A thermal transfer print ribbon having radiation curable ink thereon is used to print on a surface of a plastic card. The use of radiation curable thermal transfer printing to print on the card surface increases the durability of the printing compared to regular (i.e. non-radiation cured) thermal transfer printing once the radiation curable ink is cured. As a result, a protective laminate or coating need not be applied to the card surface to protect the printing.

There is described a security element (EL) or document (BN), such as a banknote, comprising (i) a substrate (S) with first and second sides (I, II) and exhibiting at least one window region (W) made of a substantially transparent material, (ii) a micro-optical structure (OP) provided on the first side (I) of the substrate (S) and extending over at least a part of the window region (W), and (iii) a printed feature (P1-P3) printed on the second side (II) of the substrate (S) over at least a part of the window region (W), the printed feature (P1-P3) being provided in register with the micro-optical structure (OP) to produce an optically-variable effect (EF) upon looking at the printed feature (P1-P3) from the first side (I) of the substrate (S) through the micro-optical structure (OP) and the window region (W). The security element (EL) or document (BN) further comprises a protective layer (L) acting as printable primer layer and provided on the second side (II) of the substrate (S) over the window region (W) and on top of the printed feature (P1-P3),

There is described a security element (EL) or document (BN), such as a banknote, comprising (i) a substrate (S) with first and second sides (I, II) and exhibiting at least one window region (W) made of a substantially transparent material, (ii) a micro-optical structure (OP) provided on the first side (I) of the substrate (S) and extending over at least a part of the window region (W), and (iii) a printed feature (P1-P3) printed on the second side (II) of the substrate (S) over at least a part of the window region (W), the printed feature (P1-P3) being provided in register with the micro-optical structure (OP) to produce an optically-variable effect (EF) upon looking at the printed feature (P1-P3) from the first side (I) of the substrate (S) through the micro-optical structure (OP) and the window region (W). The security element (EL) or document (BN) further comprises a protective layer (L) acting as printable primer layer and provided on the second side (II) of the substrate (S) over the window region (W) and on top of the printed feature (P1-P3),

A thermal transfer print ribbon having radiation curable ink thereon is used to print on a surface of a plastic card. The use of radiation curable thermal transfer printing to print on the card surface increases the durability of the printing compared to regular (i.e. non-radiation cured) thermal transfer printing once the radiation curable ink is cured. As a result, a protective laminate or coating need not be applied to the card surface to protect the printing.

A thermal transfer print ribbon having radiation curable ink thereon is used to print on a surface of a plastic card. The use of radiation curable thermal transfer printing to print on the card surface increases the durability of the printing compared to regular (i.e. non-radiation cured) thermal transfer printing once the radiation curable ink is cured. As a result, a protective laminate or coating need not be applied to the card surface to protect the printing.

A user is guided to move a device equipped with an illuminator and a camera with respect to a document whose genuineness is to be assessed. The motion includes changing the distance between the device and the document by moving the device or moving the document. Imagery of the document is captured during the movement and analyzed to determine a likelihood that the document includes features indicative of genuineness, such as a hologram, an original photograph, and other regions matching those of a genuine document. The analysis may include identifying regions exhibiting large changes in appearance over relatively small distance changes which characterize holograms, and obtaining the spatial extent of document features.

A security document may include a laserizable first layer including a grayscale image formed by laserizing; a color pattern that is in alignment with the grayscale image; and a second layer arranged between the first layer and the pattern, such that the first layer is above the second layer, and the pattern is below the second layer. The second layer may be more opaque than the first layer, such that when observing the security document from the top, the grayscale image appears to be colored by the color pattern only when the bottom of the security document is being illuminated.

A security document may include a laserizable first layer including a grayscale image formed by laserizing; a color pattern that is in alignment with the grayscale image; and a second layer arranged between the first layer and the pattern, such that the first layer is above the second layer, and the pattern is below the second layer. The second layer may be more opaque than the first layer, such that when observing the security document from the top, the grayscale image appears to be colored by the color pattern only when the bottom of the security document is being illuminated.

A security document may include a laserizable first layer including a grayscale image formed by laserizing; a color pattern that is in alignment with the grayscale image; and a second layer arranged between the first layer and the pattern, such that the first layer is above the second layer, and the pattern is below the second layer. The second layer may be more opaque than the first layer, such that when observing the security document from the top, the grayscale image appears to be colored by the color pattern only when the bottom of the security document is being illuminated.

A security document may include a laserizable first layer including a grayscale image formed by laserizing; a color pattern that is in alignment with the grayscale image; and a second layer arranged between the first layer and the pattern, such that the first layer is above the second layer, and the pattern is below the second layer. The second layer may be more opaque than the first layer, such that when observing the security document from the top, the grayscale image appears to be colored by the color pattern only when the bottom of the security document is being illuminated.