The new technology will increase the security of holograms, speed up the marking process and reduce the costs for manufacturing photopolymer security elements. Now it is possible to personalize colour volume holograms using a specialized optical device that eliminates the limitations of standard thermal-transfer numbering.
Applications of photopolymer holograms
KRYPTEN has been successfully developing various types of photopolymer holograms using its proprietary 3D-GRAM® technology. The family of 3D-GRAM® photopolymer security elements comprises security threads, laminates, patches with dynamic visual effects and versatile security features. In Russia, only KRYPTEN offers serial production of photopolymer holograms which protect documents, packaging, and goods from counterfeiting. For example, we produce self-adhesive photopolymer tamper-evident labels to secure migrants insurance policies.
The visual effects of photopolymer holograms set a new trend in the security printing industry. Photopolymer-based images exhibit intense colours, deep volume, and dynamics. Such visual effects can be produced only with sophisticated optical technologies and equipment.
Advantages of optical photopersonalization
3D-GRAM® security labels with optical photopersonalization
Limitations of thermal-transfer numbering
For higher security of serial documents and products, holograms are personalized with a unique code to control a product movement and guarantee its authenticity. Personalization is applied, for example, to photopolymer holographic patches and tamper-evident labels.
Usually, photopolymer holograms are personalized at the final stage of the manufacturing process after copying the images from the master shim. The letter-symbol codes are applied to the finished print run of holographic labels by thermal transfer of the ink layer on a specialized printer. However, with this method of personalization, the ink layer on the surface of the photopolymer label is subject to mechanical abrasion and can be removed from the final product using chemical solutions when attempting to counterfeit a hologram.
Benefits of photopersonalization
To overcome the disadvantages of thermal transfer personalization and eliminate the possibility of altering the original numbering, we have developed a secure method for marking photopolymer holograms. KRYPTEN engineers have created an optical photopersonalization device that reproduces a variable character code, for example, a serial number inside the photopolymer layer. Personalization of holograms is carried out at the stage of copying images from the master shim by exposing the material during the copying process. As a result, the character code is generated within the photopolymer and cannot be removed or altered without destroying the holographic label.
In addition, each copy of the hologram will be personalized and will not contain all the information about the original hologram whereby protecting the products from mass-copying. In the attempt to imitate a hologram, all copies of the same sample will have identical personalized information. This means that counterfeit protective labels can be easily detected.
Another advantage of the new personalization method is the reduction of production stages. With thermal transfer numbering, variable information is printed after replication of holograms. These are two successive stages. In contrast, the method of optical photopersonalization makes it possible to combine these processes into one and carry out marking simultaneously with copying photopolymer holograms. That reduces the manufacturing steps and cuts down the cost of photopolymer holograms production.
