We help governments and companies to protect what is valuable to them from the bad guys. It can be a citizens’ personal identity, documents of monetary value or commercial products. We have been in the industry for more than 20 years and during that time we were able to accumulate a unique mixture of people, know-how and technology. In combination with a passion for what we do, this allowed us to become one of the key players in the security printing industry.
The domain of IQ Structures is physical protection – not with bulletproof gates, armed guards nor protected vaults, but with holograms. Hologram is an optical device, that is easy to recognize and authenticate, yet extremely difficult to produce.
The race against counterfeiters is never-ending. Our extensive R&D team and proprietary technological equipment helps us to be at least one step ahead.
We co-operate with the largest banks in the world and governments of many states to improve the security of their banknotes and identification documents.
We will be happy to become your partner and support you on your path to secure what matters to you.
Design, effects and mastering
Mastering, also called origination is a process of physical creation of holographic effects, process of manufacturing the first hologram, which is later used to create series of final products.
There are three main requirements for a hologram to perform and function well.
First, a hologram must be extremely difficult to produce to prevent counterfeiters from making their own. That is why our master holograms are originated on an electron-beam lithograph, which writes with a nanoscale precision (a resolution of up to 2,540,000 DPI). The production process includes several sensitive steps such as electroforming and recombination; having these technologies in-house is a must.
Second, even still the hologram must be easy to authenticate. We live in a fast-paced world which allows only a short period of time for hologram authentication. To meet this criterion, a hologram needs to be easy to recognize in a split of a second without use of any supporting technology, therefore we focus on first level features recognizable with a naked eye. Of course, our holograms contain effects for second level (checked with a small equipment such as magnifying glass or microscope) and third level (authenticated with a help of a laboratory equipment) as well.
Last, a hologram is placed on the security document or product, therefor its appearance is what matters the most. We encourage the users to verify the hologram authenticity by making sure it is aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching and visually attractive. Due to that our designers must be both artists and physicists at the same time.
Identification documents
Secure identity documents are key tools for national security and threats connected to migration and identity thefts are feared by governments around the world. At this time, high-quality holographic protection of identity documents is important more than ever. And for this reason, we focus exactly on this. We have developed a state-of-the-art technology called IQ proID, which changes the status quo of the industry as it removes many limitations in protection of polycarbonate documents.
Firstly, IQ proID hologram is transferred directly onto polycarbonate sheets without use of any adhesive, which normally poses as a separation layer. As a result, IQ proID cannot be delaminated, because, well, where there is no separation layer, there is no separation…
Secondly, there is no limitations in terms of a size, shape and a position of the hologram. This allows a complete protection of all personal data on the document. No more 20mm circles covering a part of the photo and first couple of letters of the holder’s name. When we say there is no limit in hologram positioning on the card, we really mean it – ask us if we can place IQ proID at the very edge of the document.
IQ proID holograms come in two versions: transparent and metallic. Transparent holograms are the golden standard of the industry. What is absolutely unique about our metallic holograms is the possibility to personalize them during the process of laser engraving, so that the hologram becomes not only physically but even visually bonded to the identification document!
We also think that a document (be it a passport, national identification card or a driver’s license) should be designed in one graphical theme and the hologram should be, indeed, an integral part of it. With IQ proID it is now possible to seamlessly combine holographic features with printed elements and other security features (OVI inks, UV fluorescent inks, tactile features, etc.).
Print with a hologram
Not only banknotes and identification documents are a popular target of counterfeiters. All kinds of vouchers, tickets and certificates are being faked more and more because they grant access to monetary, access or identity-related rights to their holder. Paper vouchers and tickets are usually designed for one-time use only and we understand that as such the suggested solution must be economical.
There are two most common ways of holographic protection of paper documents.
Holographic hot stamping foil (HSF) is applied onto the paper in a roll form during the process of document production in a form of a continuous stripe or a localized patch. The security of HSF can be further increased by selective de-metallization or by a combination of two metals.
Another popular way of paper document protection is the use of holographic self-adhesive labels. They can be applied by hand or by an application machine. Thanks to the almost perfectly flat surface of a label, a wide variety of holographic effects can be used. To make it even more difficult for the counterfeiters, we supply labels that are tamper-evident – the holographic effect gets destroyed when the label is peeled off, which indicates an attempt of manipulation. Further, the labels can carry additional security features, such as print, QR code for easy track & trace functionality, thermo-active ink, etc.
Banknotes
Banknotes are particularly sensitive documents, because they directly carry monetary value and are used repeatedly throughout their life cycle. As such, they require the highest possible level of security and ask for something special. We have reserved a set of the most sophisticated holographic effects for the use on banknotes only and work with the leaders of material producers in their respective fields.
Some banknotes feature holographic stripes or patches, some have holographic threads instead. We can protect them all. Based on the customer’s wish, we can supply either a master hologram or finished holographic foil.
We are pleased to be perceived as experts on banknote protection among the banknote manufacturers and their customers - national banks from all over the world. We will be happy to advise you in this area as well.
