Abstract
A digitally printed security document includes: a security document substrate; a first digitally printed print working on a first surface of the substrate in a first region, the first print working including a first array of printed elements arranged according to a first grid of lattice points having a first pitch; and a second digitally printed print working on the first surface of the substrate in a second region, the second print working including a second array of printed elements arranged across a second grid of lattice points having a second pitch different from the first pitch.
Claims
1. A digitally printed security document comprising: a security document substrate; a first digitally printed print working on a first surface of the substrate in a first region, the first print working comprising a first array of printed dots arranged according to a first grid of lattice points having a first pitch, the first print working being printed in a first material; and a second digitally printed print working on the first surface of the substrate in a second region, the second print working comprising a second array of printed dots arranged across a second grid of lattice points having a second pitch different from the first pitch, the second print working being printed in a second material different from the first material, the first material and the second material having different optical characteristics, wherein the first region and the second region at least partially overlap one another such that the first print working and the second print working at least partially overlap one another on the first surface of the substrate.
2. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein the first grid of lattice points is a two-dimensional grid of lattice points defined by a first unit cell, and wherein the second grid of lattice points is a two-dimensional grid of lattice points defined by a second unit cell, wherein the first unit cell and second unit cell are different from one another.
3. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the printed dots of the first array of printed dots have a smallest lateral dimension smaller than a smallest lateral dimension of the printed dots of the second array of printed dots, and/or wherein at least some of the printed dots of the second array of printed dots have a smallest lateral dimension larger than a smallest lateral dimension of the printed dots of the first array of printed dots.
4. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein the pitch of the first grid of lattice points corresponds to a print resolution of at least 600 DPI in at least one direction, and wherein the pitch of the second grid of lattice points corresponds to a print resolution of at most 600 DPI in at least one direction.
5. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the printed dots of the first array of printed dots have a smallest lateral dimension of at most 200 micrometres and wherein at least some of the printed dots of the second array of printed dots have a smallest lateral dimension of at least 20 micrometres.
6. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein the first print working comprises a printed dot on each lattice point of the first grid of lattice points across at least a sub-region of the first region such that the first array of printed dots has the first pitch across said sub-region.
7. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein the second print working comprises a printed dot on each lattice point of the second grid of lattice points across at least a sub-region of the second region such that the second array of printed dots has the second pitch across the second sub-region.
8. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein the first print working is printed in a first colour and the second print working is printed in a second colour different from the first colour.
9. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of composite printed elements are provided across the first surface of the substrate, wherein for each composite printed element one or more printed dots of the first print working are provided in proximity of one or more printed dots of the second print working such that said printed dots form said composite printed element.
10. A digitally printed security document according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of composite printed elements vary in one or more of their size and/or shape across the first surface of the substrate by variation in the number of printed dots of the first and/or second arrays of printed dots, the positioning of the printed dots of the first and/or second arrays of printed dots, the size of the printed dots of the first and/or second arrays of printed dots, and/or the spacing of the printed dots of the first and/or second arrays of printed dots.
11. A digitally printed security document according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of composite printed elements vary their proportional composition of printed dots of the first print working and printed dots of the second print working across the first surface of the substrate.
12. A digitally printed security document according to claim 9, wherein one or more composite printed elements are provided in the form of an alphanumeric character, symbol, or logo.
13. A digitally printed security document according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second colours is not one of CMYK, and wherein preferably at least one of the first and second colours lies outside of the CMYK colour gamut.
14. A digitally printed security document according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the printed dots of the first print working has a first dot thickness in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the security document substrate, and wherein at least one of the printed dots of the second print working has a second dot thickness in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the security document substrate, the second dot thickness being greater than the first dot thickness.
15. A plurality of digitally printed security documents, each according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second print workings provide each of the plurality of security documents with fixed content and variable content, the fixed content being the same for each of the plurality of security documents and the variable content changing between at least some of said plurality of security documents, the variable content preferably being unique to each of said plurality of security documents.
16. A method of digitally printing a security document according to claim 1, the method comprising: digitally printing a first print working on a first surface of a security document substrate in a first region, first print working comprising a first array of printed dots arranged according to a first grid of lattice points having a first pitch, the first print working being printed in a first material; digitally printing a second print working on the first surface of the substrate in a second region, the second print working comprising a second array of printed dots arranged across a second grid of lattice points having a second pitch different from the first pitch, the second print working being printed in a second material different from the first material, the first material and the second material have different optical characteristics, wherein the first region and the second region at least partially overlap one another such that the first print working and the second print working at least partially overlap one another on the first surface of the substrate.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
(2) FIG. 1A illustrates, schematically, a digital printing press and FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C illustrates alternative digital printing presses;
(3) FIGS. 2A and 2B show, schematically, a print head of the print head shown in FIG. 1A is front and cross-section respectively;
(4) FIGS. 3A to 3D show, schematically, a print head of another print bar in front view and a cross-section during the dispensing of three different drops of ink respectively;
(5) FIGS. 4A to 4D show, schematically, a print head of another print bar in front view and a cross-section during the dispensing of three different drops of ink respectively;
(6) FIG. 5 shows three different printed workings as may be printed using the printing press of FIG. 1A and their combined appearance;
(7) FIG. 6 shows an enlarged part of the three different printed workings and grid of lattice points on which the printed dots are arranged;
(8) FIGS. 7A to 7C show a further enlarged portion of the grid of lattice points on which the printed dots of the workings in FIG. 5 are arranged;
(9) FIG. 8 shows, schematically, a print head according to another example in front view;
(10) FIG. 9 shows, schematically, a printed security document as may be printed using the print head of FIG. 8;
(11) FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram for the conversion of a source image into printing instructions for the digital printing press of FIG. 1A;
(12) FIGS. 11A and 11B show a multi-coloured image layer and a number of the pixels of the image layer respectively;
(13) FIGS. 12A and 12B show a first colour component of the image layer and the printed working of the first colour component image respectively;
(14) FIGS. 13A to 13C show a second colour component image, a downsampled version of the second colour component image, and a printed working of the downsampled colour component image respectively;
(15) FIG. 14 shows the combination of the printed workings of FIGS. 12B and 13C, which replicates the portion of the image layer shown in FIG. 11B;
(16) FIGS. 15A and 15B show part of a printed security document according to an embodiment of the invention, with FIG. 15B showing an enlarged portion of FIG. 15A;
(17) FIG. 16 illustrates one specific configuration of the digital print press FIG. 1A;
(18) FIGS. 17A and 17B show part of a printed security document according to an embodiment of the invention, with FIG. 17B showing an enlarged portion of FIG. 17A;
(19) FIGS. 18A to 18C show part of a printed security document according to an embodiment of the invention, with FIGS. 18B and 18C showing different enlarged portions of FIG. 18A;
(20) FIG. 19 shows printed composite elements that may be used to print a security document according to another embodiment;
(21) FIGS. 20A and 20B show, schematically, a digital printing press and one specific configuration of the digital print press, respectively; and
(22) FIGS. 21A to 21D show, schematically, four different printing arrangements which may be used to print security documents according to other embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(23) A first printing press and method of printing a security document will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 7C.
