The present invention relates to a production method and to a device for document security applications including various latent images on each side. The invention comprises: depositing, according to an established pattern, at least one layer of metallized material, forming a holographic element on at least one part of one of the surfaces of a confinement substrate; defining different regions on the surface of the substrate; inducing different alignment directions for orienting a liquid crystal according to the previously defined regions; doping the liquid crystal with at least one dichroic dye; placing the liquid crystal over at least one confinement substrate, covering the holographic element; adding a second confinement substrate, forming a sandwich-type structure; and polymerizing the liquid crystal, forming a sheet.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for printing a security card. A security image is printed onto the receiving layer of a dye receptive reverse transfer film, which can then be applied to the card and bonded with the card. The printing of the security image occurs by transferring overcoat material from an overcoat panel of the dye carrying film onto the receiving layer of the dye receptive reverse transfer film in a pattern, which forms the visual security image. This process can be used in conjunction with the printing of a primary image by printing Yellow, Magenta, Cyan dyes and Black resin (YMCK) to the receiving layer in a reverse transfer printing method to provide a security card having a primary image and a security image. The security image printing may occur before or after the YMCK printing.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a decorative panel which, while having weather resistance, exhibits an excellent gloss-matte effect through relative gloss differences, and can present tone gradations in surface gloss areas. A decorative panel has at least a surface coat layer, and a surface printing layer that is provided to part of the surface, said layers being laminated in the stated order on a heat-resistant substrate, wherein the surface coat layer is formed to a thickness of 5 m or greater from a resin composition that contains a fluororesin and a delustering agent, the gloss value of the surface printing layer (at a light incidence angle of 60) being 10 or less, and the gloss value of the surface printing layer (at a light incidence angle of 60) being higher by 10 or greater than the gloss value of the surface coat layer surface (at a light incidence angle of 60).

An anti-counterfeit medium includes a portion having optical transparency, a retardation layer facing the portion and including regions whose slow axis directions are different from each other, and a polarizing layer facing the retardation layer at a position of the portion. The anti-counterfeit medium includes only the polarizing layer as a polarizer. A portion out of the anti-counterfeit medium where the portion, the retardation layer, and the polarizing layer form a stacked structure has optical transparency.

A printed image is disclosed wherein the image may be in the form of an array of magnetically aligned platelets or flakes that may by uniform in shape and size and wherein the flakes are arranged in a particularly manner to form optically illusive images useful as security devices, or useful in beam steering applications. In one embodiment of this invention printed array is disclosed a plurality of concentric rings of magnetically aligned platelets disposed upon a substrate in the form of a Fresnel structure, preferably a Fresnel reflector. Advantageously, since the magnetic field can be controlled with respect to strength and direction, one can easily design a field that will correct for spherical aberration that would otherwise be present in a typical Fresnel reflector. In other embodiments of the invention optically illusive images of funnels, domes and cones are printed.

Forming a 3D image using a lenticular structure includes a carrier layer having an arrangement of color sub-pixels and a lenticular array comprising convergent lenses facing the sub-pixels. A method includes performing visual inspection of the lenticular structure, during which sub-pixels viewable through the lenses are detected for a plurality of viewing directions; determining, based on the color of the sub-pixels detected for each viewing direction, grayscale levels required to reveal M images viewable through the lenticular array in the M viewing directions, respectively; and customizing the sub-pixel arrangement, during which the grayscale levels are engraved facing the sub-pixels in the carrier layer by focus of laser radiation through the lenses.

An optical display body (1) is provided with: a stripe mask (10) that includes a transmission part (T) and a reflection part (R) that is wider than the transmission part, a transmission part and a reflection part which are alternately arranged so as to form a stripe pattern; and a printed body (20) that includes a flattened design (21A) which is a visible image (21B) flattened in a Y direction and which is printed two or more times repeatedly in an X direction. The stripe mask, upon being superimposed on the printed body such that a stripe direction of the stripe mask will be coincident with the X direction of the printed body, allows a visible image to be displayed through the stripe mask.

A laser printing apparatus and method for a color dynamic image are provided. The laser printing apparatus includes an optical system and a recording material; the recording material includes a refraction layer formed by multiple microspheres or microlenses, and a shading layer formed on a focal plane of the multiple microshperes or microlenses; the optical system includes a laser and an graph generator, a laser light emitted by the laser irradiates onto the recording material after being processed by the image generator, the laser light irradiating onto the recording material is focused on the shading layer via the refraction layer, and a focus point is formed on the shading layer when energy of the focused laser light is greater than an evaporation threshold value of the shading layer.

The present invention relates to the use of coating compositions, comprising shaped transition metal, especially silver, particles and a binder, wherein the ratio of pigment to binder is preferably such that the resulting coating shows an angle dependent color change, for the production of security elements and holograms. When the coating compositions of the present invention are used in coating a hologram the obtained products show a an angle dependent color change (flip/flop effect), different colors in reflection and transmission, an extremely bright OVD image and extremely strong rainbow effect, high purity and contrast.

A security document and method of manufacturing the security document are disclosed. The security document includes a substrate including a laser reactive material and data. The security document also includes an optically variable tactile security feature formed in the laser reactive material, the optically variable tactile security feature including a non-tactile portion and a tactile portion. When viewed at a first viewing angle, the optically variable tactile security feature appears to be a first color, and at a second viewing angle different from the first viewing angle, the optically variable tactile security feature appears to be a second color.