Banconota7 20130509 Web

n°7 spring i summer 2013

The KBA-notasys magazine about banknote design, production and circulation

TechnologySuper OrlOf IntaglIO III

cOmpany newSconTinuous improvemenTs in AfTer sAles services

cOmpany newSThe mAKing of The new souTh AfricAn BAnKnoTe series

Banconota, the magazine about banknote design, production and circulation, is published twice a year,

in spring and autumn, by KBA-NotaSys SA for its clients and business partners.

For comments and suggestions, address changes, back issues, to stop your subscription or for any

other communication, please use the details below:

CONTENTS

Graphic design: Emilie Fargues - emkidesign

Computer graphics design: Oreste di Cristino

Pictures by Julio Locatelli

Editorial Support: Henry Plouïdy

Printer: Courvoisier-Attinger Arts graphiques SA

© 2013 KBA-NotaSys SA All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part

without express permission of the publisher is prohibited.

04 COmpaNy NEwS cool power for demanding times

06 TECHNOLOGy super orlof intaglio iii: An entirely new design that further expands the

intaglio horizon

10 COmpaNy NEwS continuous improvements in our After sales service

11 COmpaNy NEwS sound of intaglio™: finalist at the “Transferprize owl 2012”

12 TECHNOLOGy Jules verne on guardian®, when collaboration leads to perfection

14 TECHNOLOGy efficiency in Banknote production:

The driving factor behind adding value through print

16 COmpaNy NEwS The making of the new south African banknote series

19 TECHNOLOGy Argentina’s new $100 eva perón note, according to the engraver

who created evita’s portrait

KBA-NotaSys SA

Banconota Magazine

PO BOX 347

CH-1000 Lausanne 22

Switzerland

[email protected]

Fax: +41 21 345 70 10

Phone: +41 21 345 70 00

EdiTOriaLgerBen vAn wiJK

Dear Reader,

After a long and hard winter, Spring has finally started in Switzerland. At the time of writing this editorial we are shortly before the Currency Conference in Athens where we will all meet again and discuss the current situation of the industry. Although we all were hoping differently the eco-nomic crisis in Europe and other parts of the world still hasn’t been overcome and we still see the importance of cash demonstrated by the situation recently in Cyprus. In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy that hit the east-coast of the United States of America in October last year, cash was also the only payment instrument that people could use as the infrastructure was badly damaged and power was out for days in certain areas.

Our task, as an industry, is to ensure that secure cash is available to all in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In this issue of Banconota you will read about KBA-NotaSys’ efforts in this direction. Whether it is through efficient production methods or the support of industry initiatives. You will read in more detail about our New Super Orlof Intaglio III which offers great improve-ments in productivity. It also offers the printer a comfortable working environment with a high level of automation.

Also we demonstrate a major project that has recently been completed, a full new production line and design of the new series of banknotes for South-Africa. An amazing transformation resulting in a beautiful series of banknotes paying tribute to one of the most influential persons of the last decades, Nelson Mandela.

I wish you a lot of reading pleasure and look forward to your feedback.

Banconota SPRING | SUMMER 2013

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COmpaNy NEwS cOOl pOwer fOr demandIng tImeS

SPRING | SummeR 2013 Banconota

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The best way to describe Eric Boissonnas’s management style is to use a very topical expression indeed: soft power. Eric is a tall, solid Basel-born Swiss citizen who looks perfectly at ease taking on the technological challenges that banknote printing faces, without the need to fret. His self-confidence is probably the result of a deep knowledge of the company and of the indus-try, combined with the management change experience acquired during the past 20 years.

His parents, originally from Geneva - a street bears their name in the industrial sector of the city - established in Basel where his father worked as a PhD chemist for Sandoz. One of six children, Eric says he had to learn early on how to compromise with his siblings and how to fight for his ideas, but he explains he also had to learn how to share his parents’ attention, and how to ob-tain it. Possibly a head start to become a wise people manager. He studied mechanics, management and operational research at Zurich’s polytechnic - the latter developed during World War II in order to optimize army logistics. After a long rail trip through the Orient, from Paris to Beijing via Moscow and Irkoutsk fol-lowed by Thailand and Burma, he returned to Zurich and settled into a 10 year-long job as information systems and change man-agement consultant, for Accenture. As he explains, he had no idea then that he would one day work for the fiduciary printing industry but by combining his technological background with management change skills, for international companies, he was putting together all the necessary competences to be prepared for the business.

In 1995 Eric got married, the couple left to Asia where he had chosen a job, however due to the economical crisis there at the time the move didn’t prove satisfactory: so back to square one, but with an edge. “When I returned to Switzerland I immedi-ately contacted my network, more particularly the people for whom I had realized projects. They knew what I was able to do and soon enough, someone rang to tell me De La Rue-Giori was looking for a commercial director,” he says. From 1996 until last June he has been commercial director, then added the HR director responsibilities and joined the management committee. In 2001 he got closely involved in the bringing together of Giori and KBA. After 16 years managing key departments in the com-pany, where he was able to witness and to take an active part in its evolution, Eric must have been an obvious choice when the

Board decided to change their General Manager. There was no need to look for someone outside. “My role as GM is to facilitate decision taking within the company, and in fact I think the worst that can happen to a company, is having to work with people who can’t decide. I like and I respect new ideas, proposals for change or technical evolution but mostly I expect those who ex-press them to decide the how-to,” he says.