(24) FIG. 1A shows a digital printing press. The digital printing press comprises an array of print bar holders 10a to 10j. Each of the print bar holders is able to receive and support a respective digital print bar over a substrate 100. In FIG. 1A, only the first to third print bar holders 10a to 10c are illustrated as holding a respective print bar 11a to 11c. In practice, more print bars may be provided in respective ones of the print bar holders 10a to 10j, up to the maximum of 10 permitted on the illustrated machine.
(25) The digital print press 1 comprises a transport system 20. The transport system 20 feeds a web of substrate 100 from a pre-print spool 21 to a post-print spool 22. Between the pre-print and post-print spools 21 and 22, the web of substrate 100 is fed sequentially past each print bar supported by the respective print bar holders 10a to 10j in such a way as to allow the digital print heads of the digital print bars to print onto the first surface (upper surface) of the web of substrate material 100. The web of substrate material 100 is fed between the pre-print and post-print spools 21 and 22 by a plurality of rollers 23, which act to guide and support the substrate web 100 as it passes through the digital print press 1.
(26) The first print bar 11a comprises a first digital print head 12a located at the bottom of the print bar 11a. Similarly, the second and third print bars 11b and 11c comprise respective second and third digital print heads 12b and 12c located at the bottom of the print bar 11b, 11c. The digital print heads 12a to 12c face down so as to be able to print onto the upper facing surface of the substrate web 100 as it is conveyed through the digital print press 1, sequentially beneath each of the digital print bars.
(27) The system may be fitted with conventional print bars, some examples of which will now be given. One print bar that may be included in the digital print press is the Dimatrix Samba G3L manufactured by Fujifilm Dimatrix, which prints with a resolution of 1200 DPI and drop sizes of 2.4 to 13 picolitres, and may be configured to print in red using aqueous or UV inks and may print fine line patterns or microtext onto the security document substrate. Another example is the KM1800i, manufactured by Konica Minolta, which prints at 600 DPI and with drop sizes of 3.5 to 18 picolitres and may print in green or orange using aqueous, solvent, UV and speciality inks, and is suitable for printing more general design elements of the printed security document, such as portraits or backgrounds. Another example is the Saffire QS256, manufactured by Fujifilm Dimatrix, which prints at 100 DPI with drop sizes of 10, 30 and 80 picolitres, and may use UV, aqueous, thermochromic, MICR and conductive inks, for example. A further print bar that may be used is the KM1024, manufactured by Konica Minolta, which prints at 360 DPI with drop sizes of 6, 14 and 42 picolitres, and may use aqueous, solvent, UV and speciality inks. As will be described below, the digital print press is configured such that the different print heads print at distinctively different resolutions and dot sizes, so in practice, a mixture of different print bars will typically be installed into the digital print press.
(28) FIG. 16 is included, which shows one specific set-up of the digital print press of FIG. 1A. In this example, the first digital print head 12a is configured to print with a resolution of 1200 DPI, drop sizes from 2.4 to 13 pl, and in the colour violet. The nozzle size of this print head may be 5 microns. This high resolution print head is configured to print a first working 51 onto the surface of the substrate 100. This working may be, for example, a fine line pattern. The second digital print head 12b is configured to print with a resolution of 600 DPI, drop sizes from 3.5 to 18 pl and in the colour orange. The nozzle size of this print head may be 20 microns. This may print a working 52 comprising general elements, such as a portrait, onto the security document. The third digital print head 12c is configured to print with resolution 100 DPI, drop sizes 10, 30 and 80 pl and in the colour green. The nozzle size of this print head may be 80 microns. This may print a working 53, for example, a visibly screened background, i.e. comprising large printed dots, to the document. Finally, a fourth digital print head 12d, which may be provided as part of a digital print bar in the fourth print bar holder 10d, is configured to print in a resolution of 360 DPI, with drop sizes of 6, 14 and 42 pl and in the colour black. The nozzle size of this print head may be 40 microns. This may print another screened working 54 to the surface of the document. While FIG. 16 shows each printed working as a complete layer, with each overlapping all previously printed workings, it will be appreciated that this is for schematic representation of the workings only. The workings will each typically have gaps and variations in accordance with their respective printed patterns and different ones of the workings may be provided in different regions of the security document and may overlap or partially overlap one another as desired and as required for building up the complete printed security document. It should be noted that the nozzle pitch of the above print heads will be equal to the resolutions with which they are configured to print. 100 and 360 DPI is an example of print heads having nozzle pitches that share a non-integer multiple relationship. The resulting printed resolution will likewise share a non-integer multiple relationship. In this example, each digital print head extends the full width of the transport path so as to be able to print on the whole document surface.
(29) The digital print press shown in FIG. 1A also includes a controller 30 adapted to control the various print bars installed in the print bar holders 10a to 10j. In particular, the controller controls the print bars so as to print in accordance with the methods that will be described below.
(30) FIG. 1B shows an alternative digital print press. This print press is identical to that shown in FIG. 1A, except in that it includes a corona treatment unit 25 and a finishing digital print bar 11j in the final print bar holder 10j. The corona treatment unit is configured to provide a corona treatment to the substrate prior to printing and the finishing digital print bar 11j is configured to print down a varnish coating onto the security document substrate after printing. While this is shown in the final print bar holder, it could be provided in any of the print bar holders, but should be the last printing step.
(31) FIG. 1C shows another alternative digital print press. This print press is again identical to that shown in FIG. 1A, except in that it includes an offset printing unit 40. Instead of each digital print head 11a, 11b and 11c printing directly onto the security document substrate web 100, a series of offset print cylinders are provided 41a to 41d between the print heads and the substrate web. The first digital print head 12a prints its print working onto the first offset print cylinder 41a. The first offset print cylinder 41a rotates and transfers this print working onto a second offset print cylinder 41b, via an intermediate offset print cylinder 42a. As the print working passes underneath the second digital print head 12b, it prints the second print working over the first print working on the second offset print cylinder 41b. The second offset print cylinder 41b rotates and transfers this print working onto a third offset print cylinder 41c, via a second intermediate offset print cylinder 42b. As the two print workings pass underneath the third digital print head 12c, it prints the third print working over the first and second print workings on the third offset print cylinder 41c. The third offset print cylinder 41b rotates and transfers this print working onto a final intermediate offset print cylinder 42c, which rotates and transfers all three workings onto the security document substrate web 100.
