Glossary

Originally a bookbinding term. In order to produce a complete book, the various parts must be collated in the right order. This is ensured by placing collation marks as check marks (in the case of books, usually at the spine of the book block) in a staggered arrangement from top to bottom. In passports, this type of register mark or position mark is an additional safeguard. It makes it easier to spot whether any pages have been exchanged or removed. It can be invisible under normal light, as a fluorescent overprint, or a visible feature (using normal or fluorescent ink). The combination of collation mark and page numbers is sometimes called floating numeration.

An optically variable effect whereby a material – usually a thin film or ink – changes from one colour to another, or from one colour to clear, when the viewing angle is altered.

A government agency designated to implement a system, such as a tax stamp and track and trace solution.

The semiconductor technology used in most of today’s integrated circuits.

In the context of substrates, this is used to describe paper/polymer combinations – either when the polymer forms the core, with the paper fused to the polymer, or when the paper forms the core, with polymer layers laminated either side. Composite substrates combine the security properties of paper (including the integration of threads and watermarks) with the durability of polymer.

A digital printing technique in which a continuous fine stream of electricity charged ink is formed and diverted onto the substrate as needed to form the printed image. Unused ink is collected and reused.

The illegal production and sale of goods (including packaging) bearing a trademark that is identical to a validly registered trademark or that cannot be distinguished from such a trademark. Also refers to the reproduction of a banknote or security document that looks authentic but has been manufactured fraudulently with the intent to deceive the public.

An image, symbol or text that is invisible to the unaided eye as well as under a microscope, but that can be visualised by a laser beam. It is formed when recording a hologram image using e-beam lithography, as a 1 micron-sized area on the hologram surface.

Covert (or hidden) features require a detector or instrument in their detection, which are usually only available to officials such as enforcement authorities and central banks.The general public and supply chain operators generally do not know about these features.

The means by which the identity of a person is authenticated in a trust framework. The credential may be physical (a document), digital (a password) or virtual (a string of digits).

A method of protecting information and communications through the use of codes.

The use of a non-standard system of bars and spaces to encode data.

Crime committed to steal or defraud people of electronic money, or crypto-assets, online.

Protecting data and communications against attacks from (amongst other things) malware, denial of service and phishing attacks.

A papermaking machine that drains stock through a fine wire mesh cylinder rotating inside a vat of pulp stock, to form a continuous wet ply of board. This method is not customarily used for documents like tax stamps, due to the weight of the paper, and is rather used for banknote paper production. Tax stamp paper is instead produced by a Fourdrinier machine.

A mesh-covered hollow roll placed on top of a Fourdrinier papermaking machine. The dandy roll breaks up fibre clumps to improve sheet formation and can also create watermarks in paper, by pressing onto newly formed fibres. If the roll has been produced with raised elements, those elements press into the fibres leaving an impression which, when the paper is formed, allows more light to be seen relative to the thicker background paper. This is a form of watermark, albeit only 2D.

In the context of track and trace, usually refers to a barcode (primarily 2D), or a microchip carrying track and trace data in a machine-readable format.

A 2D code consisting of black and white cells or dots arranged in a square or rectangular pattern, also known as a matrix. The information to be encoded can be text or numeric data. Usual data size is from a few bytes up to 1556 bytes.

The information page in a passport containing photo and personal details such as name, date of birth, nationality and sex.

Fluorescent ink that is activated by visible light, instead of the more customary UV radiation.

Creating an image or text (such as expiry and batch data) which is sunk below the level of the surrounding substrate using a die plate or punch.

The translation of a code into a format that is more generally understood.

The process of converting encrypted data back to its original form, often with the use of a covert key or password.

Synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s likeness with that of another. Can also refer to computer-generated images of human subjects that do not exist in real life. 

A two-stage process in which metal, usually aluminium, is deposited onto a hologram or OVD and then selectively removed in order to create a design. The removal is achieved by either first printing a protective resin onto the metallic layer then dissolving away the unprotected metal, or ablating the metal with a laser beam. Used for security threads and foils in banknotes.

