A reflective film includes interior layers that selectively reflect light by constructive or destructive interference, the layers extending from a first to a second zone of the film. In the first zone the layers provide a first reflective polarizer characteristic, and in a second zone the layers provide a substantially different reflective polarizer characteristic. The second zone is characterized by at least some of the layers having a reduced birefringence relative to their birefringence in the first zone. In some cases the first reflective polarizer characteristic may have a pass axis that is substantially orthogonal to that of the second reflective polarizer characteristic. The film may have substantially the same thickness in the first and second zones, or a substantially reduced thickness in the second zone relative to the first zone.

An element for protection against forgery and/or copying is arranged on a substrate and includes an optically anisotropic layer which has at least two regions with different optical axes, characterized in that the substrate is a reflective polarizer. The optically anisotropic layer can include cross-linked liquid crystal monomers. The anisotropic layer can be placed on an orientation layer. The orientation layer can be in contact with the polarizer and can include a photo-oriented polymer network. A device for protection against forgery and/or copying is characterized in that an element as set forth above and an analyzer are arranged on the same substrate.

A method and apparatus for in-line manufacture of a security document with a structured security element is provided in which a continuous web of document substrate is fed through a series of processing stations. The processing stations include a station for forming a structured security element in a radiation sensitive coating applied to the document substrate, and at least one station for applying at least one additional layer to the document substrate excluding the security element area. In a security document manufactured with the method or apparatus, the additional layer or layers have a combined thickness which is preferably substantially equal to the height of the structured security element or which differs from the height of the structured security element by a predetermined amount.

A method and apparatus for in-line manufacture of a security document with a structured security element is provided in which a continuous web of document substrate is fed through a series of processing stations. The processing stations include a station for forming a structured security element in a radiation sensitive coating applied to the document substrate, and at least one station for applying at least one additional layer to the document substrate excluding the security element area. In a security document manufactured with the method or apparatus, the additional layer or layers have a combined thickness which is preferably substantially equal to the height of the structured security element or which differs from the height of the structured security element by a predetermined amount.

A reflective film includes interior layers arranged to selectively reflect light by constructive or destructive interference, the layers extending from a first zone to a second zone of the film. The film has a first thickness and the interior layers provide a first reflective characteristic in the first zone; the film has a second thickness and the interior layers provide a second reflective characteristic in the second zone. The difference between the first and second reflective characteristics is not substantially attributable to any difference between the first and second thicknesses, which difference may be zero. Rather, the difference in the reflective characteristics is substantially attributable to reduced birefringence of at least some of the interior layers in one zone relative to the other zone. The film may also incorporate absorbing agents to assist in the manufacture or processing of the film. Related methods and articles are also disclosed.

A reflective film includes interior layers arranged to selectively reflect light by constructive or destructive interference, the layers extending from a first zone to a second zone of the film. The film has a first thickness and the interior layers provide a first reflective characteristic in the first zone; the film has a second thickness and the interior layers provide a second reflective characteristic in the second zone. The difference between the first and second reflective characteristics is not substantially attributable to any difference between the first and second thicknesses, which difference may be zero. Rather, the difference in the reflective characteristics is substantially attributable to reduced birefringence of at least some of the interior layers in one zone relative to the other zone. The film may also incorporate absorbing agents to assist in the manufacture or processing of the film. Related methods and articles are also disclosed.

The invention relates to a data carrier having a see-through portion (24) that allows revealing security features (36) with a different appearance on each of its sides (S1, S2) under special lighting conditions, and a method for making such a data carrier. The see-through portion has an improved security, which is more difficult to reproduce by infringers.

The invention relates to a data carrier having a see-through portion (24) that allows revealing security features (36) with a different appearance on each of its sides (S1, S2) under special lighting conditions, and a method for making such a data carrier. The see-through portion has an improved security, which is more difficult to reproduce by infringers.

An anti-counterfeiting medium includes a recording medium, a polarizer layer arranged on a part of the recording medium. The polarizer layer is formed thereon with a low extinction-ratio area that forms an image portion where a polarizer exhibits an extinction ratio lower than in a portion other than the low extinction-ratio area of the polarizer layer. The recording medium is formed thereon with an image portion that is a part of the recording medium and has a nature different from that of a portion other than the part of the recording medium.

A security element, e g. for an ID card (7) or passport, banknote, ticket, etc, comprises a plurality of superposed layers (8a, 8b, 8c, 8d) and a security image or object (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) comprising a plurality of discrete security components, each said discrete security component constituting or providing a portion of the complete security image or object, which portion is less than the whole of the security image or object, wherein each said discrete security component is provided or formed on or within a respective one of the said plurality of superposed layers of the element (7). The layers can be laminated together. The components can be: a security rainbow hologram/DOVID (1); a tactile security feature (2); a 3D holographic optical element (3); an IR visible printing (4); an UV visible printing (5); a colour switch printing (6).