(32) FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically illustrate the construction of the first digital print head 12a. FIG. 2A shows that the first digital print head 12a comprises an arrangement of nozzles 13 arranged along a cross-feed direction of the printing press. That is, the array of nozzles 13 extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the substrate web 100 is transported through the digital print press 1. The arrangement of nozzles 13 along the cross-feed direction enables the nozzles to print across the full width of the substrate web at 100. It should be noted here that the arrangement of the nozzles 13 along the cross-feed direction determine the cross-feed resolution of the first digital print head 12a. That is, the arrangement of the nozzles 13 determines the distance between the printed dots on the surface of the substrate 100 in the cross-feed direction. It should be noted here that while only five nozzles 13 are shown extending along the cross-feed direction in FIG. 2A, this is purely for schematic illustration. In practice, many more nozzles will be provided, e.g. enough to provide the desired DPI across the full width of the substrate web 100.
(33) FIG. 2B shows a cross-section through part of the first digital print head 12a. This shows that the digital print head 12a comprises, for each nozzle 13, a corresponding ink chamber 15 that holds an ink to be printed via the print nozzle 13, the ink chamber being in fluid communication with the print nozzle 13. In this example, each ink chamber 15 of the first digital print head 12a contains an ink of a first colour, which is preferably not a colour used in standard CMYK printing. Adjacent to the fluid chamber 15 is a piezoelectric element 14. The element 14 is controllable by a controller so as to urge a drop D.sub.1 of ink through the respective nozzle 13. Each nozzle 13 of the digital print head 12a has its own respective chamber 15 and piezoelectric element 14 so that each nozzle 13 can be independently activated so as to dispense drop of ink D.sub.1, thereby printing a dot having size S.sub.1 onto the substrate 100. The first digital print head 12a, in the present case, has a relatively low resolution, for example, 200 DPI in the cross-feed direction, and is controllable so as to print a single relatively large drop size, for example 40 picolitres.
(34) FIGS. 3A to 3D schematically illustrate the second digital print head 12b, provided by the second print bar 11b installed into the second print bar holder 10b.
(35) This second digital print head 12b again comprises an array of nozzles 13 extending along the cross-feed direction of the digital print head. FIG. 3 shows only 8 nozzles; however, it will be appreciated that many more nozzles will typically be provided so as to achieve the desired resolution across the full width of the substrate 100. In this example, the second digital print head 12b may be provided with a second cross-feed resolution of, for example, 600 DPI.
(36) FIGS. 3B to 3D show respective cross-sections through part of the second digital print head 12b. These show a nozzle 13 dispensing each of the three different drop sizes D.sub.1 to D.sub.3. FIGS. 3B to 3D illustrate that the second digital print head 12b has the same general construction as the first digital print head 12a. That is, each nozzle 13 is supplied by a respective ink chamber 15 and is made to dispense a drop of ink by a respective piezoelectric element 14. In this example, each ink chamber 15 of the second digital print head 12b contains an ink of a second colour, which is different from the first colour and preferably not an ink used in CMYK printing. FIG. 3B illustrates one nozzle 13 of the second digital print head 12b printing a first drop size D.sub.1, which may be 5 picolitres, so as to print a dot having a first dot size S.sub.1. This first drop size is provided by the controller causing the piezoelectric element to follow a first predetermined actuation profile. FIG. 3C illustrates the nozzle 13 as it is made to dispense a second drop size D.sub.2 by the controller causing the piezoelectric element to follow a second different actuation profile. This may cause the nozzle to dispense a drop size of, for example, 10 picolitres, so as to print a dot having a dot size S.sub.2 larger than the first dot size S.sub.1. Finally, FIG. 3D illustrates the nozzle 13 as it is made to dispense a third drop size D.sub.3 by the controller causing the piezoelectric element 14 to follow a third actuation profile. This may cause the nozzle to dispense a drop size of, for example, 20 picolitres, so as to produce a dot having a third dot size S.sub.3 larger than either of the first or second dot sizes S.sub.1 and S.sub.2. It will be noted that each of these printed dots varies in thickness in dependence on the drop size, and that this dot thickness may be selected to be different from the dot thickness of the dots printed by the print head shown in FIG. 2B. The precise dot thickness will depend not only on the drop size, but on the ejection velocity, and on the characteristics of the ink, i.e. its density, viscosity, and surface tension. In order to increase the difference in dot thickness, the ink in the second digital print head may be selected to, for example, be less viscous and have a lower surface tension than the ink used in the first digital print head.
(37) FIG. 4A schematically illustrates the third digital print head 12c included in the third digital print bar 11c provided in the third digital print bar holder 10c. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, this third digital print head again comprises an array of nozzles 13, this time providing a third cross-feed resolution that is higher than provided on either of the first and second digital print heads 12a and 12b. The third cross-feed resolution may be, for example, 900 DPI. Again, while only eleven nozzles 13 are shown extending along the cross-feed direction in FIG. 4A it will be appreciated that many more nozzles will typically be provided so as to achieve the desired cross-feed resolution across the entire width of the substrate 100.
(38) FIGS. 4B to 4D show different cross-sections through part of the third digital print head 12c and illustrate that the print head has the same generally construction as described with respect to the first and second digital print heads 12a and 12b. In this example, each ink chamber 15 of the third digital print head 12c contains an ink of a third colour different from the first and second colours and which is again preferably not a colour used in standard CMYK printing. These Figures again show that this digital print head is configured so as to dispense three different drop sizes D.sub.1, D.sub.2 and D.sub.3 by the specific actuation profile of the piezoelectric element 14. In this example, the three drop sizes may be, for example, 3.5 picolitres, 7 picolitres and 13 picolitres. These three different drop sizes D.sub.1 to D.sub.3 will result in printed dots with three different dot sizes S.sub.1 to S.sub.3. These dots may have thicknesses less than those shown in FIGS. 3B to 3D. As mentioned above, in combination with the smaller drop sizes, the ink may be selected, for example, to have lower viscosity and lower surface tension in order to increase the thickness difference relative to the dots printed by the first and second digital print heads.
(39) FIGS. 5 to 7C illustrate the print workings that may be formed by each of the first, second and third digital print heads 12a to 12c and how they combine to produce the final image.
(40) FIG. 5 shows the final printed image 50 that is produced by the combination of three printed workings 51, 52 and 53 printed respectively by the first to third digital print heads 12a to 12c.
(41) In more detail the first print working 51 comprises part of a final printed banknote that will be printed by the first digital print head 12a. This print working will be printed in a first resolution corresponding to the resolution of the first digital print head 12a. As has been explained above, the resolution of the first digital print head in a cross-feed direction is set by the spacing of the print nozzles 13, while the resolution in a feed direction is determined by the controller, which controls the speed at which the substrate 100 passes beneath the first digital print head 12a and the rate in which the piezoelectric elements 14 are made to actuate to dispense drops of ink. Typically, the print head will be controlled so that the resolution in the feed direction is the same as the cross-feed resolution set by the spacing of the nozzles; however, this is not essential. The first working 51, which is printed in the first resolution, is also printed in the first colour, which is the colour of the ink contained in the first digital print head 12a.
