Diffractive optically variable image devices (DOVIDs) have become the primary overt authentication or security feature on protected documents and products, apart from the substrate itself and the printed design − which are the oldest but still effective authentication features. But their efficacy is being compromised by false expectations and counterfeits. It is therefore necessary to establish a clear statement of the role of DOVIDs and their function in the inspection and protection of suspect items, which will also apply to other optical security devices (OSDs).
The use of holograms as authentication or security devices is the most valuable application of
holograms yet devised. In 20 years, this has developed from the first use of a hologram on credit
cards, to the situation today where governments turn to holograms as a key security feature on
the protected documents they issue, including banknotes, identity documents and tax banderols.
At the same time, holograms (and related devices) are the most recognised visible feature used to
authenticate and protect branded and OEM products; this sector covers the gamut from CD
jewel-box seals to the protection of safety-related items such as medicines and vehicle
replacement parts. There has been creative synergy between the commercial suppliers of such
holograms and the practical holography community.
But new technologies are coming forward to challenge the role of holograms, a challenge that is
aided by the counterfeiting of security holograms. What are the characteristics of those
technologies and can holograms provide similar resources to users? Examples of collaboration
between hologram producers and producers of other technologies to create combination devices
suggest a possible route forward for holography to maintain its role in authentication and
security. By scrutinising and adapting to needs, often by combination with other techniques,
holographers may be able to retain their role in this important application.
Public verification features are part of a matrix of security features on banknotes which allow the authenticity of legitimate banknotes to be established. They are characterised by being overt and easy to verify -- no examination tool or equipment is required even though the devices themselves are invariably highly sophisticated. Recent developments, though, combine overt and covert elements which may reqire inspection tools. Traditionally, banknote issuers were reluctant to involve the general public in the checking of banknotes, preferring to rely on those employed to handle them, experts and machinery to authenticate the various (normally undisclosed) features. This has now changed as the ability to counterfeit has moved from those highly skilled in printing to anyone with a scanner and computer -- the incidence of counterfeiting has grown exponentially in the last decade.
Three techniques for what can be categorized as public verification features have been used for banknotes for many decades and continue to provide a barrier to counterfeiting: (1) the optical effects of watermarks; (2) the appearance and tactile characteristics of cylinder mould-made paper; (3) the tactile characteristics of intaglio print. Since the 1980s the emergence of threads and optically variable features have added to the available features which can be utilized on banknotes for public verification purposes. OVDs fall broadly into the two categories of diffraction and color shift. Products which utilize the former include holograms, kinegrams and other devices originated with similar techniques and bearing a variety of proprietary names, but collectively known as diffractive optically variable image devices (DOVIDs). All share the fundamental characteristic of changing in appearance according to the viewing angle, providing an effective barrier to the increasingly common use of digital reprographic technology as a counterfeiting tool as well as a simple means for verification by the man on the street. They differ, however, in the underlying technology, their specific characteristics and their functionality, which is what this paper will examine, along with their growth and usage on the world's currencies and the current technical developments and trends which are likely to affect their role in the future.
Our interest in this paper is the future of the holography industry. As a commercial entity, that industry has a 20-year history and has consistently grown. But the past year has seen that growth falter for the first time. There are several factors influencing this
slowdown in growth, some of them external. But the industry is at a crossroads and it can continue along its established path, which is unlikely to see growth return to past levels; or it can look for new challenges, new products and new markets, seeking a return to
major growth in new directions. We recognise that most of the participants in Practical Holography may perceive themselves to be distant from the hologram industry, or protected from its fortunes. Many of those here are researchers in academe, or specialist research organisations; others are from the research labs of large companies, for which holography is only a small part of a large business; some of you are artists or independent holographers. But no-one in the
holography community is isolated -- it is a community, and like any community its members are interdependent or co-dependent. So what happens in the industry is likely to affect, directly or indirectly, many of you here.
According to the counterfeiting intelligence Bureau, hologram s are the leading device used for the authentication of branded products. Similarly, it is arguable that they have become the leading device added to security documents to improve their authentication. In this paper we show the significance of this to the hologram producers; examine the extent to which holograms meet the emerging needs of brand owners and document issuers, and explore the ways that holographic products might evolve to become multi-part items to continue to meet the needs of those who seek authentication. Our conclusion is that hologram scan no longer 'walk alone' as stand-alone items for product or document authentication.
For almost 15 years the use of holograms in security printing, and latterly the use of many types of hologram and related DOVID (Diffractive optically variable image device) in security printing and brand authentication, has been the most significant single application of this technology. In the first part of this paper we examine the mutual importance of security DOVIDs to the security print sector and to DOVID producers. We then show how this sector has driven the research and development of new types of DOVID -- it is the application that has funded many companies and stimulated the introduction of many new techniques and processes. We then demonstrate what this level of commitment to DOVIDs by the security print sector means for the future and ask whether there is another 15 years in this field.