excellence in Technology, TrAining And cusTomer servicesAlthough the number of smartphones is soaring, opening the door to alternate forms of micro payments particularly in de-veloping countries, Eric Boissonnas says the industry can look forward to a bright future. “I am not worried that mobile phones or other electronic payment systems should become a threat in the near future, because eventually most forms of payment ma-terialize in cash; moreover, there has never been such a high volume of banknotes being printed than during this financial cri-sis,” he says. And although KBA-NotaSys enjoys a comfortable position in its niche, he says in the near future it will be crucial to communicate the company as a leader, not a monopole, in order to highlight what differentiates KBA-NotaSys from the competition: “My first priority is to keep a strong position in the market,” he continues. “In order to do this we have to be better than our competitor, and to bring more added value: technology and training help build trust with our customers! Secondly, we must provide our clientele with innovations, and develop all ser-vices. How to conceive them, print them and communicate them to the public. Because part of the work is shifting from the print-ers to substrate manufacturers for example, we must bring our clients the competences that they may have lost, in other words we need to be even closer to them. For example, our machines must be able to evolve over extended periods of time and we must stand by them at all cost,” he says.

When asked to share an anecdote about his career at KBA-Notasys, Eric also refers to the value of time and the trust it builds: “When I was hired , M. Giori commented on the decision and said “In any case, it will be a year before we know for sure whether we were right to hire you!” In 2012, it was 16 years since Eric Boissonnas joined the company. ®

In June 2012, Eric Boissonnas was appointed General Manager of KBA-NotaSys. With 16 years in the company at key executive positions, he has a thorough knowledge of the industry. He shares his ideas on the future of banknote printing, and how to successfully meet its challenges.


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Super OrlOf IntaglIO III:an entIrely new deSIgn that further expandS the IntaglIO hOrIzOn

TECHNOLOGy

Last year, visitors of Banknote Horizons had the opportunity to see, for the first time, Super Orlof Intaglio III in operation. However, KBA-NotaSys’ brand new Intaglio printing press features many breakthrough improvements which couldn’t fit in a short group presentation, so now is the time for our visitors to look closer into the machine, and for those who couldn’t at-tend our demonstration, to learn all about it.

First, let’s look at what one can immediately see. The stream-lined body is not only easier and safer to move about, it is also quicker to clean as most of its surfaces are flat and continu-ous. But this is a lot more than aesthetics, because these panels hide all parts that needn’t be accessed during regular operation, such as pipes, wires and gearwheels. Two stairways lead up to the gallery of the press, on each side, so printers can quickly and safely walk to the place where work needs to be done. One feature that can only be seen when standing in front of the two stairways is the perfect symmetry of the press. Alain Würsch, Product Manager intaglio printing machines, explains that symmetry of the printing unit is critical for the stiffness of the machine, therefore for precision and print quality. In this new design, the wiping tank holding the wiping cylinder is now firmly screwed against the printing unit, an important con-tribution to the press’ stiffness particularly when one thinks of the 80 tonnes applied to the paper during printing, and the im-portance of the wiping of the Intaglio plate prior to impression.

SOI III features a two carriage design with the collecting cyl-inder and the plate cylinder fitted now on two different units. In reality, this means two operators can work on the Orlof and on the inking units at the same time, as both can be moved and leave ample space for work to be done, resulting in less down time.

Each cylinder in contact with ink, such as the Orlof collect-ing cylinder, the five chablon cylinders, is now automatically cleaned. The vapours emitted during the process are also as-pirated at their source, and automatically rejected outside the print works in order to meet ever more stringent air quality regulations.

As Alain Würsch shows, one operator can now manage the whole press from one standing point thanks to its 24 inch. touchscreen, where all the necessary fine-tuning can be done. And this is where he explains one of SOI III’s most important improvements, which can’t be seen but largely contributes to the press’ improved efficiency, and therefore economy: be-cause of the pressure applied during printing, intaglio plates will elongate during the course of their lifespan and, conse-quently, between 10 and 15% more inking surface is normally necessary to compensate for this elongation. Unless each cha-blon cylinder takes into account this stretching of the plates, which is now possible. From the touchscreen, the operator is

¶ The new soi iii on display in lausanne, switzerland

spring | summer 2013 Banconota

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able to fine-tune the rotation of the 5 chablon plates one by one relatively to the length of each of the 3 intaglio plates, which means that over the approximately 50000-150000 first plate cycles in normal use, 10 to 15% less chablon surface needs to be inked. And as the saying goes, tall oaks grow from little acorns, so during the printing of large series, ink savings will become substantial. Consequently, the inking of the plate cyl-inder can be even more precise, resulting in an improved colour registration throughout the complete surface of the sheet.

At the end of every shift the wiping tank must be cleaned and this is another area where KBA-NotaSys engineers looked for ways to simplify the job, and to do it faster to boot. A double swing arm system extracts the wiping cylinder from its wip-ing tank in less than 2 minutes for maintenance, a complete exchange of the wiping cylinder being done in 3 minutes. The cleaning of the wiping cylinder is done using ScotchBrite strips; this synthetic fabric, basically the same as the pads used to scour pots and pans and found in most private kitchens, proved to be the most efficient and the most durable, therefore particularly economical, and it reduces the maintenance pro-cess by 15 minutes for each shift.

For online inspection, a new, twin high resolution line-scan camera system can be installed. A visible camera scans the banknote sheets and alongside an infrared camera scans infra-red inks. Both cameras are using LED illumination technology, providing a perfectly homogeneous light on the complete width of the sheet.

