A method for providing scratch-off lottery tickets for sale remote from a POS location in a retail establishment includes configuring the tickets with a game play area having play characters covered by a scratch-off coating. A print characteristic is provided in the game play area that is optically scannable but not reproducible when photocopying the game play area. In a database, identification of the printed characteristic is linked to a computer file associated with the lottery ticket at a central lottery computer. An optically scannable random identifier is also provided in the game play area and is linked to the computer file. Upon presentation of the lottery ticket for purchase, the ticket or a scanned image of the ticket is analyzed to verify that the print characteristic is present in the game play area. The scanned image of the ticket is analyzed to verify that the random identifier assigned to the lottery ticket is present in the game play area of the scanned image.

A method for detecting a component including a concealed pattern includes: detecting infrared electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by a component including a first pattern, the component including: a substrate; the first pattern disposed over at least a portion of the substrate; an optional primer layer disposed between at least a portion of the substrate and at least a portion of the first pattern; and a first visibly opaque layer including an infrared transparent pigment, the first visibly opaque layer disposed over at least a portion of the first pattern; and comparing the reflectivity and/or absorbance of infrared electromagnetic radiation by the first pattern at one wavelength to the reflectivity and/or absorbance by the primer layer and/or the substrate at the same wavelength.

A method for producing security elements in an image which are not visible to the human eye and which cannot be copied, in particular for checking the authenticity of images. The image is imaged by means of a halftone, the halftone consisting of individual image dots arranged adjacent to each other. This is characterized in that at least one field having a random geometric shape or freeform is defined in the image/the halftone. By means of manipulation of image dots in the field and/or by means of manipulation of the entire field, an encrypted information that cannot be copied is stored for comparison with at least one database and the serial number is displayed by means of contours formed in the halftone.

A determination system includes an imaging data acquisition device that captures an image of a printed surface of a printed product to acquire imaging data of the captured image, and a determination device that determines a printing method used to produce the printed surface of the printed product for capturing an image by the imaging data acquisition device. The determination device selects a determination area included in the captured image, extracts a determination end image from a portion around an end portion of a black determination image included in the determination area, acquires difference data that is a difference in gradation between two colors among gradation data of RBG colors of the extracted determination end image, acquires a determination value for determining a printing method used to produce the printed surface of the printed product, and determines a printing method used to produce the printed surface of the printed product.

A method for detecting a component including a concealed pattern includes: detecting infrared electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by a component including a first pattern, the component including: a substrate; the first pattern disposed over at least a portion of the substrate; an optional primer layer disposed between at least a portion of the substrate and at least a portion of the first pattern; and a first visibly opaque layer including an infrared transparent pigment, the first visibly opaque layer disposed over at least a portion of the first pattern; and comparing the reflectivity and/or absorbance of infrared electromagnetic radiation by the first pattern at one wavelength to the reflectivity and/or absorbance by the primer layer and/or the substrate at the same wavelength.

In a banknote inspection device, a storage unit stores a first learning model generated using an image of a character with a hole as training data, and a second learning model generated using an image of a character without a hole as training data, and a recognition unit recognizes a serial number character that is a character forming a serial number of a banknote by using the first learning model when a character image, which is as image of the serial number character, has a hole, and recognize the serial number character by using the second learning model when the character image does not have a hole.

In a banknote inspection device, a storage unit stores a first learning model generated using an image of a character with a hole as training data, and a second learning model generated using an image of a character without a hole as training data, and a recognition unit recognizes a serial number character that is a character forming a serial number of a banknote by using the first learning model when a character image, which is as image of the serial number character, has a hole, and recognize the serial number character by using the second learning model when the character image does not have a hole.

The invention refers to a computer-implemented method of analyzing security documents having visible information and at least one of infrared and ultraviolet detectable information, the method comprising the steps of: receiving visible-color data of a first set of pixels of a first region of the security document in a first image of the security document and feeding the visible-color data to a convolutional neural network, CNN; receiving infrared, IR, and/or ultraviolet, UV, data of a second and/or third set of pixels of a respective second and/or third region in a respective second and/or third image of the security document and feeding the IR and/or UV data to the CNN; analyzing the visible-color data of the first set of pixels using the CNN to extract characteristics of the security document from the visible information; and analyzing the IR and/or UV data of the second and/or third set of pixels using the CNN to extract characteristics of the security document from the IR and/or UV information. Further, a corresponding system is provided.

A security device includes a substrate and a photoluminescent image on or in the substrate. The image includes at least two different visible light emitting photoluminescent quantum dot compositions, each arranged according to different respective photoluminescent sub-images. The at least two different visible light emitting photoluminescent quantum dot compositions have different emission spectra from one another, and the same or different excitation spectra. The at least two different visible light emitting photoluminescent quantum dot compositions emit different respective visible colours from one another when excited. The respective photoluminescent sub-images are configured such that the photoluminescent image formed by the combination of the respective photoluminescent sub-images is multi-coloured, emitting different visible colours in different laterally offset parts thereof upon excitation of the at least two different visible light emitting photoluminescent quantum dot compositions. At least a portion of the photoluminescent image overlaps an at least semi-transparent region of the substrate.

A method for producing security elements in an image which are not visible to the human eye and which cannot be copied, in particular for checking the authenticity of images. The image is imaged by means of a halftone, the halftone consisting of individual image dots arranged adjacent to each other. This is characterized in that at least one field having a random geometric shape or freeform is defined in the image/the halftone. By means of manipulation of image dots in the field and/or by means of manipulation of the entire field, an encrypted information that cannot be copied is stored for comparison with at least one database and the serial number is displayed by means of contours formed in the halftone.