and this method allows \nfor much heavier weights of ink than offset-litho methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This method is especially good when printing inks such as \nthermo-chromic or where you need to carry more ink to make the security \nfeature more effective. The downside to flexo (even though the \ntechnology is improving year on year) is the the definition is not as \nfine as offset litho. You will find flexo printing on packaging and \nshrink sleeves  due to the amount of ink you can print, you are able to \nprint opaque colours that are vibrant and are able to sit on the surface\n of plastic and polypropylene. Flexo presses also use dryers and UV or LED curing lamps to dry the image before going through the next print station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Plastic packaging, papers and boards <\/li><li>Brand protection labels<\/li><li>Shrink sleeve printing<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable inks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Any flexographic inks (UV curing preferred)<\/li><li>Invisible Inks<\/li><li>Biometric and taggant inks<\/li><li>Thermochromic inks <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable substrate thickness <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ranging from 90gsm up to approx 350gsm &#8211; maybe thinner, if printing on plastic film. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Plates are cheap (approx \u00a325 per plate A4)<\/li><li>Set-up costs are relatively inexpensive (if 4 colours or less)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things to watch out for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Substrate needs to be supplied on roll<\/li><li>Machines come in different widths, some only 10 inches wide &#8211; check beforehand <\/li><li>Many label printers have this machinery already <\/li><li>Depending upon number of colours, expect hundreds of metres of make-ready losses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roto gravure  or Intaglio printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Intaglio printing is the same as gravure however it seems that \neveryone calls it rotagravure these days (well, in security print \nanyhow), so we will treat them as one entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Roto-gravure uses an etched copper cylinder protected with a thin \nplating of chrome, this cylinder contains the image to be printed on the\n substrate and, as you can expect, is very expensive to produce. The \nbenefit of this process is that you are essentially embossing the \nsurface and leaving a heavy ink deposit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Gravure impression cylinders range from a few centimetres wide, \nthrough to over 5 metres wide and are able to carry significant amounts \nof ink to transfer to the paper or material you are passing through the \npress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Probably the most common example of intaglio readily accessible is \non bank notes and currency. If you have a \u00a35, \u00a310 or \u00a320 note to hand \nyou will see the words Bank of England. When you pass your fingertips \nover the top of the lines that make the word, you will feel that the \nletters are almost embossed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is gravure printing and, as such, is really only used in circumstances where high security is paramount. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The etched impression cylinders  cost many tens of thousands of \npounds to produce, however they are capable of many hundreds of \nthousands, if not millions of impressions which makes them  suited to \nhigh volume bank-note production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless you are a government looking for one of the most sophisticated\n methods to protect bank notes then think again about intaglio printing,\n however it can be copied. Read on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can get similar effects to intaglio by using thermography inks. \nThis chemical process feeds the wet print through a special machine that\n dusts the receptive ink with a powder. The substrate is then passed \ninto a baking unit that  fuses the powder particles together, creating a\n raised effect like an embossing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;re not sure how intricate this process can be (as usually intaglio\n uses thin lines and swirls), but this could be one way to potentially \ndefeat the security found in intaglio printing, or at least be good \nenough for non-printing specialists to realise at redemption! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Banknote  papers and boards <\/li><li>Passports<\/li><li>Government document printing <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable inks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Any Intaglio  inks (UV curing preferred)<\/li><li>Biometric and taggant inks are a possibility <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable substrate thickness <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ranging from 90gsm up to approx 200gsm depends upon hardness of substrate <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Cylinders  are very expensive (approx \u00a34000+ per A4)<\/li><li>Set-up costs are expensive<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things to watch out for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Each cylinder will print one colour only and machine usually only has one print tower<\/li><li>A very few providers of this process in the world. Usually only bank-note printers. <\/li><li>Depending upon number of colours, expect hundreds of metres of make-ready losses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Silk screen printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This method of printing uses a silk screen or stencil (imprinted with\n your design) which is placed over the substrate. The benefit of rotary \nscreen printing is that it carries the most weight of ink than any of \nthe other processes we have described so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This allows for thermochromic inks to be much more vibrant in colour \nand able to disappear or appear with the most amount of detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This process is also very good for  colour shift inks (or optically \nvariable inks OVI) where you can look at the print at different angles \nand get two completely different hues. An example of this is  \npearlescent paint found on cars. The amount of ink required to pull-off \nthis type of effect requires that you carry much more ink that you can \napply than offset litho or flexo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Plastic packaging, papers and boards <\/li><li>Textiles, clothing, ceramics, wood, glass and plastics <\/li><li>Circuit board printing <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable inks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Silk screen approved  inks (UV is optional, but preferred)<\/li><li>Invisible Inks<\/li><li>Biometric and taggant inks<\/li><li>Thermochromic inks <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Suitable substrate thickness<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ranging from 90gsm up to much thicker calliper substrates <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Costs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Stencils or screens  are relatively inexpensive, depending upon intricacy<\/li><li>Set-up costs are relatively inexpensive &#8211; depending upon size of machine <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things to watch out for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Usually only print one colour at a time &#8211; depends upon type of press <\/li><li>Not good for intricate, detailed printing<\/li><li>Great for heavier weight ink application and colours  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Letterpress printing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Letterpress is one of the oldest printing technologies around as has \nbeen used in the production of newspapers and other printed materials \nfor many years. The platten consists of a typewriter effect face and \nused to be hand carved. To a degree this process still exists in the \nsecurity printing field, however we do not have any experience working \nwith this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have more information regarding this process and it&#8217;s use for this website, we would be pleased to hear from you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the best printing technology to use for security application? Different types of printing techniques are suited to different applications. Sometimes you need to carry a heavier weight of ink on the substrate in order for the security feature to work properly. In other instances you need to use [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-287","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1597,"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287\/revisions\/1597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dns-iran.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}