A hardened metal tool, the face of which carries an engraved design for cutting or shaping low-strength materials, such as fibre, foil, paper, plastics, pressure-sensitive labels and sheet metal. Dies are used to create coins from metal blanks.

The phenomenon whereby lightwaves are bent as a result of passing through small apertures or around small objects or lines whose dimensions are comparable to the light wavelength. Of particular interest are gratings (a pattern of such lines) because these have the ability to bend light of different wavelengths by different amounts. Hence, they produce a prismatic effect of splitting white light into the colours of the rainbow – a feature typical to most DOVIDs.

A collective term for images that display complex visual effects that change according to the viewing angle, based on the phenomenon of diffraction. These effects are varied and typically three-dimensional, kinetic (exhibiting movement), multichannel (where one image, or part of an image, changes into another) or animated (ie. stereograms). DOVIDs include holograms, Kinegrams and other diffractive features.

The reproduction (as in counterfeiting) of documents and packaging using digital reprographic technology.

The storage, transmission, manipulation and reproduction of data, images, sounds, etc., by a process that uses groups of electronic bits represented as 1 or 0.

A mobile app that replaces a physical driving licence. Also known as mDL (mobile driving licence).

An identification system that includes data capture, validation, storage and transfer, credential management, and identity verification and authentication.

The composite of electronically captured and stored attributes and credentials that uniquely identify a person.

Any printing technology capable of producing printed materials directly from a computer file. Digital printing does not require an intermediary medium such as film, nor an intermediary machine such as a platemaker. Non-impact printing such as laser, inkjet and dye sublimation all fall into this category.

A type of electronic signature that protects a document or authenticates a device by encryption with digital codes that are difficult to duplicate or decrypt.

Organic molecular particles based on DNA carbon compounds, either naturally occurring or synthetic. Typically used to tag documents or products for subsequent testing to prove authenticity.

An impact printer that uses a fixed number of pins or wires, typically arranged in one or several vertical columns. The pins strike an ink-coated ribbon and force contact between the ribbon and the paper, so that each pin makes a small dot on the paper. The combination of these dots forms a dot matrix image allowing for various types of characters and digits to be reproduced. While inkjet and laser printers technically exhibit dot matrix printing, they are not considered to be ‘dot matrix printers’. Dot matrix printers are often used for counterfeiting the serial numbers on banknotes.

Used to measure the resolution of an image both on screen and in print. DPI measures how many dots fit into a linear inch, therefore the higher the DPI, the more detail can be shown in an image.

An ink or substance which absorbs incident light at a specific wavelength and emits it at a lower energy (longer wavelength). Usually these substrates absorb ultraviolet light and emit visible light. See also Upconversion.

A digital printing technology used on production lines often to print variable data such as lot numbers and expiry dates. In contrast to continuous inkjet, DOD printers only create ink drops as needed to form the image. They tend to be faster than continuous inkjet printers.

When two layers each with unique shapes, are partially revealed on the front and back of a data page.

Also known as electronic gates, eGates are automated passport control systems that use biometric technology to authenticate the identity of passengers. These gates scan the passport and take a photo of the passenger’s face, which is then compared to the digital image stored in the passport’s microchip.

The complete group of waves that range in frequency from radio waves to gamma rays, but all travel at the speed of light.

The technique of scanning a focused beam of electrons to draw custom shapes on a surface covered with an electron-sensitive film called a resist. The whole origination process is undertaken in a vacuum chamber where the e-beam writes onto the resist plate. This is sometimes referred to as a direct write process. It is used to create holographic images.

An EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the European Single Market, established under EU Regulation 910/2014 of 23 July 2014.

An electronic authentication technique that is a legal substitute for a handwritten signature.

Security features embedded in the paper during the production process or inserted between laminated layers. These include threads, planchettes, microtaggants, microcapsules and other devices, which cannot be removed or added retroactively without destroying the paper.

The transfer of a raised pattern from a hard plate to a softer material. This mechanical transfer (which can be made through a seal, stamp or die) is usually facilitated by means of heat and always with pressure.

The conversion of information or data into a code.

Repeated, sometimes unspaced lines of text in the background or security thread of a secure document.