An optical anti-counterfeiting solution for banknotes has won at the Excellence in Holography Awards 2019, organised by the industry trade body International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA)
Germany’s Leonard Kurz’s KINEGRAM COLORS with FLUX Effect won in the ‘Best Applied Security Product’ category at the awards, as presented by the IHMA at the annual Holography Conference in Athens, Greece on November 14 and 15.
Developed for the Singapore Bicentennial $20 commemorative currency notes issued in June, the effect’s use in the foil stripe marks the first time that a KINEGRAM with FLUX prominently features on a currency note as a critical security feature. The banknote marks the first time that a security foil has been applied onto a fully offset-printed polymer substrate with a Steuer machine.
The awards mark achievement in innovative or commercially viable hologram products or techniques over the last 12 months. Also commended in the same category were China based Shandong Taibao Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Products for its cigarette packaging anti-counterfeiting holographic paper, and French firm Surys, whose Moov patch features as a high-level authentication feature on the new Sudanese 1000 pound, pictured.
Attended by hologram suppliers, manufacturers and end-users, the event saw Dr Paul Dunn, chair of the IHMA, commend the standard of entries as high. He said: “This award marks ongoing advancement in the design, development and technology of commercial holograms, which continue to find ever fresh and innovative ways to add value and heightened levels of security to products used by billions of consumers the world over.”