Last, all gears are now lubricated with grease and not oil, contributing to a cleaner work environment. Oil sputters and this proved particularly problematic in some environments with older machines where it would drip down and smear the ground, but grease in excess will accumulate at the edges of gears, where it can be simply wiped off. To further increase the cleanliness in and around SOI III, many hydraulic actuators have been replaced with pneumatic components.

Although Super Orlof Intaglio III is the most technologically advanced Intaglio printing press to date, it remains faithful to KBA-NotaSys’ concept of robust automation: electronics have been fitted where it improves precision, stability, quality and efficiency but should a failure occur, the press will continue to operate normally, according to default settings, because all electronics are backed by its mechanical equivalent. ®

µ The two carriage design with the chablon cylinders

on the left and the printing cylinders on the right

µ The 3-3-3 architecture of the soi iii ensure perfect print quality

¶ The new plate elongation system saves

10-15% on the size of the chablones


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MasterProof, the reliable and affordable solution for intaglio Proofing

With Intaglio, the proof is in the printing. Literally. So far no printing unit except

Mini Orlof Intaglio (MOI) was capable to print rapidly, and cost-efficiently, proofs

to check the Intaglio. Because of need, available space or cost, not every print

works is fitted with this press. The reasonable solution is MasterProof Orlof In-

taglio, a semi-automatic press that features the 5-colour capability of our range

of Super Orlof Intaglio (SOI) presses but is ready to print proofs in half a day.

Quite simply, MasterProof Orlof Intaglio uses a miniature inking cylinder identi-

cal in materials to what is used on the super size machines however it collects

ink manually from five chablons. The printing plate itself is a Kapton® plate, the

same plate that is engraved in the CTiP® process to make the full size Intaglio

plates. Although the Kapton® plate would not withstand long production runs on

the printing press, it does work well for proof purposes at a fraction of the cost,

and of the time necessary. The five different chablons are inked manually using

a roller, then placed next to each other on a magnetic table; the inking cylinder

is removed from MasterProof Orlof and placed in gears to run over the cha-

blons, thereby collecting the five colours in prefect registration. It is then placed

in gears on the MasterProof Orlof Intaglio, ready to ink the design engraved in

the Kapton® plate. The operator feeds a sheet of banknote paper in the press,

and the Intaglio printing process starts: the plate travels under the inking cylin-

der, it is wiped and then prints the sheet of paper. The result shows the intaglio

features exactly as they would appear on an SOI press, including the embossing

typical of the technique. Any defect in the Intaglio design will become apparent,

therefore the proof is comparable to the print. However the process barely takes

four hours and a single operator is able to drive the machine. You no longer

have to start up your SOI or Mini Orlof for proofing, resulting

MasterProof Orlof Intaglio fits in a single room and obviously costs only a frac-

tion of Mini Orlof Intaglio, yet it delivers the same precision of colour, tonality

and relief as the printing machines. In short, it reduces the proofing process to a

strict minimum while at the same time offering the necessary feedback.

¶ various views of the new 5-color masterproof


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I am currently overlooking the development of our plate-length compensation feature on our new Super Orlof Intaglio III as well as the adjustable speed of the wiping cylinder. The prototype of this machine was presented last year during our Banknote Hori-zons event and, at the time of writing, we are going through the installation and training at our pilot customer.

Both features are requirements that are developed from our many years of experiences in intaglio printing. My personal challenge in this development was maintaining the reliability of the machine as we placed emphasis on “robust automation” dur-ing product development. I look forward to the moment when the new Super Orlof Intaglio III will find its way to banknote printers around the world and these new developments will proof their worth.

what are yOu dOIng there mr. KerSten?

Thomas Kersten has been involved in product development at KBA-NotaSys

for the past 4 years. Prior he spent 10 years working for Koenig & Bauer AG in

Radebeul, developing commercial sheet-fed offset presses. His main responsibil-

ity at KBA-NotaSys is to produce design concepts and requirement profiles and

create development structures for future products.

I am really proud that it has become possible for me, through these development tasks, to look after this new machine inten-sively, even during commissioning at the customer. As always with prototypes we learn many things in the first weeks after installation at the customer’s site and these findings need to find their way into the first series. Since I will be responsible for this extensive task for some time to come I want to continue in the true spirit of the company, delivering Service and Technology as an Art.

In a drive to continuously improve our service offering we will make some changes to the set-up of our After Sales department. Starting on January 1st, 2013 we will have 4 service groups, each group including one Service Project Manager supported by a Service Administrator.

The 4 service groups will work according to different languages and experience with different countries. The final distribution of the clients will be completed early in 2013, after all 4 Groups are fully implemented. For the moment we can inform you about the preliminary set-up.

Christophe Butzerin/ Barbara KohlerAll French-speaking clients: Oberthur, BdF, Bank Maghrib, Al-geria, etc.

