A method to remove selected parts of a thin-film material otherwise uniformly deposited over a template is disclosed. The methods rely on a suitable potting material to encapsulate and snatch the deposited material on apexes of the template. The process may yield one and/or two devices during a single process step: (i) thin-film material(s) with micro- and/or nano-perforations defined by the shape of template apexes, and (ii) micro- and/or nano-particles shaped and positioned in the potting material by the design of the template apexes. The devices made from this method may find applications in fabrication of mechanical, chemical, electrical and optical devices.

The present invention relates to the field of security inks suitable for printing security features on substrates, in particular on security documents or articles as well as security features made from said security inks, and security documents comprising a security feature made from said security inks. In particular, the invention provides UV-Vis radiation radically curable security inks comprising an ink vehicle and pigments comprising a flake-shaped non-metallic or metallic substrate comprising one or more at least partial coating layers, an at least partial surface treatment layer made of one or more surface modifiers selected from fluoro compounds.

A deposition device may deposit, on a substrate, a binder layer that includes a first set of magnetic flakes and a second set of magnetic flakes and may cause, when a temperature of the binder layer satisfies a temperature threshold (e.g., a Curie temperature of the first set of magnetic flakes), a magnetic field to be applied to the binder layer to cause the first set of magnetic flakes and the second set of magnetic flakes to be oriented according to the magnetic field. The deposition device may cause, when the temperature of the binder layer ceases to satisfy the temperature threshold, another magnetic field to be applied to the binder layer to cause only the second set of magnetic flakes to be oriented according to the other magnetic field.

A deposition device may deposit, on a substrate, a binder layer that includes a first set of magnetic flakes and a second set of magnetic flakes and may cause, when a temperature of the binder layer satisfies a temperature threshold (e.g., a Curie temperature of the first set of magnetic flakes), a magnetic field to be applied to the binder layer to cause the first set of magnetic flakes and the second set of magnetic flakes to be oriented according to the magnetic field. The deposition device may cause, when the temperature of the binder layer ceases to satisfy the temperature threshold, another magnetic field to be applied to the binder layer to cause only the second set of magnetic flakes to be oriented according to the other magnetic field.

An image producing device that produces an image by thermally transferring an image pattern from a transfer ribbon to a transfer medium. The device includes take-up means for taking up the transfer ribbon, supply means for supplying the transfer ribbon according to the taking up of the transfer ribbon performed by the take-up means, thermal transfer means for thermally transferring an image to the transfer medium by bringing the transfer ribbon that is between the supply means and the take-up means into contact with the transfer medium, and a regulating means for regulating the supply of the transfer ribbon performed by the supply means.

A display medium including a display layer for authenticity identification, wherein the display layer contains a droplet-cured product, and the droplet-cured product contains a resin having cholesteric regularity. The droplet-cured product preferably contains a cured product of a liquid crystal material containing a cholesteric liquid crystal compound. The display layer is preferably a cured product of a coating material containing the droplet-cured product. The display layer may contain plural types of droplet-cured products exhibiting different color tones as the droplet-cured product. The display layer may further contain a metal particle.

A display medium including a display layer for authenticity identification, wherein the display layer contains a droplet-cured product, and the droplet-cured product contains a resin having cholesteric regularity. The droplet-cured product preferably contains a cured product of a liquid crystal material containing a cholesteric liquid crystal compound. The display layer is preferably a cured product of a coating material containing the droplet-cured product. The display layer may contain plural types of droplet-cured products exhibiting different color tones as the droplet-cured product. The display layer may further contain a metal particle.

The present invention relates generally a method to authenticate a data carrier, such as passports, licenses, identification card . . . by hiding at least two optically encoded image within a data carrier so that the data carrier is authenticated through at least two factor authentication process. In the methods of the present invention, at least two reliable, readable optically encoded image are hidden within the data carrier wherein each of the encoded image is visible through a same decoder device but under different specific lighting conditions without the former having influence on the quality of the latter. The authentication methodology of the present invention provides an improved security, being even more difficult to reproduce by infringers, even more difficult to remove, replace or exchange and easy to check.

A transaction card includes at least one metal layer having one or more apertures therein. A light guide is disposed beneath the metal layer. The light guide has a light output and a light input. The light output is positioned to transmit light through at least the one or more apertures of the metal layer. At least one LED is positioned to transmit light into the light guide light input.

Methods and systems of actively cooling a card while the card is within a card processing machine are described. One or more cooling stations are provided within the card processing machine to actively cool the card prior to performing a processing operation, during a processing operation, and/or after a processing operation on the card in order to reduce a temperature of the surface of the card.