(42) The second print working 52 is the part of the final printed bank note printed by the second digital print head 12b. Again, this second print working will be in a second resolution that is different from the first resolution since the second digital print head 12b is configured to print at a different resolution to the first digital print head 12a. Furthermore, the second print working 52 will be printed in a second colour which is the colour of the ink contained in the second digital print head.
(43) Finally, the third working 53 is printed by the third digital print head 12c. The third print working 53 is printed at a third resolution determined by the resolution of the third digital print head. The third working 53, therefore, has a resolution different to the first and second print workings 51 and 52. Again, the third print working 53 will be printed in the third colour, which is the colour of the ink provided in the third digital print head 12c.
(44) As mentioned above, preferably one or more of the first second and third colour is not a standard CMYK colour. Further preferably, one or more of the colours is outside of the CMYK colour gamut. The final printed image will accordingly have non-CMYK components which cannot accurately be replicated using a conventional CMYK printer.
(45) FIG. 6 illustrates a small part of each of the first to third print workings 51 to 53. Specifically, FIG. 6 shows a first grid 151, which represents all the possible locations at which the first digital print head 12a may print a dot of ink. This illustrates that only some of these positions will be provided with a dot of ink of size S.sub.1 in accordance with the parts of the overall printed image being built up by the first print working 51. This Figure also shows a grid 152 of possible positions in which the second digital print head may print dots of ink. This also shows the different sized dots of ink S.sub.1, S.sub.2 and S.sub.3 that may be printed by the second digital print head 12b at each one of these possible print positions. Finally, grid 153 represents all of the possible locations at which the third digital print head 12c may print a dot of ink. Again, this shows that certain locations are printed with one of the three possible dot sizes S.sub.1, S.sub.2 and S.sub.3.
(46) FIG. 6 also shows the combination of the three print workings 150 and illustrates that the dots of differing sizes and colours may overlap one and other and together contribute to building up the full printed image on the banknote. The security of the digitally printed security document is thereby improved since a user can closely inspect the print workings of the security document and confirm that the expected variation in dot size and spacing for each of the print workings in different colours is provided. Any attempted counterfeit of the digitally printed security document using a conventional digital printer would not accurately replicate the required dot sizes and spacings in the replica of the final image 50. Furthermore, the use on non-CMYK colours may provide a visual colour difference between an authentic security document and one that has been counterfeited using more conventional printing techniques.
(47) FIGS. 7A to 7C show these grids of possible print positions 151 to 153 in more detail. FIG. 7A shows an enlarged part of the first grid 151. As can be seen from FIG. 7A, there is provided a regular, square grid of possible print locations, which are referred to as lattice points elsewhere in the specification. These lattice points L have a spacing in a cross-feed direction determined by the positioning of the print nozzles 13 and a spacing in the feed direction that is determined by the controller, as has been described above. The result is an array of lattice points L that have a pitch in a cross-feed direction of P.sub.c and a pitch in the feed direction of P.sub.f. Since the first digital print head was configured to print at a resolution of 200 DPI in both the feed and cross-feed directions, both pitches of the grid 152 of lattice points L will be 200 DPI. Similarly, FIG. 7B shows an enlarged part of the second grid 152 corresponding to the working of the second digital print head 12b. This grid also comprises a regular, square grid of possible print locations, or lattice points L, that have a pitch in a cross-feed direction of P.sub.c and a pitch in the feed direction of P.sub.f. Since the second digital print head was configured to print at a resolution of 600 DPI in both the feed and cross-feed directions, both pitches of the grid 152 of lattice points L will be 600 DPI. Finally, FIG. 7C shows an enlarged part of the third grid 153 corresponding to the working of the third digital print head 12c. This grid also comprises a regular, square grid of possible print locations, or lattice points L, that have a pitch in a cross-feed direction of P.sub.c and a pitch in the feed direction of P.sub.f. Since the third digital print head was configured to print at a resolution of 900 DPI in both the feed and cross-feed directions, both pitches of the grid 153 of lattice points L will be 900 DPI.
(48) A method of printing a security document using the digital print press shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C will now be described.
(49) First, a roll of substrate web is installed in the transport system 20 of the digital print press. The substrate web may be a web of polymer substrate, such as BOPP, suitable for forming polymer banknotes, or may be a paper substrate web, suitable for forming paper banknotes. If the substrate web is a polymer substrate web, preferably the polymer substrate is coated with an opacifying layer to provide a preferably white background on which the plurality of print workings may be printed by the digital print heads. The web of substrate material is installed such that the pre-print spool 21 holds the unprinted substrate material and such that the substrate web extends through the digital print press to the post-print spool 22, on which the substrate web is rewound downstream of the digital print heads.
(50) The transport system 20 is then driven by the controller of the digital print press to move the substrate material 100 sequentially beneath each of the digital print heads installed in the print bar holders 10a to 10j. The controller receives a set of printing instructions relating to each of the digital print heads 12a to 12c. The set of printing instructions defines the working that will be printed on to the substrate 100 by each of the digital print heads 12a to 12c. A process of generating printing instructions based on a source image to printed will be described in more detail below.
(51) As the substrate web 100 is transported first beneath the first digital print head 12a, said first digital print head is controlled so as to print the first print working 51 onto the surface of the substrate 100. As defined in the printing instructions, the first print working 51 is built up by an array of dots of size S.sub.1 (produced by a drop size of 40 picolitres) arranged across a grid 151 of lattice points L (representing possible print positions for those dots). As explained above, the lattice points L for the first working are spaced from one another in both the feed and cross-feed direction so as to have a resolution of 200 DPI. The first digital print head 12a repeatedly prints versions of the first print working 51 on the substrate 100 to form a plurality of banknotes.
(52) A region of the substrate 100 that is printed with the first print working 51 is then conveyed to the second digital print head 12b installed in the second print bar holder 10b. Again, the set of printing instructions include printing instructions directed at the second digital print head 12b for printing a second working 52 onto the surface of the substrate 100 over the first digital print working 51. The second print working 52 is formed by printing dots having one of three possible sizes S.sub.1, S.sub.2 and S.sub.3 (corresponding to drop sizes of 5, 10 and 20 picolitres) across a grid 152 of possible dot position (lattice points L), which again have a pitch in both the feed and cross-feed direction of 600 DPI, corresponding to the resolution of the second digital print head 12b.