• East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam

Alejandro Boan/ Beatriz Ferreiro• All Spanish-speaking clients: FNMT, BdM, BR Colom-

bia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile• Other: Brasil, Valora Portugal, Bd Italia.• On-going: PSPC Pakistan, CB Egypt

Jörg Schneider/ Nadia Fusaro• All German-speaking clients: OeBS, G&D (worldwide,

incl. Myanmar), OFS, Bundesdruckerei• Other: NP Australia, Perum peruri, Bo Thailand, Crane

AB, DLR Group, PWPW, Nigeria, South Africa

As of January 1, 2013 Michael Poluyanov has joined our After Sales team as Service Project Manager. Together with Caroline de Bona he will be responsible for all Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking clients as well as Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania

cOntInuOuS ImprOvementS In Our after SaleS ServIce

COmpaNy NEwS

Michael Poluyanov/ Caroline de BonaAll Russian- or Ukrainian-speaking clients: Goznak, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, NB Ukraine, Polygraph Combinat Kiev

• Other: Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania• Planned: all other English or German speaking client

The goal is that each client should have a direct contact in our service department, where it will be possible to communicate in the native language as well, whenever possible.

The Service Administrator will be the first service contact for all issues pertaining to warranty, machine failure, training, technical support, etc. The Service Project Manager will be involved as soon as the Service Administrator needs technical assistance or if the service issue becomes complex. The Ser-vice Project Manager will handle the issue on a higher technical level between client, supplier and KBA-NotaSys. With the im-plementation of this structure we will be in the position to allow the Service Project Managers to visit clients more frequently, in order to handle service issues directly. The Project Service Manager will be responsible for solving all technical and com-mercial service issues between the client and our organisation. A part of their duty will be as well to deal with OPL’s after the installation and to sort out technical problems within the com-pany and our technical department.

We have already started this new set-up during 2012 and the first customers have given us very positive feedback, so we look forward to further expansion and improving the customer’s experience.

In support of each service group there will be a spare parts quotation and order processor in case of spare parts needed. Mr. Stefan Baumann leads and will be the technical and commer-cial support for all groups. He will step in case further technical support is needed. ®

¶ from left to right, michael poluyanov, Jörg schneider and stefan Baumann.


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SOund Of IntaglIO™ fInalISt at the “tranSferprIze Owl 2012”

By Jürg hofmann, senior product manager, Business innovation at KBA-notasys

COmpaNy NEwS

In cooperation with the Institute Industrial IT (inIT) of the University of Applied Science Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Lemgo (Germany) - a study was started a few years ago about the rec-ognition of intaglio structures and other print technologies. The result is a universal algorithm, based on image recognition, comparable to a LP (long-play record), intrinsic information is detected to distinguish between banknotes with genuine in-taglio, regardless of mint condition, used or even counterfeit. The unique approach of Sound of Intaglio™ is based on the fact, that no specific security features are used for the authenti-cation but intaglio the traditional print technique for banknotes. Intaglio is a very robust security feature in banknotes, well known and accepted by the public. Additionally, intaglio rep-resents one of the important differentiations to commercial prints and is a substantial part of the printing process of bank-notes. Since 2010 KBA-NotaSys is concretely investigating the possibility of using intaglio not only as a tactile security element for the public but for automated applications in the cash cycle. For this reason, Sound of Intaglio™ offers a future frame for manufacturers of payment terminals or banking sys-tems to secure the gap ahead and against the increasing quality of counterfeits in circulation.

31 projects in all did apply for the Transferprize OWL 2012, which was awarded for the 5th time this year. Initiators and donators of the prize are “Industrie- und Handelskammern, Handwerkskammer in Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Initiative für Be-schäftigung OWL” and “Stiftung Standortsicherung Kreis Lippe”. The prize initiates a strong cooperation between indus-try and science in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the best project is being awarded every second year. This year KBA-NotaSys and inIT did participate with the in-novative and industry relevant topic Sound of Intaglio™ in the Transferprize 2012. After a first pre-selection four finalists were selected by a jury of specialists to present their project to the public and the jury during the official award ceremony of the Transferprize on November 21st 2012. Sound of Intaglio™ was one of the four finalists and Volker Lohweg (inIT) togeth-er with Johannes Schaede (KBA-NotaSys) gave a professional and entertaining presentation within the allowed eight minutes for the interested audience. The whole Sound of Intaglio™ team was present and the chance to win the competition was of course given. They all followed the presentations of the other finalists critically and were expecting about the final decision of the jury with great suspense.

“We got to know four impressive projects” concluded the chairman of the jury “what shows that the cooperation between industry and science works perfectly”. After a head-to-head race and a very close decision, Sound of Intaglio™ was unfortunately rated as second finalist. The jury agreed for the cooperation project “RoboWrap” of the regional based company düspohl Maschinenbau GmbH who automated the configuration process of wrapping machines for plastic pro-files. Nevertheless, discussions during the cocktail reception showed the big interest in Sound of Intaglio™ and confirmed to be on the right track for future applications - for the bank-note industry and the public.

In an era where mobile devices and automation become more and more important, we are convinced that Sound of Intag-lio™ will contribute to keep intaglio on banknotes as the unique security feature for humans and to further establish in-taglio as an automated detection for machines. ®

The Transferprize owl award ¶

JuleS verne On guardIan®, when cOllaBOratIOn leadS tO perfectIOn

TECHNOLOGy

One of the latest specimens to reach the market is the Jules Verne. this specimen is the result of a project leas by Innovia Security (formerly Securency) from Australia. Thanks to, a close collaboration between KBA-NotaSys, Kurz, Securency, SICPA, Orell Füssli, Atelier Pfund and Innovia Films, the famous French writer and explorer’s design gets a new lease of life, on polymer. As Michael Blesovsky, Head of Innovia Security, manufac-

turers of the Clarity®C base film used in Guardian® polymer substrate and coordinator of the specimen note project ex-plains, “the point of Verne is to showcase what other suppliers can do.” In other words it is an ideal experimental platform, and for KBA-NotaSys the specimen proves that all the added values made possible on its machines on paper apply equally well, sometimes better, on polymer.

