Security Printing and Counterfeiting
Counterfeiting threatens various industries, including medicine and consumer goods.
Security printing incorporates features like holograms, watermarks, and special inks to prevent fraud.
Some advanced features are detectable only by machines, such as invisible barcodes or RFID chips.
New Ink Developed by Indian Scientists
Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) and BARC have created a new ink using nanoparticles to combat counterfeiting.
The ink contains Sr2BiF7 (strontium bismuth fluoride) nanoparticles doped with lanthanide ions like erbium and ytterbium, mixed with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ink.
This ink can fluoresce under both ultraviolet and near-infrared light, making it more secure than current inks.
Gadolinium vanadate (GdVO4) is used in another bi-luminescent security ink developed by Bipin Kumar Gupta.
This ink, doped with europium, emits red and green light under ultraviolet light of two different wavelengths.
Practical Applications and Advantages
The new ink can be printed using simple screen printing and remains effective under different environmental conditions.
It glows blue under UV light, magenta under 395-nm light, and orange-red under infrared, adding multiple layers of security.
It is low-cost and has the potential for use in various security applications beyond currency, such as documents and branded goods.
Future Developments and Use
While this ink is currently used in screen printing, efforts are underway to adapt it for offset printing, which is used for currency notes.
Further research is focused on improving its applicability for larger-scale printing and more complex security features.
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