(53) Once the second working 52 is printed over the first working 51, the substrate 100 continues to the third digital print head 12c, which prints the third print working 53 over the first and second print workings 51 and 52. Again, the third print working 53 is formed by the printing of dots of three different sizes S.sub.1, S.sub.2 and S.sub.3 (corresponding to drop sizes of 3.5, 7 and 13 picolitres) across a grid 153 of possible dot positions L. The array of lattice points L have a pitch in both the feed and cross-feed directions of 900 DPI, corresponding to the resolution of the third digital print head 12c.
(54) The result of the above three print processes is a final image 50 composed of three separate print workings 51, 52 and 53 at three different resolutions and in three different colours, as has been described above.
(55) As explained above, the resulting digitally printed security document, is made up of three different arrays of printed dots having different characteristic dot sizes and spacings as can be seen in FIG. 6 in the combined grid 150.
(56) A particularly advantageous manner of printing a security document in accordance with the above is shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B. Here, we have substrate 100 printed with an array of printed elements 101. As can be seen in FIG. 15B, each printed element 101 is actually a composite of a number of dots printed by a digital print head. In this embodiment, each printed element 101 comprises a large dot 101b located at the centre of the printed element 101 and four smaller dots 101a which partially overlap the large central dot 101b and are equally spaced around the circumference of the large dot 101b. The small dots 101a are printed by a first digital print head 12a and the large dot 101b is printed by a second digital print head 12b. In this embodiment, the dots are printed in the same colour to present a seamless composite element 101; however, different colours could also be used to produce composite elements. As can be seen from FIG. 15A, the array of composite printed elements 101 vary in their size across the security document. This is achieved by varying the size of the dots 101a and 101b and varying their spacing for each composite element. This may be controlled by providing for suitable dot sizes and a suitable resolutions for the first and second digital print heads 12a, 12b, i.e. so that the lattice points of possible positions provide for the dots to be spaced by a number of different amounts and such that there are sufficient different dot sizes for the different sizes of the composite element to be produced.
(57) Another example of a security document printed with an array of composite printed elements is shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B. As can be seen in this Figure, here a plurality of composite elements are provided, each in the form of the letter ‘D’. As shown most clearly in FIG. 17B, each composite element 101 is formed by an array of smaller printed red dots 101a in combination with an array of larger printed green dots 101b. In this embodiment, the pitch of the red dots is three times that of the green dots, such that the area of one printed green dot corresponds to a nine-by-nine arrangement of red dots. These dots are arranged and overprinted so that they both describe the outline of a letter ‘D’ for each composite element 101.
(58) The composite elements are also made to vary in their shape and size across the security document substrate 100. In this embodiment, the composite elements show the letter ‘D’ in different sizes. Here, the different sizes of the letter ‘D’ is used to vary the colour tone of the combination of the printed workings. That is, this effectively provides a half-toning effect to the combined digital print workings. As can be seen in FIG. 17A, which shows a small area of the artwork forming the printed image, the composite printed elements are reducing in their size from the left side to the right side of the image to provide a gradually varying tone.
(59) A further example of a security document printed with an array of composite printed elements is shown in FIGS. 18A to 18C. Again, this document is printed with a plurality of composite elements 101, each again in the form of the letter ‘D’. A large portion of the printed image can be seen in FIG. 18 and comprises an oval shape that varies from predominantly green on the left-hand side to predominantly red on the right-hand side of the image. The size of the composite elements also decreases from left to right across the image so that the tone as well as the hue varies across the image.
(60) FIG. 18B shows two composite elements taken from the left side of the image shown in FIG. 18A. As can be seen in FIG. 18B, each composite element 101 is made up of an array of printed red dots 101a, which are printed with smaller dot sizes and at a higher resolution, and an array of printed green dots 101b, which are printed with a larger dot size and at a lower resolution. Each composite element 101 at the left side of the image, as shown in FIG. 18B, is predominantly composed on the larger green dots 101b. This provides the image of FIG. 18A with its more green hue at the left-hand side.
(61) FIG. 18C shows two composite elements 101 taken from the right side of the image shown in FIG. 18A. Each composite element 101 is made up of the same type of printed dots, i.e. red dots 101a, which are printed with smaller dot sizes and at a higher resolution, and green dots 101b, which are printed with a larger dot size and at a lower resolution. However, here, the each composite element is smaller, and is predominantly formed by red dots 101a. This provides the image of FIG. 18A with its more red hue at the right-hand side. The decreasing size of the composite elements also provides a lighter tone to this side of the image.
(62) FIG. 19 shows an alternative composite element arrangement. In this embodiment, the printed elements will still define an array of screen elements in the form of letters ‘D’; however, each composite element 101 is now made up of the printed dots of three different workings. Specifically, each composite element 101 is formed by an array of red dots 101a printed by a first digital print head, an array of green dots 101b printed by a second digital print head, and an array of blue dots 101c printed by a third digital print head. As with the preceding embodiment, the red dots 101a are smaller and higher resolution than the green dots 101b. In this case, the blue dots are selected to be the same size and resolution and the red dots, but any dot size and resolution could have been chosen. FIG. 19 again illustrates that the proportional composition of the composite elements may be varied across an image to alter the colour in different regions of the image. Specifically, FIG. 19 shows three rows of composite elements 101. In the top row, the composite elements are predominantly formed of green dots 101b from the second working. That is, the greatest proportion of the printed area is made up of green dots. This row will provide a greener appearance to the image printed with composite elements of this design. The middle row shows composite elements 101 predominantly formed of blue dots 101c from the third working. An area of the image printed with composite elements of this design will have a bluer overall colour. Finally, the bottom row shows composite elements 101 predominantly formed of red dots 101a from the first working. An area of the image printed with composite elements of this design will have a redder overall colour. It will be appreciated from this explanation that full colour images may be printed with different areas of the images having different colours based on the proportional composition of the composite elements in those areas, and with the tone being controllable by the size, shape and spacing of the composite elements. This may be provided while maintaining the high security provided by the workings being in different resolutions and with different dot sizes.
(63) A second type of print head suitable for use in a digital print press will now be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.
(64) FIG. 8 shows a fourth digital print head in 12D in schematic front view. This digital print head 12d comprises a first portion 12d′ and a second portion 12d″. An array of nozzles extends along a cross-feed direction of the digital print press. The first portion 12d′ of the digital print head 12d comprises nozzles 13a having a first size and spacing suitable for printing relatively large drops of ink at a relatively low resolution. The second portion 12d″ of the digital print head 12d comprises nozzles 13b having a second size and spacing, in particular being smaller and more closely spaced than the nozzles 13A, such that this second portion 12d″ is suitable for printing relatively small drops of ink at a relatively high resolution. For example, the nozzles 13a in the first portion 12d′ of the print head 12d may be configured to print at a resolution of 900 DPI with dot sizes of 30 picolitres, while the nozzles 13b in the second portion 12d″ of the print head 12d may be configured to print at a resolution of 1200 DPI with dot sizes of 10 picolitres.