¶ front and reverse view of the specimen note featuring an innovative use of the spArK feature and a multicolor see-through


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The Guardian® substrate used is treated like paper, except it needs to be over varnished after printing. According to Blesovs-ky, banknotes printed on polymer will last many times longer than if printed on paper thanks to the substrate’s resistance, and also because they won’t become soiled as fast as paper. He takes out a thick bundle of banknotes from his wallet and shows a 7 year old note: although damaged by abrasion and constant creasing, it still has the feel of a banknote and Blesovsky says that in comparison, the same note produced with paper would have degraded significantly, in fact would have been withdrawn from circulation a long time ago... But the Verne specimen pushes the limits of the substrate and of the printed security fea-tures much further than ever before. In fact, it magnifies many of them. However, basing the new specimen on the existing Ju-les Verne design brought many challenges.

Offset and Intaglio are commonly used on polymer but one concern has regularly been the tactility of the latter, which is considered one of the most obvious security features for bank-notes; on the Jules Verne note Intaglio shows great tactility, and to support the fact Blesovsky shows a range of current polymer banknotes, all printed on polymer and featuring Intaglio. The difference to the touch is indeed spectacular.

The Jules Verne specimen is the first finished banknote on polymer to have a window printed with Intaglio. As Blesovsky explains, “there are notes in existence that have offset printing over the edges of the windows but this has been taken a step fur-ther on the Jules Verne specimen on Guardian®, with both offset and Intaglio printing through windows and half-windows”. For the first time too, SICPA’s innovative feature SPARK is applied in a fully integrated polymer note design. SPARK are inks that change colour depending on the angle of light, and they feature a 3-D effect to boot; its use on polymer has been the subject of conference presentations before, but it was never actually seen on a banknote that is fit for production.

On the Jules Verne too, the Kurz foil is applied across the sur-face of the note, over areas of window, opacification and offset print: it is an industry first and a significant advance in terms of design possibilities. Last but by no means least, Guardian® note designs have used increasingly complex vignettes in the windows in recent years and the Jules Verne note highlights the latest possibility, a photo quality portrait showing great tonality and depth.

The advanced offset and Intaglio designs, printed on the SUSI IV and SOI presses show the benefit of Guardian®, which results in incredibly fine, well defined line structures bringing further weight to the old maxim “there is no security without quali-ty”. Because polymer substrates don’t deform, KBA-NotaSys presses can print on both sides with even better registration: “on Verne, Blesovsky adds, the colour density is exceptionally good, in fact it is beyond KBA-NotaSys’ expectations”.

All of the cooperating partners on the Jules Verne Guardian®

specimen are proud of the end result; while it is an extraordi-narily complex note to produce, it was successfully produced and delivers a banknote of the highest quality, highlighting the possibilities for polymer note design and feature integration, on a platform on which all partners in the banknote produc-tion process can find an appropriate base for their features to ensure the best possible banknote - aesthetically attractive and highly secure.

A summary of world firsts as featured on the Jules Verne specimen overprinted windows - offset and Intaglio printing through both windows and half-windows.

• tactility - there is often criticism of the tactility achieved on Guardian® banknotes; the Jules Verne specimen ne-gates any such criticism.

• SPARK® - this is the first time this innovative feature from SICPA on polymer has been seen in a fully inte-grated polymer note design.

• the Kurz foil - on the Jules Verne, it is applied across the surface of the note, over areas of window, opacification and offset print.

• the portrait in the window - Guardian® note designs have used increasingly complex vignettes in the windows in recent years, the Jules Verne note highlights the latest possibility, a photo quality portrait showing great tonal-ity and depth

• offset and Intaglio - the advanced offset and intaglio designs, printed on the SUSI IV and SOI presses show incredibly fine, well defined line structures bringing fur-ther weight to the old maxim “there is no security with-out quality” ®

A closer look at some of the note’s innovative features ¶


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effIcIency In BanKnOte prOductIOnthe drIvIng factOr BehInd addIng value thrOugh prInt

TECHNOLOGy

The firsT goAl of BAnKnoTe prinTing is To creATe securiTyIf the public has instant trust in banknotes the moment they are exchanged, it is based on the conviction they are secure. As we are all aware of the limitations of educational efforts in the mat-ter, obviously no ordinary member of the public will consciously look at and assess each security feature. Instead, the overall im-pression of the banknote at first glance and its feel need to be sufficiently genuine to bear the message that the object is indeed a real banknote. It is only when these signals are not within an expected range that people will look at the notes in more detail.

In the two cases when the first impression is used for assessment by the public, and when a closer look is taken, the banknote must carry elements that can be easily detected and verified . Part of this ongoing education simply happens using notes. This educa-tion will reliably work thanks to the very obvious signals that are tactility and opacity of print in Intaglio. Apart from the in-tuitive recognition, they provide a first and difficult obstacle for counterfeiters. For the second assessment, in case of a doubt, sophisticated elements such as the refined line registration in Simultan and Intaglio as well as the high precision, both on one side and in see-through registration, in the Simultan process are necessary. They allow the public to better inspect what they hold.

For recognition by machines the necessary signals need to be ro-bust and identifiable. It is not enough to have fluorescence per se or IR signals, but these need to be properly metered in wave-length and intensity.

