VOLUME 27 – NO 7 / JULY 2021
SPARK® – the Innovation Journey Continues to FLOW SPARK® has proved to be one of the most successful and widely used anticounterfeiting features for banknotes since its launch in 2006. But nothing stands still in security, and SICPA has continued to enhance SPARK, recently unveiling the third generation of the optically variable effect ink technology – SPARK Flow®.
the wavelength of light that is selectively reflected towards the observer, and hence the perceived colour. The principle is one of colour pairs, ie. a progressive colour change between two distinctly different colours for a given pigment type as the angle of incidence changes by tilting the note. The deposited film structure is removed from the carrier film and then converted into small pigment particles. These are, in turn, incorporated into a versatile range of ink formulations of specific drying chemistries required for security printing, in particular intaglio and silkscreen printing.
SPARK – the early days
SICPA’s next iteration of OVI came in 2006 with the launch of SPARK technology, created from a colour-shifting ink produced in the same manner as OVI but with the addition of a magnetic layer forming the central reflective layer. The colour-shifting magnetic ink is generically known as OVMI® and the pigments as OVMP®.
Examples of SICPA's SPARK Flow PRIME.
The precursor to SPARK was OVI®, a colour-shifting ink feature developed by SICPA to prevent the counterfeiting of banknotes by colour copiers. OVI is produced by coating several thin layers of materials onto a carrier film by vapour deposition. The resulting multi-layer structure produces colour by the physical phenomenon of interference – the core layer is fully reflective just like a mirror, the layers on either side are identical and partially reflective and are separated from the reflective layer by a transparent material. The thickness of the layers determines
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The magnetic layer enables the OVMP in the ink to be oriented by strategically placed magnetic assemblies as the ink is silkscreen printed and then immediately UV cured. This uses a module developed by Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions for its NotaScreen press. By varying the respective position, shape and strength of the magnets, different dynamic effects are obtained. SPARK Origin® was the first version of this optical security feature. It was quickly adopted by central banks, with some of its first applications being on the Kazakhstani 5,000 tenge commemorative note and the Chinese 10 yuan Olympic commemorative note, whose rolling-bar effect has to date been the most adopted SPARK Origin dynamic feature. Continued on page 6 >
3D-Printed Shark Fins that Bite Back at Illegal Trade The task of identifying protected shark species purely from their fins – especially those that are caught and smuggled illegally – is an enormously challenging one for enforcement authorities, says TRAFFIC, a global NGO devoted to ensuring that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. Although different tools and training methods have been developed to assist in the identification of shark fins – some of which involve the use of real dried fins collected from customs seizures – the vast majority of enforcement agencies have not been trained using real shark fins. This limits their ability to identify fins that are on the endangered species list and that cannot be traded without a permit. Given that one of the main ways to trade sharks illegally is by mis-declaring particular species on customs permits, it is crucial for inspectors to be able to differentiate between the species, including between the different fins. ‘Law enforcement officials around the world face the massive challenge of identifying shark fins in international trade, to a species level, in order to effectively enforce CITES (which stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). As if that was not difficult enough, they must correctly identify wildlife such as this alongside all the other contraband they’re looking out for,’ said TRAFFIC’s Fisheries Trade Expert Markus Burgener. Continued on page 6 >