A security element has machine-readable magnetic security features in the form of at least two magnetic materials which have different magnitudes of coercive force and which are provided as a mixture in at least one printing ink that is applied onto a carrier substrate, wherein the at least one printing ink is provided in at least two regions on the security element with the same thickness and/or different thicknesses, and a defined mixture ratio of the at least two magnetic materials with different magnitudes of coercive force is provided in the at least one printing ink.

Composite cards formed include a security layer comprising a hologram or diffraction grating formed at, or in, the center, or core layer, of the card. The hologram may be formed by embossing a designated area of the core layer with a diffraction pattern and depositing a thin layer of metal on the embossed layer. Additional layers may be selectively and symmetrically attached to the top and bottom surfaces of the core layer. A laser may be used to remove selected portions of the metal formed on the embossed layer, at selected stages of forming the card, to impart a selected pattern or information to the holographic region. The cards may be ‘lasered’ when the cards being processed are attached to, and part of, a large sheet of material, whereby the “lasering” of all the cards on the sheet can be done at the same time and relatively inexpensively.

Composite cards formed include a security layer comprising a hologram or diffraction grating formed at, or in, the center, or core layer, of the card. The hologram may be formed by embossing a designated area of the core layer with a diffraction pattern and depositing a thin layer of metal on the embossed layer. Additional layers may be selectively and symmetrically attached to the top and bottom surfaces of the core layer. A laser may be used to remove selected portions of the metal formed on the embossed layer, at selected stages of forming the card, to impart a selected pattern or information to the holographic region. The cards may be ‘lasered’ when the cards being processed are attached to, and part of, a large sheet of material, whereby the “lasering” of all the cards on the sheet can be done at the same time and relatively inexpensively.

A method for authenticating an article including engraving a circular feature into a verification substrate that includes a plurality of concentric rings within the circular feature arranged in a pattern according to a data encoding schema, wherein at least one of the plurality of rings includes a surface anomaly. The method can include capturing a first image of the circular feature and storing the first image in a memory device. The verification substrate can be attached to an article to traced and/or authenticated. A second image of the circular feature can be captured and compared with the first image to determine if the surface anomaly is present in the second image, thereby authenticating the article.

A method for authenticating an article including engraving a circular feature into a verification substrate that includes a plurality of concentric rings within the circular feature arranged in a pattern according to a data encoding schema, wherein at least one of the plurality of rings includes a surface anomaly. The method can include capturing a first image of the circular feature and storing the first image in a memory device. The verification substrate can be attached to an article to traced and/or authenticated. A second image of the circular feature can be captured and compared with the first image to determine if the surface anomaly is present in the second image, thereby authenticating the article.

A data carrier having one optically variable element, at least one background element, which is arranged after the at least one optically variable element when seen along an extension direction, and at least one security element, which is constituted by at least a part of the at least one optically variable element and at least a part of the at least one background element. At least one tamper-indicating element is provided, which is arranged at least in a region between the at least one optically variable element and the at least one background element with respect to the extension direction. The tamper-indicating element is configured such, that the at least one optically variable element and the at least one background element at least in a region of the at least one security element are at least partially separable from one another upon an application of force onto the at least one optically variable element along a first pulling direction running opposite to the extension direction and/or upon an application of force onto the at least one background element along a second pulling direction running along the extension direction, whereby the at least one security element is at least partially separated into two or more parts.

A secure multi-layered structure (14), for example, for a secure document, the secure multi-layered structure comprising a first layer (20) having a first aperture (25) opened in the first layer, a second layer (30) having a second aperture (35) opened in the second layer, and a third layer (40) having a third aperture (45) opened in the third layer, wherein each layer at least partially overlaps with the layer adjacent to it, at least a portion of the third layer being visible through the first aperture.

A secure multi-layered structure (14), for example, for a secure document, the secure multi-layered structure comprising a first layer (20) having a first aperture (25) opened in the first layer, a second layer (30) having a second aperture (35) opened in the second layer, and a third layer (40) having a third aperture (45) opened in the third layer, wherein each layer at least partially overlaps with the layer adjacent to it, at least a portion of the third layer being visible through the first aperture.

A data protector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a data layer configured to record confidential information as a visible image; and one or a plurality of cover layers disposed at least one of above or below the data layer and configured to transition between a color-developed state and a decolored state in a visible wavelength region.

A sheet assembly can be cut into one or more cards. The sheet assembly includes an upper sheet configured to receive a first printing of first indicia for the one or more cards, a polymer core coupled with the upper sheet, and a lower sheet configured to receive a second printing of second indicia for the one or more cards. The lower sheet is coupled with the polymer core with the polymer core disposed between the upper sheet and the lower sheet. The upper sheet, polymer core, and/or the lower sheet is or are formed from a polymer binder with inorganic particles dispersed in the polymer binder. The inorganic particles can have a first density of the inorganic particles that is less than four times a second density of the polymer binder and/or a mass-median-diameter (D.sub.50) of the inorganic particles can be larger than ten microns in size.