Whether we consider acceptance by the public through visible features, or machine readable identification of the banknote, all these aspects must be sufficiently different from any commer-cially produced printed matter. Otherwise any commercially available or easily imitable banknote feature will be immediately adopted by counterfeiters for easy imitation.

To be secure, banknotes need to be significantly different from any commercial printed matter, and perceived as such.

The perceivABle difference is BAsed on Three fAcTors: mATeriAl, process And designThe above-outlined distinction is based on three interlinked elements. It is the material which must have a whole range of specific qualities. All these qualities will contribute to the dura-bility, the robust function and the distinctiveness of the banknote from any other printed matter. Therefore the materials must be under strict control across the entire supply chain and may only be used for banknotes, or for specific issues and denominations. A very obvious element is the thread or the water mark. Any such material that shows up in commercial applications is immediately devaluated when used in banknotes, and it regularly disqualifies the diluted material and eventually the supplier.

Similarly, the production process needs to be exclusive to the printing of banknotes. Although most printing processes were de-veloped for commercial use, none of them could be exploited in the banknote field without the risk of massive counterfeit. There-fore, the printing processes that include the design of course, the origination (i.e. the translation of the artistic design into ulti-mately secure, printed elements) and the plate making have to be specific so there is no risk they might be used anywhere in com-mercial printing. What is obvious for the materials is even more crucial for the printing processes as they have to be maintained on a secure level not only during the life cycle of the banknote issue, but during the life cycle of the equipment to boot. It is interesting to note that in the long run, no commercial printing production process could be exploited in banknote printing due to subsequent counterfeit attacks.

design needs To exploiT The Three fAcTors’ differences To The mAximum possiBle exTenTThe third element is the design, which due to its importance deserves a separate mention . Neither process nor material will provide security by itself; it is always the design that enables all the possibilities intrinsic to the technical possibilities of the other two. The most sophisticated process, the best material will be useless if the design doesn’t push the limits to a point where criminals will consider attacking the banknote circulation too

Immediately after real (metal) values were replaced by printed matter, one question of paramount importance arose: how may the holder of a banknote know that what is given to him as payment is genuine? The answer is always the same. Make the banknote a secure object the public can trust almost blindfolded. Throughout its history all efforts in banknote production have always been invested in making banknotes as safe as possible.


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expensive. Therefore, protection is never achieved by one ele-ment alone. It is always the perfect adaptation and the design’s combination of material and process that enable security.

differenTiATion musT Be enABled By effi-cienT meAns. The above having been said, it may be tempting to claim that all design and process sophistication may lead to undesirable production complication; that the printer’s life would be easier if specifications were less demanding. However, the demand comes from the need for security. To jeopardize security in fa-vour of lesser specifications will undoubtedly end up in a dead end; the commercial production of banknotes with the above threats becoming inevitable.

It is the obligation of the industry to allow the necessary level of security, through production processes that won’t limit design possibilities to reach their ultimate exploitation the printing processes provide. It has been demonstrated in the past that the specifications for security and efficiency in production can be increased in even measure; one certainly doesn’t exclude the other.

In order to maintain the well-established perception of the public, it is advisable to review the most basic processes and to explore the possibilities that may improve them in recog-nizable steps.

In the case of the Simultan process precision has always played a decisive role in enabling sophisticated designs. In the past this was achieved by arduous make ready procedures. All elements needed manual mounting and adjustment; plate mounting especially was not only crucial for the result, but also time-consuming. So the obvious choice to improve the process was to handle the make-ready procedures and the achievable precision.

Several steps had to be improved. It started with origination. The goal was to allow the design of elements that are difficult to reverse-engineer, and are unsuitable for commercial offset machine counterfeits. The reverse-engineering of counterfeit-ers is done today with commercial software for the graphic industry.

These powerful products (such as Adobe Illustrator) nowadays offer many smart tools which make it possible to efficiently create illustrative graphics. The banknote design software aims at originating structures that cannot be created by simple duplication or other simple geometric operations (mirror, turn, copy and paste).

These structures are mainly based on fractals. These geometric shapes built with “self similar” elements are very tiresome to design by hand. Experts have failed to reproduce correctly in three weekssome part only of a contemporary design,

The state-of-the art exposure systems at 10.800 dpi transfer images on plates with less than a 4 micron deviation from the ideal.

To make this precision available in the press the whole plate mounting system and method had to be re-created. First plates are punched after exposure using the images on the plate as reference. Plates are bent within the required tolerances using the same process .The plates are then mounted on the machines with a semi-automated system that allows reproducible mounting without operator intervention.

Not only has this degree of automation reduced the influence of the previous manual process, but it has also accelerated it in such a way that a full set of 8 plates can be set up in register in less than one hour. ®

The start of the intaglio design on the digital engraving studio µ


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The development of a new series of banknotes is a complex process that requires harmonious synergy between security, aes-thetics and functionality. In addition, such a process needs to be supported by state-of-the-art machinery to ensure a smooth evolution. Only then would one begin to comprehend the intri-cacies involved in moving from a current series to a new and completely different series of banknotes.