(65) FIG. 9 shows a security document that has been digitally printed using the digital print head 12d described above. The security document comprises a substrate 100 on which is printed a single print working 54. A single print working is shown here to clearly illustrate the effect of the above described head and it will be appreciated that, in practice, additional workings will be provided across the bank note to build up a more complex appearance. The print working 54 shown in FIG. 9 comprises a first region 54a that has been printed at the relatively low resolution, i.e. 900 DPI, and a second region 54b that has been printed at the relatively high resolution, i.e. 1200 dpi. The first region 54a corresponds to those parts of the working 54 printed by the nozzles 13a in the first portion 12d′ of the digital print head 12d, while the second region 54b of the print working 54 corresponds to the part of the working printed by the nozzles 13b in the second portion 12d″ of the digital print head 12D.
(66) In this case, the printed security document is a banknote and the high resolution part of the working forms a security stripe feature 114. The security stripe feature 114 may be visually inspected to confirm that it is at a higher resolution than other features of the security document 111, 112 and 113 that are printed in the first region 54A of the print working 54.
(67) A method of printing using the fourth digital print head 12D may comprise controlling the low resolution and high resolution nozzles 13a, 13b separately by essentially treating them as separate digital print heads. For example, the low resolution portion of the print head may receive printing instructions separate from printing instructions for the high resolution portion of the digital print head. However, by providing the use of two different resolution portions on the same digital print head, a very high level of registration between the different regions of the print working 54 may be ensured.
(68) The above discussion has focused on the process of taking printing instructions and printing multi-resolution, multi-coloured security documents. In practice, the designer of a security document will design a source image to be printed by the digital printing press which will then need to be converted to such printing instructions for execution on the digital printing press. We will now describe with reference to FIG. 10 a method, e.g. a computer implemented method, for taking a source image and generating printing instructions for a digital printing press.
(69) As indicated in FIG. 10, the process begins with the provision of a source image comprising a plurality of layers with defined types in step S100. Whereas in many fields, designers design their printed images without much consideration for the specification of the printing press that will print the image, for security purposes, the printing of a security document according to the invention will typically be performed from start to finish with the secure digital printing press in mind. Accordingly, if the digital printing press consists of four digital print heads, as shown in FIG. 10, each having a predetermined different colour and printing at a predetermined resolution that is different for at least some of the print heads, the source image may be designed to the specific constraints of the digital print press. In particular, it would be preferable for the designer to design a source image whose number of pixels exactly corresponds to the print DPI multiplied by the printed area. For example, a 6 inch by 2.5 inch (approximately 15 cm by 6 cm) banknote printed by a first digital print head at 2400 DPI will be printed using a source image wherein the layer(s) targeted at the first digital print head have an image resolution of 14400 pixels by 6000 pixels (i.e. 6×2400 and 2.5×2400 respectively) for a total of 86400000 pixels. In this case, each possible printed dot on the banknote corresponds to exactly one pixel of the corresponding layer(s) of the source image. While this may be how the source image is typically produced, this is not essential and the source image layers may not have this one to one relationship between image resolution and print resolution. For example, the layers may be upsampled or downsampled after being designed. Alternatively, as will be described below, the layers may comprise vector image content that is sampled to the resolution of the corresponding print head(s).
(70) The digital print press of FIG. 10 comprises four heads, a first head operating, for example, in orange, at a resolution of 150 DPI. The second print head operates, for example, in green, at a resolution of 600 DPI. Finally, the third and fourth digital print heads operate, for example, in cyan and magenta, at resolutions of 1200 DPI. The designer of the security document will be aware of the colours and resolutions of the various digital print heads and may therefore design the printed image for the security document accordingly. In this case, the designer designs essentially three different images for printing on the security document. A first image is designed in the orange printable by the first digital print head and is provided by layers L1 and L2. A second image is designed in the green printable by the second print head and is provided by layers L3 and L4. Finally, a multicolour image, provided by layers L5 and L6, is designed for printing by the second, third and fourth print heads and may be designed within the non-standard colour gamut providable by green, cyan and magenta from the second to third print heads.
(71) In step S200, the various image layers are assigned to respective print heads. In this example, the designer has designed the layers for printing by specific print heads and may tag each layer with an identifier identifying the corresponding print head. Therefore, the controller may read an identifier associated with layer L1 and assign that layer to the first print head, before reading layer L2 and performing an assignment to the same head. Layers L3 and L4 may similarly be identified as being directed toward the second print head. Finally, layers L5 and L6 may be identified as a multi-coloured image to be printed by the second, third and fourth print heads together.
(72) The first image provided by layers L1 and L2 comprises fixed and variable content. In this case, layer L1 provides fixed content that will be printed substantially identically on each of a plurality of security documents, while L2 provides variable content, which is preferably a unique identifier, such as a banknote serial number. In step S300, the fixed and variable content are combined into a single image layer. Layers L3 and L4, and L5 and L6 similarly provide fixed and variable content and are also respectively combined in corresponding steps S300.
(73) Returning to the first image, any required ripping and/or resampling is now performed on the image layer resulting from the combination of L1 and L2 in step S400. This step should produce an image layer at the resolution of the first image head in which each pixel has an intensity level that corresponds to a drop size printable by the first digital print head. The layers L1 and L2 may be designed at a resolution of 150 DPI and with the printable intensity levels (i.e. drop sizes, in mind, in which case this stage may not be necessary. However, the image layers may alternatively comprise vector image content that needs rasterising or may be at a resolution higher than that printable by the first digital print head and require resampling.
(74) Once any processing in S400 is completed for the first image, the result is a raster image with appropriate resolution and intensity levels for the first digital print head. This raster image may then be converted to printing instructions for the digital print head in step S700.
(75) Turning to the second image provided by the combination of layers L3 and L4, this may also undergo a ripping or resampling process in S400 to produce an image layer at the resolution of the second printing head and having intensity levels corresponding to the drop sizes printable by the second digital print head.
(76) The third image, provided by the combination of layers L5 and L6, must now be processed. Here, we have a multi-coloured image that must be printed with green, cyan and magenta colour components, wherein the green printed working will be at a different resolution to the cyan and magenta print workings. In step S500, a multi-colour, multi-resolution error diffusion processing step is performed to convert the multi-coloured image layer to three separate colour component images at the required resolutions and intensities. This process will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 11A to 14.
(77) The result of step S500 is three different colour component images for printing by the second, third and fourth print heads. Before the instructions for the second print head can be produced, the colour component of the third image must be combined with the second image initially provided by layers L3 and L4. This is performed in step S600, which outputs a single raster image with the resolution and intensity levels of the second digital print head.
