Glossary

Informal term for a US central bank digital currency.

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

Informal term for a European central bank digital currency.

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.

The European Commission defines a ‘product passport’ as a product-specific dataset that can be electronically accessed via a data carrier to facilitate the electronic registration, processing, and sharing of product-related information among supply chain entities, authorities, and consumers.

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.

Commonly refers to a tax stamp which carries a digitally generated and printed unique identifier.

A virtual replica of a physical object, person, or process that can be used to simulate the object’s behaviour and optimise its performance.

Can be in the form of an app, card or universal access device. It refers to a place where electronic money is held in token form.

An origination method that uses a single laser beam to create high-resolution structures on a photoresist.

A method of applying codes or information directly onto a product, without the use of a tax stamp or other label.

A reduction in the use of intermediaries in order to connect participants in a transaction directly. In terms of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), if the public is able to have an account and hold CBDC funds at a central bank, then there is less or even no need for it to hold private money in a commercial bank account. The services of the commercial bank account have therefore been disintermediated.

The process of dissolving a solid dosage form in a solvent (usually water) and measuring genuine drugs and unsophisticated copies.

Technological infrastructure and protocols that allow simultaneous access, validation, and record updating in an immutable manner across a network spread over multiple entities or locations, with no central hub. Generally associated with blockchain systems.

The unauthorised transfer of goods from one jurisdiction to another in order to bypass taxation or regulatory requirements.

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.

The process by which the US dollar is de facto adopted as the currency of a country. Dollarisation can be unofficial (the public chooses to hold dollars), or official (the central bank and government do not produce their own banknotes, eg. Ecuador).

A surface relief hologram built up from an array of tiny diffractive gratings arranged at certain angles. The ‘dots’ are a point at which two microscopic beams of laser light meet at an angle and produce an interference pattern. In a dot matrix machine, a mechanical arrangement moves this point of light in a matrix pattern relative to a photosensitive plate. According to the final image required, the angle at which each dot is exposed into the matrix is determined by mathematical calculation. It is thus possible to construct fully synthetic images of objects that never existed in real life.

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.

A potential risk in a digital cash scheme in which the same single digital token can be spent more than once. Unlike physical cash, a digital token consists of a digital file that can be duplicated or falsified. 

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.

A banknote that is not legal tender and printed during the testing of a new family of banknotes. It is subject to special security measures even though it is designed not to be confused with a legitimate banknote. A dummy banknote can also be produced for special training purposes eg. for blind and partially sighted people.

The newest version of the datamatrix code, the most commonly used GS1-compliant 2D matrix code in pharmaceuticals.

Under the EU Tobacco Products Directive this refers to any natural or legal person involved in the trade of tobacco products, including for export, from the manufacturer to the last economic operator before the first retail outlet.

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

In holography, this refers to the brightness of an image. It is the ratio of diffracted to incident light intensity.

A sculpted image of a person, usually a monarch, that appears on the obverse of a coin or banknote.

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 process of converting a holographic image from photoresist or plastic to metal (nickel). See also Shim.

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.

A data standard for the unique identification of any individual item around the world. Whereas a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) identifies a class of trade item, such as ‘two-litre Acme bottled water’, an EPC can only identify one particular two-litre bottle of Acme water. Only the combination of a GTIN plus a serial number corresponds to an EPC.

A global GS1 product code standard for creating and sharing visibility event data, both within and across enterprises, to give users a shared view of physical or digital objects within a relevant business context.

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

A process for producing a metal coating of copper, nickel or bronze on a core steel or alloy substrate through the reduction of cations (positively charged ions) of that metal by means of a direct electric current. Electroplating is an alternative method of producing less expensive coin blanks while maintaining the visual and technical characteristics of a solid alloy-based coin. Circulating coins in traditional alloys do not undergo the electroplating process.

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.

The conversion of data or information into a format that requires a key or password to access the data.

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

An X-ray technique for identifying the elemental composition of materials.

A framework used to assess an organisation’s business practices and performance on various sustainability and ethical issues.

A document in the form of a book or a card with an electronic microchip and antenna. The chip contains the holder’s scrambled personal data: eg. digital photo, name, data from the machine-readable zone, fingerprints, iris. The data is read by special devices and compared to personalisation data on the document, the holder’s physical data and the database.

A GS1 subsidiary organisation administering Electronic Product Code systems and coordinating the development of associated data standards.

An electronic statement of a product’s history and passage through the supply chain, with each movement and transaction recorded so that, at any point in the chain and at its end, the lineage of the product can be obtained. Especially used to record batches of pharmaceutical products.