It is an internationally accepted best practice to upgrade or de-velop a completely new banknote series every six to eight years. This ensures that newly developed, state-of-the-art security, technical and design features can continually be incorporated into the banknotes to safeguard a country’s currency. It there-fore came as no surprise when the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced a new banknote series, considering that the last upgrade of the country’s banknotes dated back to 2004. And so the evolution process began.

the maKIng Of the new SOuth afrIcan BanKnOte SerIeS

COmpaNy NEwS

“Banknotes are a window to a country, its people, heritage and culture. As a national symbol, a country’s banknotes are often regarded second only to the national flag and Coat of Arms. Themes on a banknote offer an opportunity to portray national characteristics in an aesthetically pleasing manner,” says Hlen-gani Mathebula, Head of Group Strategy and Communications at the SARB.

With this, and many other things in mind, the South African Banknote Company (SABN), a wholly owned subsidiary of SARB, together with SARB began a renewal process of the country’s banknotes.

With the constantly evolving challenges and threats in security printing and technology, it is of utmost importance that the secu-rity features of banknotes are abreast with current advancements in technology, to ensure that the country’s currency does not fall victim to the latest counterfeiting techniques. To this end, the SABN, which is responsible for the printing of South Africa’s banknotes, committed to upgrading the equipment and other facilities, such as forensic laboratories in their plant. KBA-No-taSys was then tasked with supporting the upgrade, among other things, to enable a smooth transition to the country’s new bank-notes. This not only included physical installation, but also the education and up-skilling of SABN technical personnel to oper-ate the machinery for the production of new banknotes, without disturbing the production of the current series.

The team of experts from SARB, SABN and KBA-NotaSys worked around the clock, against pressing deadlines, to ensure that a new series of banknotes was launched before the end of 2012.

“There were a few challenges along the way, as can be expected when embarking on a project of this nature, but we executed a rigorous project plan and adhered to very strict deadlines. This culminated in the successful launch of the new banknote series,” explains Joyce Kumbirai, Managing Director of the SABN.

The new banknotes incorporate state-of-the-art security, techni-cal and design features such as intaglio printing, watermarks, unique numbering, security threads, micro-lettering, fluorescent and colour-changing ink, to name but a few.

¶ Joyce Kumbirai, managing director of the sABn


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Other design features on the new banknotes include South Af-rica’s official Coat of Arms, the 11 official languages and other uniquely South African cultural symbols, such as San Rock Art. Historically, the design of South Africa’s banknotes has been a reflection of the country’s national heritage and unique culture. This new series of banknotes has followed in that well-estab-lished tradition.

The lAunch of The new BAnKnoTesPrior to launching the new banknote series, the SARB embarked on a national information campaign to educate the public about the new banknotes on television, radio, print media and social media platforms, as well as through a nationwide road show to all the nine provinces of South Africa.

single note or full series

When launching a new family of notes an important question is whether it

should be brought into circulation as a full series at once, as done by SARB

or one note at a time, as currently done by the ECB for EURO Series II.

Mr Ismail is very clear about the South-African approach: “We see a clear

benefit in launching the full series at once especially with regards to the point

of communication we discussed before, showing the full family at once makes

it a lot easier to communicate as the banknotes and their design do most of

the talking. In South-Africa the notes will co-circulate for at least 1 year so

people will have plenty of time to get use to them, and the SARB continues

to educate the public about the new banknotes in order to make them aware

of the security features.

sPeCiMen

sPeCiMen

The 200 rand note is the highest denomination in the series µ


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history of south african banknotes 1782 to 1920

In 1782, the Dutch Governor Van Plettenberg was obliged to introduce, for the

first time in the history of the Cape, paper money, owing to his inability to pro-

cure from the Netherlands a sufficient quantity of coinage for the requirements

of the settlement. This earliest paper money was issued in rixdollar and stiver

denominations, the currency of the Cape at that time.

As there was as yet no printing press in the Cape, all the notes until about 1803 had

to be hand written. They featured a Government fiscal hand stamp indicating their

value and the authority date of the issue. After 1803, all notes were printed, but for

some time to come they continued to show the fiscal hand stamp.

The first bank to be established in the Cape was the Lombaard Bank. It was

a State bank and opened its doors at Cape Town in 1793, with the view to bringing

additional money into circulation, and thus assisting those who suffered from lack of

currency. This bank was entrusted with the issuing of the Government notes.

It closed in 1883, being forced out of business by the private banks. The first private

bank in South Africa was the Cape of Good Hope Bank which opened in 1837.

As the hinterland developed and trade expanded, more private banks came into

existence. Altogether approximately 30 of these sprang up between 1837 and 1882.

Most of them issued their own paper money, some only in one, others in more than

one denomination. Three large trading houses as well as one mining firm issued their

own paper money between 1850 and 1860. In 1877 an imperial bank, the Standard

Bank of British South Africa Ltd., opened its doors in Cape Town.

Two other imperial banks entered the Cape subsequently. All these new banks

issued their own paper money. With large capital behind them they made it their

SARB also initiated a consultative process with the banking, vending, transportation, casino and related industries to facilitate the machine adaptation process, in preparation for the release of the new banknotes.

Commercial banks and other cash-handling institutions were also given training on the security features of the new banknotes. The information campaign was also extended beyond South African borders to the Common Monetary Area (CMA), and other neigh-bouring countries such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe, where the South African currency circulates. The new banknotes were offi-cially launched into circulation on 6 November 2012.

lAsT word“We received very good support from the KBA-NotaSys. The direct consultation was invaluable and we certainly ben-efited from knowledge and different style of thinking,” adds Aboobaker Ismail, former head of SARB’s Currency and Protection Services Department and now Special Adviser to Deputy Governor, Francois Groepe.

The SABN now boasts a world-class printing factory that competes with the best in the world.