(78) Following the processing in step S600, the raster image representing the combination of the second image originating from L3 and L4 and the green colour component of the third image from L5 and L6 may be converted to printing instructions for the second digital print head in step S700. Similarly, the cyan and magenta colour components of the third image, which are each raster images at resolutions and intensity levels corresponding to the third and fourth digital print heads, may be converted into printing instructions for the third and fourth digital print heads.
(79) A multi-colour, multi-resolution error diffusion process, such as performed in step S500, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 11A to 14.
(80) FIG. 11A shows an image layer L7 which is a multi-coloured image layer that is targeted at multiple print heads at different resolutions. In this case, the process will be described with respect to two different print heads in two different colours and at two different resolutions. The first digital print head of this example may be configured to print in a red ink at 600 DPI in both the cross-feed and feed directions, while the second digital print head is configured to print in a green ink at 150 DPI in both the ross-feed and feed directions.
(81) FIG. 11B shows a number of pixels P of the image layer L7. Each pixel has a colour value, i.e. an ideal colour, and many different colours with slight variations may be included across the image. In this case, layer L7 has been produced at 600 DPI, i.e. the resolution of the first digital print head, although in other examples, the image may require ripping or resampling to 600 DPI.
(82) The process for converting the image layer L7 into two different colour components at two different resolutions uses information concerning the print-head resolution, the number of intensity levels that each print-head uses and the ink colour to be used in each print-head. A palette (i.e. list) of all possible output pixel colours resulting from the colours printable by the first and second print heads is created—the “full colour palette”—where each palette entry is a function of the colour that will be produced by the ink on the output media, the intensity levels available for each output ink to generate the colour (the intensity levels being between 0, i.e. no ink, up to a maximum value, with a different intensity value for each drop size deliverable by the corresponding print head). Each entry in the palette may be generated by a single ink or a combination of (overprinted) inks. For those entries that use a combination of (overprinted) inks, the printed pixel colour may be determined experimentally or predicted using a software algorithm.
(83) The process begins with the image layer L7 at the higher resolution of the two digital print heads, i.e. 600 DPI. For each pixel, the ideal colour is identified and the closest colour available in the “full colour palette” is selected. This closest colour available, i.e. the target colour, will have an associated intensity level of the first ink, corresponding to a drop size of the first digital print head, and an associated intensity level of the second ink, corresponding to a drop size of the second digital print head. In the present example, the first digital print head is able to print only a single drop size and so has available intensities of 0 and 1. The second digital print head has three different drop sizes and so has intensities of 0, 1, 2 and 3. It should be noted that the drop sizes printable by the second digital print head are printed at a resolution of 150 DPI, whereas image layer L7 is being processed at 600 DPI. Since this resolution difference means that each pixel at 600 DPI will represent 1/16 of a pixel at 150 DPI, the intensities of 0, 1, 2 and 3 at 600 DPI are treated as an intensity corresponding to 1/16 of the corresponding intensity at 150 DPI.
(84) With the target colour identified, a first colour component image R7 is updated with an intensity value of the first ink for that pixel and a second colour component image G7 updated with an intensity value of the second ink for that pixel. It will be noted here that the second colour component image G7 is being generated at 600 DPI, i.e. each pixel of the image layer L7 is mapped with a one to one relationship to a pixel of the second colour component image G7. For example, FIG. 11B shows that there is substantially no colour provided in the top left pixel (labelled P.sub.0) of the image layer L7. As a result, the top left pixel (labelled R.sub.0) of the first colour component image R7, shown in FIG. 12A, is assigned an intensity value of 0, and the top left pixel (labelled G.sub.0) of the second colour component image G7, shown in FIG. 13A, is assigned an intensity value of 0. The pixel labelled P.sub.1 in FIG. 11B does have a colour, which is matched to a target colour produced by an intensity level of 1 for the ink in the first digital print head and an intensity level of 0 for the ink in the second digital print head. As a result, the corresponding pixel R.sub.1 of the first colour component image R7, shown in FIG. 12A, is assigned an intensity value of 1, and the corresponding pixel G.sub.1 of the second colour component image G7, shown in FIG. 13A, is assigned an intensity value of 0. As a final example, the pixel labelled P.sub.2 in FIG. 11B has a colour, which is matched to a target colour produced by an intensity level of 1 for the ink in the first digital print head and an intensity level of 2 for the ink in the second digital print head, i.e. the colour is best replicated by an overprinting of both inks with the corresponding intensity levels. As a result, the corresponding pixel R.sub.2 of the first colour component image R7, shown in FIG. 12A, is assigned an intensity value of 1, and the corresponding pixel G.sub.2 of the second colour component image G7, shown in FIG. 13A, is assigned an intensity value of 2.
(85) When each pixel is processed, an error is also assessed, which is the difference between the ideal colour and the selected target colour from the available palette colours. This error is distributed to the following pixels of the image layer L7 so as to modify the ideal colour to correct for the error in the previous pixel. The error may be distributed to the pixel to the right and/or to the pixel below the processed pixel, for example.
(86) Once each pixel is processed, the result will be a first colour component image R7 at the resolution of 600 DPI and a second colour component image G7 also at the resolution of 600 DPI. The first colour component image will be suitable for directly converting into printing instructions for the first digital print head since it is at the resolution of the first digital print head and comprises intensities providable by the first print head, in this case 0, corresponding to no printed dot, and 1, corresponding to a printed dot with size S.sub.1. FIG. 12B shows the print working 57R that will be printed by the first digital print head and also shows the grid 157R of possible dot positions (or lattice points) across the working 57R.
(87) The second colour component image G7, however, is at a resolution higher than that printable by the second digital print head (which prints at 150 DPI). Accordingly, a downsampling process must be applied to the second colour component image. FIG. 13B shows a downsampled second colour component image G7′. In this case, to downsample the first colour component image G7, the pixels are grouped into regions of 4×4. Using the example of the top left hand corner of the first colour component image G7, the 4×4 region G.sub.R1 of pixels comprises a mixture of intensities ranging from 0 to 3. The intensities across this region G.sub.R1 are averaged and the result is an average intensity of 1 (total intensity of all pixels in G.sub.R1 is 16 and this is averaged across the 16 pixels included in this region). Therefore, the first pixel G.sub.R1′ of downsampled second colour component image G7′ is assigned an intensity of 1. This process is repeated for each 4×4 region of pixels in the second colour component image G7 to produce a complete downsampled second colour component image G7′ at the required resolution of 150 DPI and with the required intensities ranging from 0 to 3. The downsampled second colour component image G7′ will then be suitable for converting into printing instructions for the second digital print head since it is at the resolution of the second digital print head and comprises intensities providable by the second print head, in this case intensities of 0 to 3 corresponding to no printed dot and dot sizes S.sub.1 to S.sub.3 respectively. FIG. 13C shows the print working 57G that will be printed by the second digital print head and also shows the grid 157G of possible dot positions (or lattice points) across the working 57R.