In this paper we examine the use of DOVIDs (Diffractive Optically Variable Image Devices) in the verification and authentication of documents and products. The paper reviews the history of this application of DOVIDs, provides quantitative and pricing data on the market as it is now, identifying that this is the most valuable and profitable sector for the manufacturers of DOVIDs. We consider how this market may develop in the future. We conclude that DOVIDs are the market leader in branded product and document authentication and there are many sectors where healthy growth can be expected. At the same time, there is a real threat to the realization of continued growth from the activities of counterfeiters of DOVIDs. Many organizations producing these counterfeit items are highly capable and inventive; they could share the legitimate market and gain more in the long-term than they will gain in the short-term from supplying counterfeits.
In this paper we establish the need for communication between organizations involved in the fight against counterfeiting crime. We also examine the paradox in providing information that could serve the criminal as well as those attempting to protect themselves from criminal activity. Counterfeiting is estimated to account for over 5% of world trade. It is a global operation with no respect for international borders. It is increasingly sophisticated and increasingly the province of organized crime, which applies the techniques developed for drug distribution to the production and distribution of counterfeit articles. To fight this crime there is an increasing plethora of authenticating features and technologies available. Many companies do not recognize the problem and the number of anticounterfeit technologies can be confusing for potential users. There is therefore a need for information about them, their comparative characteristics, to be easily available. At present there is inadequate communication between those who develop and produce anti-counterfeiting devices and those who use them, notwithstanding the marketing efforts of the former. Communication which stimulates and encourages the spread of information between those engaged in the fight against counterfeit crime can only help in that fight. But what we term 'the communication paradox' requires circumspection and care in the content and the distribution of such information. The communication paradox is that the better the channels of communication, the easier it is for criminals to get hold of that information. The challenge is to institute communications which are effective but restrictive. More communication of information between those engaged in counterfeit deterrence will enhance individual companies' and organizations' anticounterfeit efforts and thus contribute to an overall improvement in the fight against counterfeit crime.
The use of holograms for security and authentication accounts for around half of all optical holograms produced. This sector is crucial to the hologram industry. Yet it is under threat, as holograms become the target of criminals around the world who wish to counterfeit the documents and products the holograms protect. It is possible to produce holograms using techniques and security procedures which raise the barriers to the counterfeiters, but the hologram industry appears to be complacent and inadequately prepared to deal with this threat to its future. This requires the production of appropriate holograms for each application, awareness, education, and policing. A suitable vehicle for the implementation of these tasks now exists in the International Hologram Manufacturers Association and its Hologram Image Register.
This three-part paper describes the work of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, and its Hologram Image Register. We also examine the international copyright conventions as they apply to holography and the dangers of counterfeit or `pass-off' holograms. In November 1992 the International Hologram Manufacturers Association was established and the Association now has some 40 members which between them represent a large part of the first-world's production of commercial holograms. In April this year the IHMA started the Hologram Image Register. This resource is designed to prevent the inadvertent copying of intrinsically valuable holograms. The paper explains the methods by which counterfeiters have attempted to have false holograms produced and examines the dangers of counterfeit hologram production to individual holographers and to the flourishing business of holography.
In 1991 Reconnaissance Holographics Ltd. conducted a survey of the worldwide holography industry. This paper presents a summary of the findings of that survey, updated and projected forward with new data gathered since the survey. Trends in commercial display holography are identified and projected to 1999. The paper includes estimates of the global market for display and embossed holograms; how that market is split between the various market sectors; and the global distribution of hologram production. Historical trends in market growth and shifts in the balance of applications are presented. We identify potential growth areas for display holography, growth sectors, and new trends in market applications of holographics.
The value of the market for display holograms in the USA and Europe in the period 1980-1989 inclusive is estimated, showing a
much greater rate ofgrowth in Europe than the USk Ftors affecting this growth are identified and their impt assessed. This
suggests consiructive precedents for market development in newer markets.
The counterfeiting of products and financial instruments is a major problem throughout
the world today. The dimensions of the problem are growing, accelerated by the expanding
availability of production technologies to sophisticated counterfeiters and the increasing
capabilities of these technologies. Various optical techniques, including holography, are
beingused in efforts to mark authentic products and to distinguish them from copies. Industry is
recognizing that the effectiveness of these techniques depends on such factors as the economics of
the counterfeiting process and the distribution channels for the products involved, in addition to
the performance of the particular optical security technologies used. This paper surveys the
nature of the growing counterfeit market place and reviews the utility of holographic optical
security systems. In particular, we review the use of holograms on credit cards and other
products; and outline certain steps the holography industry should take to promote these
application.
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