The new banknotes have been positively received by the South African public. While there have been a few isolated reports of counterfeit banknotes, it is nothing out of the or-dinary. The SARB continues to encourage South Africans to familiarise themselves with the security features of the new South African banknotes and to examine them to ensure that they are genuine before accepting them. ®

business to open up branches throughout the Colony, and to take over as many

of the remaining private banks as was possible. By 1892, they had absorbed all

but one of these, namely the Stellenbosch District Bank. Established in 1882,

the Bank still exists to this day. At the time of Union in 1910, three of the impe-

rial banks, joined by a comparative newcomer from the Transvaal, were the only

survivors to issue paper money in their own name in the Cape Province.

Printing

In general, all Government issues of paper money were locally produced.

This however, was not the case with the notes issued by the private and imperial

banks, as well as other large banks.

Most of these banknotes were printed in England. In the middle of the 1860’s

however, a number of banks resorted to the use of locally printed paper money,

which in most instances was produced by a Cape Town printers firm called

Soul Solomon & Co. Thereafter banknote forms were once again imported from

England. This remained the case until 1962, when a banknote factory was

established in the Republic of South Africa. Ever since, this factory has taken

care of the requirements of the South African Reserve Bank.

the republic of south-africa

In 1961, South Africa changed its currency from pound sterling to Rand and

cents, and when in the same year the country became a republic, the new

currency was retained.

The South African Reserve Bank thereafter commenced withdrawing the old Pound

Sterling currency banknotes, replacing them with banknotes of the new currency.

we executed arigorous project plan and adhered to very strict deadlines.


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argentIna’S new $100 eva perón nOte, accOrdIng tO the engraver whO created evIta’S pOrtraIt

TECHNOLOGy

Its development is a good example of collaboration between dif-ferent cultures, as the general design was carried out in Geneva, Switzerland, by the renowned atelier Roger Pfund, who worked to-gether with a team of designers from Casa de Moneda, Argentina’s National Mint. The portrait of Eva Perón, featured on the note, was created in Lausanne by Sergio Pilosio, an engraver at KBA-NotaSys. Sergio, of Argentine and Italian citizenship, has worked for the Casa de Moneda in Buenos Aires for 14 years.

As he explains, this new note has been a well-kept secret for the President, who was particularly proud to be able to introduce it un-expectedly to the Argentine people. It is in fact based upon the 1952 design and sketches of Renato Garrasi, which were going to be used for a 5-peso note of the time. However, the coup that overthrew Gen-eral Perón government in 1955 meant the project was lost for nearly 60 years. The present note preserves the symbolism of the era: the passion, the enthusiasm, the emotion, the femininity and determina-tion reflected in the reconstruction of the image of Evita, defender of the poor and the oppressed. Eva Perón has become a myth for most of the Argentines: born in1919 in a humble family, she married Colonel Juan Perón in 1945; he was to become President the follow-ing year by an electoral landslide. Until her untimely death at 33, Evita kept fighting for the rights of the poor and downtrodden, doing vast social work that included hospitals, orphanages, and tireless ef-forts on behalf of women and children. Some of the institutions and programs she created have survived her and are active to this day.

Sergio Pilosio’s challenge was to interpret 1952 photographic and watercolour portraits using the latest technology, therefore engraving on a computer screen rather than on copper, as he was trained to do. “Engraving is the art of interpreting lines, strokes and points. When I engrave manually I know from experience which depths should be used so that they may be printed in Intaglio”, he says. “Digital en-graving means the computer will transform designs into algorithms, and I must admit that going from manual engraving to digital has been traumatic!”, he confesses. Sergio was trained as a jewellery en-graver at the Raggio school of Arts&Techniques in Buenos Aires, and he joined the Casa de Moneda in 1978 as engraving technician. At the time, he says, the Casa de Moneda was the ultimate in terms of engraving. He worked there for 14 years until he moved to Switzer-land in 1991, and was hired by Delarue-Giori as banknote engraver. Some of his works include the 500,000 Dong vignette for Vietnam, in 1992; a variety of portraits and vignettes for a new series of bank-

On July 25, 2012 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina, unveiled the new $100 note featuring a portrait of Eva Perón.This new note, which boasts many of the most recent security features, was issued on the 60th anniversary of Evita’s passing, and to honor her legacy.

notes for India in 1994, and the design of a new series for Venezuela between 1997 and 2000.

TechnologicAl innovATion And securiTy meAsuresThe watermark on the new $100 note, another portrait of Eva Perón, was done by an Argentine artist living in Paris; the reverse of the note is an allegory that uses symbols such as the olive branch, represent-ing the tranquillity of the people, the cornucopia as a metaphor of abundance and wellbeing, the scales of social justice, and the bas-relief of the Ara Pacis representing the goddess mother and protector of all her creatures, as homage to the legacy of Eva Perón.

This note also represents the result of a process to enhance the pro-ductive platform of the State Mint which, thanks to an investment plan, managed to optimize the performance of their older machines and allowed them to work with the latest technologies. The result of this synergy is a note of excellent technical and artistic quality, with innovative security features. Among these is the presence of a 5mm-wide strip, visible against the light, with a silver background and showing two colours, blue and yellow, under ultraviolet light. The main feature of this resource is that it includes a multi-tone im-age that is seen as a 3D image when observed against the light. ®

µ presentation of the 100 peso bill as a tribute to eva perón. Image by

Casa Rosada, used under Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA

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