(88) These print workings 57R (the red colour component of the layer L7) and 57G (the green colour component of the layer L7) are then printed on to a substrate and form a printed image 57 that reproduces the multi-colour image provided initially in layer L7. This printed image can be inspected to verify that it is produced by the combination of workings at two different resolutions and with different sets of dot sizes. An attempt to counterfeit this printed document with a conventional digital printer would not accurately replicate the resolutions and dot sizes shown in FIG. 14, meaning that the counterfeit may be easily detected.
(89) The above method for converting a multi-coloured image into two different workings at two different resolutions comprised a downsampling process performed after production of a second colour component image at the higher resolution of 600 DPI; however, other variations of the method would be equally viable. For example, the first colour component image could be produced as described above, before producing a second colour component image by downsampling the multi-coloured image layer L7 to 150 DPI and performing the process again but this time at the second resolution to directly produce a second colour component image at 150 DPI.
(90) FIGS. 20A and 20B show a digital printing press for printing a security document in which the printed elements have different thicknesses. The digital printing press shown in FIG. 18A is substantially the same as the digital printing press described above with respect to FIG. 1A, where it differs is in the print bars inserted into the print bar holders 10a to 10j.
(91) In this embodiment, the first digital print bar holder 10a receives a first digital print bar 11a, which is configured to print at a resolution of 600 DPI, with a drop size of 3.5 pl. This digital print bar 11a is configured to print with an ink having a first set of optical characteristics, which in this case is an orange ink, which may also have other optical properties, such as the covert optical characteristics described previously. The second digital print bar holder 10b receives a second digital print bar 11b. In this case, the second digital print bar 10b is configured to print at the same resolution and with the same drop size as the first digital print bar 10a and may even be the same type of digital print bar. In this case, the second digital print bar 11b is configured to print with a second ink having a different set of optical characteristics which in this case is a blue ink, although again it may have other optical properties, such as covert optical characteristics.
(92) Spaced from the first and second print bars, located in the final digital print bar holder 10j is a third digital print bar 11c. This digital print bar 11c is identical to the second digital print bar 11b and is configured to print in the same ink, although as will be mentioned below, the digital print head may be different if, for example, a different drop size is needed. The third digital print bar 11c is spaced from the second digital print bar 11b by substantially the whole length of the digital printing press so that dots printed by the second digital print bar 11b are at least partially dry by the time the substrate has reached the third print bar 11c. As an alternative to this, the ink printed by the second digital print bar may be a curable ink, e.g. a UV curable ink, and a curing station, e.g. a UV light source, may be included between the second and third digital print bars to at least partially cure the ink printed by the second print bar. If a fourth digital bar head is needed, e.g. to produce the elements shown in FIG. 21C and discussed below, this may either be spaced from the third digital print bar 11c to allow the ink to dry at least partially, or the ink printed by the third digital print bar may be curable and a curing station inserted between the third and fourth digital print bars.
(93) As shown in FIG. 20B, this digital print press may be used to produce a security document having printed elements of different thicknesses, but which have similar lateral dimensions. The first digital print bar 11a prints down dots forming the first print working 51 onto the substrate 100. The substrate is moved through the digital printing press until it reaches the second digital print bar 11b. The second digital print bar 11b then prints down dots that form part of the second print working 52. Specifically the printed dots form a first layer 52a of each of the elements within the second print working 52. The substrate is moved further through the digital printing press until it reaches the third digital print bar 11c, by which time both sets of dots are at least partially dry. The third digital print bar then prints down a second set of dots onto the first set of dots that form the first layer 52a of each of the elements within the second print working 52, i.e. the dots printed by the second digital print bar 11b. Each dot printed by the third digital print head 11c is received on top of a corresponding dot that forms the first layer 52a of one element of the second working 52, and forms a second layer 52b of the printed elements of the second working 52. This printed dot increases the height of the elements in the second working 52 without significantly affecting the lateral dimensions of the printed elements.
(94) FIGS. 21A to 21D show four different ways in which printed dots of different heights may be formed.
(95) FIG. 21A shows an element of a first digitally printed working 51 and adjacent to an element of a second digitally printed working 52. In this embodiment, the element of the first digitally printed working 51 is printed in a first material and the element of the second working 52 is printed in a second material with a higher viscosity and surface tension. Accordingly, the element of the second working 52 does not spread as far when it impacts the substrate 100 and so retains a larger thickness.
(96) FIG. 21B shows an element of a first digitally printed working 51, which is identical to that shown in FIG. 21A, adjacent this time to an element of a second digitally printed working 52, which is formed of a first and a second layer 52a, 52b of the same material. This dot may be produced using the printing press described above with respect to FIGS. 20A and 20B in that two dots of the same size are printed down one on top of the other to form the first and second layers.
(97) FIG. 21C shows again an element of a first digitally printed working 51, adjacent to another different type of digitally printed element of a second working 52. In this case, the element of the second working 52 is formed by three layers 52a, 52b, 52c printed down one on top of the other. These layers will typically by printed by three successive print heads, which may be spaced from one another along the digital print press to allow the dots time to dry before overprinting. Whereas in the previous example, the dots forming the first and second layers were printed down with the same drop size to have substantially the same lateral dimensions, in this example, the drop used for each layer is successively smaller than the preceding layer. That is, the second layer 52b, printed as a second dot on top of the first dot that forms the first layer 52a, is printed with a smaller drop size than said first dot. Accordingly, this second layer 52b has smaller lateral dimensions than the first layer 52a. The third layer 52c is printed as a third dot on top of the first and second dots forming the first and second layers 52a, 52b, with a smaller drop size than either of the first and second dots. Accordingly, this third layer 52c has smaller lateral dimensions than either of the first and second layers. This gives each element of the second working 52 an effectively pyramid shape.
(98) Finally, FIG. 21D shows again an element of a first digitally printed working 51, adjacent to another different type of digitally printed element of a second working 52. In this example, the element of the second digitally printed working 52 is formed of a first and a second layer 52a, 52b of the same material. However, the second dot that is printed down over the first dot is printed with a larger drop size than said first dot. This second dot therefore envelops the first dot, providing a dot with greater height and slightly larger lateral dimensions. Not only does this provide that the elements of the second working 52 have a significantly greater height than the elements of the first working 51 without significantly greater lateral dimensions, but it disguises any misregsiter between the first layer 51a and the second layer 52b. This type of printed element may be printed using a digital press as shown in FIG. 20A, in which the third digital print bar 11c is configured to print drops that are slightly larger than that of the second print bar. For example, the second print bar may print with a drop size of 3.5 pl, while the third print bar prints with a drop size of 4.5 pl.
