A card manufacturing method includes feeding a reference sheet serving as a reference for alignment; feeding a first continuous sheet having a plurality of patterns repeatedly printed as one cycle thereon; producing a laminated sheet by laminating the first continuous sheet on the reference sheet; successively detecting a position of each one of the repeatedly printed patterns by detection means; adjusting such that the patterns are at predetermined positions with respect to the reference sheet by controlling a feeding speed of the first continuous sheet according to a detection result on the positions of the patterns; and producing a card by cutting the laminated sheet for each of the patterns, the patterns being printed so that plural patterns are repeatedly printed as one cycle, the adjustment being performed for each cycle made up of the plurality of patterns.

A method for manufacturing a physical security element with a spatially appearing pattern includes a carrier and at least one see-through transparent cover layer. Onto the carrier is applied a design layer deformable under pressure. Either the carrier has a lower dimensional stability under heat than the cover layer, or a cover layer has a lower dimensional stability under heat than the carrier. A see-through transparent structural layer forming the pattern is arranged between carrier and cover layer. The structural layer has a higher dimensional stability under heat than either the carrier or a cover layer. During lamination, the structural layer is pressed into the carrier or into the cover layer, whereby the design layer is deformed under the pattern formed by the structural layer and the structural layer in its edge regions is reshaped in such a way that its surfaces, in cross-section, converge tangentially.

A method for manufacturing a physical security element with a spatially appearing pattern includes a carrier and at least one see-through transparent cover layer. Onto the carrier is applied a design layer deformable under pressure. Either the carrier has a lower dimensional stability under heat than the cover layer, or a cover layer has a lower dimensional stability under heat than the carrier. A see-through transparent structural layer forming the pattern is arranged between carrier and cover layer. The structural layer has a higher dimensional stability under heat than either the carrier or a cover layer. During lamination, the structural layer is pressed into the carrier or into the cover layer, whereby the design layer is deformed under the pattern formed by the structural layer and the structural layer in its edge regions is reshaped in such a way that its surfaces, in cross-section, converge tangentially.

The invention relates to securing of an article against forgery and falsifying of its associated data, and particularly of data relating to its belonging to a specific batch of articles, while allowing offline or online checking of the authenticity of a secured article and conformity of its associated data with respect to that of a genuine article.

The invention relates to securing of an article against forgery and falsifying of its associated data, and particularly of data relating to its belonging to a specific batch of articles, while allowing offline or online checking of the authenticity of a secured article and conformity of its associated data with respect to that of a genuine article.

A method of printing a digital image includes printing authentication marks by applying an amplitude modulated raster print in a detection zone to an object, the printed area of the detection zone consisting of asymmetric raster dots, wherein at least two mutually non-parallel finder edges are printed from at least one finder zone to determine the position, boundary and orientation of the detection zone. A method of authenticating such a print includes capturing an image of the printed article; detecting the at least two finder edges to determine the detection zone from the image with halftone dot accuracy, comparing the captured print image of the detection zone with the resulting print images, and deciding on the basis of the comparison whether there is an original print on the article.

A method of printing a digital image includes printing authentication marks by applying an amplitude modulated raster print in a detection zone to an object, the printed area of the detection zone consisting of asymmetric raster dots, wherein at least two mutually non-parallel finder edges are printed from at least one finder zone to determine the position, boundary and orientation of the detection zone. A method of authenticating such a print includes capturing an image of the printed article; detecting the at least two finder edges to determine the detection zone from the image with halftone dot accuracy, comparing the captured print image of the detection zone with the resulting print images, and deciding on the basis of the comparison whether there is an original print on the article.

The invention relates to an improved method for the partial coloring, in particular for the color laser engraving, of plastic parts, in particular thermoplastic plastic parts, more particularly thermoplastic plastic parts that have a multi-layered structure, to the resulting partially colored, preferably color laser engraved, plastic parts, in particular thermoplastic plastic parts, and to a device for the partial coloring of plastic parts.

The invention relates to a method for separating and categorizing at least one substrate (02; 03) that originates from a sheet source (47) or is transported in the form of a material web (02) to a cross-cutting apparatus and is separated into a multiplicity of sheets (03) there, wherein the respective sheets (03) are inspected in respective inspection operations with regard to at least one property that the substrate (02; 03) already had before the particular separating operation or severing operation, and wherein the sheets (03) are each assigned to one of at least three categories in an assigning operation on the basis of the result of the inspection carried out in the particular inspection operation, and wherein each of the sheets (03) is deposited on a delivery pile (06; 07; 08) corresponding to its category, and to a substrate categorizing machine (01), which has a sheet source (47) or a material-web source (09) and a cross-cutting device (11), wherein the substrate categorizing machine (01) has, downstream of the sheet source (47) or downstream of the cross-cutting device (11), a sheet transport device (12) having a gripper system (13), and an inspection device (14; 16; 17; 18), and, downstream of the inspection device (14; 16; 17; 18), a delivery apparatus (19), which has at least three depositing stations (21; 22; 23).

The invention relates to a method for separating and categorizing at least one substrate (02; 03) that originates from a sheet source (47) or is transported in the form of a material web (02) to a cross-cutting apparatus and is separated into a multiplicity of sheets (03) there, wherein the respective sheets (03) are inspected in respective inspection operations with regard to at least one property that the substrate (02; 03) already had before the particular separating operation or severing operation, and wherein the sheets (03) are each assigned to one of at least three categories in an assigning operation on the basis of the result of the inspection carried out in the particular inspection operation, and wherein each of the sheets (03) is deposited on a delivery pile (06; 07; 08) corresponding to its category, and to a substrate categorizing machine (01), which has a sheet source (47) or a material-web source (09) and a cross-cutting device (11), wherein the substrate categorizing machine (01) has, downstream of the sheet source (47) or downstream of the cross-cutting device (11), a sheet transport device (12) having a gripper system (13), and an inspection device (14; 16; 17; 18), and, downstream of the inspection device (14; 16; 17; 18), a delivery apparatus (19), which has at least three depositing stations (21; 22; 23).