Louisenthal’s New Specimen Notes Reveal Hidden Treasures and Wins Holography Award
Munich, January 19, 2021 – Louisenthal won the award by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association IHMA in the category “Best Applied Security Product” for its new security feature Micromirror LEAD Stripe which features prominently on its new specimen notes series.
The IHMA gathers the world’s leading hologram suppliers and manufacturers under its roof and “advances the understanding, use and development of holograms and holographic technology, particularly in the authentication of products and documents, decoration and illustration, displays and display systems, energy and environmental improvements.”
The Micromirror LEAD stripe is part of Louisenthal’s extended foil portfolio and features prominently on the new Hybrid ADDvance housenote or specimen series. It functions as an integrated interface of hologram and micromirror technologies, combining a traditional hologram with a micromirror feature incorporating dynamic light and colour as well as 3D effects. It is a technology that provides optimal security for banknotes and ideal protection against counterfeiting since its complexity and layered structure is almost impossible to reproduce.
Louisenthal’s new housenote series consists of four notes, each of them telling a different story but all built around the theme of hidden or protected treasures. You discover what’s inside of each hide-out by looking at the back side of the note. The design mirrors the substrate that is used for this series, Hybrid ADDvance. It is a composite showing a cotton core which, just like the security features, including the Micromirror LEAD stripe, is protected on both sides by an extremely thin foil. This enables both, the familiar cotton-like feel that people instinctively trust and the resistance to dirt and wear.
How the security features emphasize the storytelling can be demonstrated by the note submitted for the IHMA award, the first one out the series, showing a crab in its shell on a beach in front of a lighthouse. The rough shell of the crab is brought to life by means of intaglio technique printing. On the horizon, the lighthouse’s shining rays, integrated into the secure foil stripe, are dynamically animated when the banknote is tilted. These optical effects are the result of the combined micromirror and hologram technologies, which also form the basis for the cloud and the denomination number. Under a UV lamp, the lighthouse gleams as well, interconnecting the foil and printed elements. The seagull watermarks add depth to the image and provide an additional cross-reference to the foil security feature.
The security features amplify the storytelling on all notes and give each note its own distinct colour scheme, look and feel: beauty enhanced by technology.
Further Reading
LEAD / Micromirror and Holographic Foils
Our micromirror foil technology offers top quality with its shining metallic surface. It offers a stunning display of shifting patterns, making verification easy. The foils combine cutting-edge micromirror and hologram technologies.
Hybrid ADDvance® and Hybrid™
Hybrid ADDvance and Hybrid are Louisenthal’s solutions for durable and highly secure banknotes from low to high denominations.