JP7613044B2 - Anti-counterfeiting printed matter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printed matter with anti-counterfeiting treatment, and more particularly to an anti-counterfeiting printed matter with printing that is normally invisible.

To increase the security of securities and other items, it is common to use invisible inks that emit light when exposed to light of a specific wavelength, such as ultraviolet light or infrared light. A common type of invisible ink is fluorescent ink. By using fluorescent ink, it is possible to form luminous areas on securities and other items that only appear when invisible light of a specific wavelength range is irradiated on them. Furthermore, by using such luminous areas, it is possible to determine whether securities and other items are genuine.

On the other hand, invisible ink, which is colorless and transparent under normal visible light, can sometimes make the printed pattern visible to the naked eye due to the ink's impregnation and the gloss of the ink and the medium itself. For example, when invisible ink is printed on coated paper using offset printing, the ink does not soak into the paper due to the characteristics of the base material, and the invisible printed area can be seen due to differences in gloss and unevenness of the printed area.

As described above, if the security ink printing area is easy to see, it is undesirable because it makes it easier for counterfeiters to obtain information on the materials used for counterfeiting. To make the security-imparting area less obvious, methods have been proposed, such as embedding security features into the base material as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and applying a protective film to make the security features less visible as disclosed in Patent Document 2. However, this increases the number of production steps for the base material, which makes the product more expensive.

The simplest method is to use printing plates with a negative/positive relationship for the print design and varnish sections. Patent Document 3 claims that by using a halftone dot pattern, it is possible to make the borders between fluorescent ink printed areas less noticeable. However, this poses the problem that the total area of the luminescent printed area becomes smaller, resulting in lower luminescence intensity.

Patent No. 4517109 Patent No. 4028851 Patent No. 5262961

The present invention aims to provide an anti-counterfeiting printed matter in which the areas printed with fluorescent security ink are difficult to see under normal observation conditions, the fluorescent ink emits sufficient light when irradiated with ultraviolet light, and the anti-counterfeiting effect is high, while also reducing manufacturing costs.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
A counterfeit prevention printed matter having a pictorial character printed portion visible under normal conditions and an invisible security printed portion invisible under normal conditions on at least one surface of a substrate,
The invisible security print portion is a thin line formed with red fluorescent ink, a thin line formed with green fluorescent ink, and a thin line formed with blue fluorescent ink, which are arranged at a predetermined interval and width,
The thin lines of red fluorescent ink, the thin lines of green fluorescent ink, and the thin lines of blue fluorescent ink are repeatedly arranged in a predetermined order, and have portions where they are arranged in a locally different order in the anti-counterfeiting printed matter.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting printed matter, the thin line may be a line extending in a fixed direction within the invisible security printed area.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting printed matter, the invisible security print portion may be a linear pattern, and the thin line may be a line extending in the thickness direction of the linear pattern.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting printed matter, the thin lines may be printed by offset printing, gravure printing, or flexographic printing.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeit printed matter, the thickness of the thin lines may be set in the range of 0.03 to 0.17 mm.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting printed matter, the spacing between the fine lines may be set in the range of 0.03 to 0.17 mm.

In the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting printed matter, an overcoat varnish layer having a dot area ratio of 100% to 40% may be provided on the entire upper surface of the picture and character printed area and the invisible security printed area.

According to the anti-counterfeiting printed matter of the present invention, by making the invisible security printed part a security pattern consisting of a collection of thin lines of fluorescent ink, it is possible to make the fluorescent emission intensity as strong as that of solid printing. Furthermore, by printing the security pattern as a collection of thin lines of multiple fluorescent inks, when irradiated with ultraviolet light, it appears to be made of a single color of fluorescent ink when viewed with the normal naked eye, but when magnified with a magnifying glass or the like, it can be observed that it is printed with multiple fluorescent inks, such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B), resulting in a printed matter with a high anti-counterfeiting effect.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an anti-counterfeit printed matter of the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram showing how the anti-counterfeiting printed matter of FIG. 1 appears when irradiated with black light. Schematic diagram of an enlarged invisible security print area. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a security pattern. Fluorescent ink thin line arrangement example 1 Fluorescent ink thin line arrangement example 2 Fluorescent ink thin line arrangement example 3 Schematic diagram of an anti-counterfeit printed matter when viewed with the naked eye.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In addition, the embodiments described below have technically preferable limitations for implementing the invention, but these limitations are not essential requirements for the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1 is composed of a base material 11, a picture and character printed area 12, and an invisible security printed area 13.

The substrate 11 used in the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1 of the present invention is one that has a smooth and glossy surface, such as coated paper, art paper, thermal paper, or a plastic substrate. A picture and text printed section 12 is printed on at least one side of the substrate 11, and this picture and text printed section 12 is printed with a picture and warnings according to the intended use of the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1. The invisible security printed section 13 is an area printed with ink containing a fluorescent pigment that emits fluorescence when irradiated with ultraviolet light, and cannot be seen by the naked eye under normal conditions, but by using a verification machine such as an ultraviolet irradiation device, the invisible printed pattern becomes visible due to the emission of fluorescence, making it possible to determine the authenticity of the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1.

The pictorial and text printed section 12 is printed using normal printing methods such as offset printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing, or inkjet printing and printing with thermal transfer ribbon. The invisible security printed section 13 is printed using normal printing methods such as offset printing, gravure printing, and flexographic printing.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing how the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1 in Figure 1 appears when it is illuminated with a black light 2. The black light 2 is a light that emits ultraviolet rays in the so-called UV-A wave (wavelength 315 to 400 nm). When illuminated with the black light 2, the invisible security print part 13 of the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 1 emits fluorescence, and the security pattern 13' appears.

Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of the invisible security print section 13. When a portion 14 of the invisible security print section 13 is enlarged, as shown in the enlarged portion 14' and re-enlarged view 14'', it is composed of thin lines of red fluorescent ink 13R, green fluorescent ink 13G, and blue fluorescent ink 13B, and these thin lines are arranged at a constant thickness and intervals. Note that to simplify the drawing, only a portion of the thin lines are shown. When irradiated with black light 2, the red fluorescent ink 13R emits red light, the green fluorescent ink 13G emits green light, and the blue fluorescent ink 13B emits blue light. It is preferable that each thin fluorescent ink line has a line width in the range of 0.03 to 0.17 mm, and is similarly spaced apart by 0.03 to 0.17 mm.

When thin lines printed with fluorescent ink are spaced apart at intervals of 0.17 mm or less, they are perceived as a single line. In general, if a printed color image is composed of 150 YMC (yellow, magenta, indigo) dots, the individual dots are not recognizable. Since an interval of 0.17 mm corresponds to approximately 150 lines, such an interval means that the thin lines are not individually visible to the naked eye, and they appear as a single block. Furthermore, when thin lines are printed with fluorescent ink at a line width, or thickness, of 0.03 mm or less, the fluorescence is weak, reducing their effectiveness as security printing. On the other hand, if the lines are made thicker than 0.17 mm, the effect of appearing as a block is weakened, as mentioned above, and this is not desirable.

The shape of the invisible security print 13 is not particularly limited, and may be any shape pattern, such as the linear pattern shown in FIG. 1 or the star pattern 13a in FIG. 4(a). The direction in which the thin lines of fluorescent ink that form the invisible security print 13 extend may be arranged to extend in a fixed direction within the pattern, such as the thin line 23a in the example of FIG. 4(a), but lines that extend in partially different directions may also be combined. When the invisible security print 13 is a linear pattern 13b as in the example of FIG. 4(b), the thin lines may be arranged to extend in the line width direction, i.e., thickness direction, of the linear pattern 13b, such as the thin lines 23b, 23c, and 23d.

The printing arrangement of the fluorescent inks of each color can be arranged in a fluorescent arrangement 43 shown in Fig. 5, in which the red fluorescent ink 43R, the green fluorescent ink 43G, and the blue fluorescent ink 43B are arranged in order with almost no gaps, and when the black light 2 is irradiated in this case, the whole appears to emit white fluorescent light. When this invisible security print is irradiated with black light, the security pattern 13' emits light and appears white, as in Fig. 2, but when enlarged with a magnifying glass or the like, the colors of the fluorescent light composed of thin lines can be seen separately, which enhances the counterfeit prevention effect. In addition, when a specific luminous color other than white is to be used, the line width of the red fluorescent ink 43R, the green fluorescent ink 43G, and the blue fluorescent ink 43B can be appropriately changed to obtain a specific luminous color.

As an alternative arrangement of the red fluorescent ink, green fluorescent ink, and blue fluorescent ink, as shown in the print arrangement 5 in FIG. 6, if a fluorescent arrangement 54 in which green fluorescent ink 54G, red fluorescent ink 54R, and blue fluorescent ink 54B are arranged in this order is provided as part of an arrangement consisting of a fluorescent arrangement 53 in which red fluorescent ink 53R, green fluorescent ink 53G, and blue fluorescent ink 53B are arranged in this order, white fluorescence will be visible to the naked eye as in the example of FIG. 5, but when viewed with a magnifying glass or the like, the different arrangement will be visible, providing an even greater anti-counterfeiting effect.

In addition, when the substrate 11 of the anti-fogging printed matter 1 is coated paper, it often contains a fluorescent whitening agent to make the paper appear whiter. Therefore, there is no need to print blue fluorescent ink, and as shown in Figure 7, a fluorescent arrangement 63 can be used in which only red fluorescent ink 63R and green fluorescent ink 63G are printed, and the blue fluorescent portion 63B is left unprinted, utilizing the effect of the fluorescent whitening agent contained in the substrate 11, thereby obtaining the same effect.

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 7 when viewed with the naked eye under normal conditions, and the invisible security print cannot be seen with the naked eye under normal conditions. In addition, by providing an overcoat varnish with a dot area ratio of 100% to 40% on the entire upper surface of the anti-counterfeiting printed matter 7, the step between the invisible security printed part 13 and the pictorial character printed part 12 or the base material 11 becomes less noticeable, making it even more difficult to see.

Examples of phosphors to be dispersed in the fluorescent inks of each color include, but are not limited to, blue phosphors such as perylene, 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene, and poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene), green phosphors such as coumarin-based dyes, quinacridone-based dyes, poly(p-phenylenevinylene), and poly(fluorene), and red phosphors such as 4-dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran derivatives, 2,3-diphenylfumaronitrile derivatives, and coumarin-based dyes.

According to the present invention, the substrates used for event tickets and the like are often smooth-surfaced substrates such as coated paper and thermal paper, due to the need for design and immediate issuance. However, as an anti-counterfeiting measure for these printed materials, an invisible security print portion, which is a security pattern made of a collection of thin lines printed with fluorescent ink, is provided, which makes it difficult for gloss and unevenness differences to occur, and it is possible to incorporate an anti-counterfeiting measure without the general public realizing it. In this case, by making the invisible security print portion a collection of thin lines printed with fluorescent ink, it is possible to make the invisible security print portion difficult to see, and to make the fluorescent emission intensity the same as that of solid printing.

In addition, by using fluorescent inks of multiple colors, such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B), for the invisible security printing portion and printing them as a collection of thin lines, the fluorescent printing portion appears to have a uniformly luminous pattern when viewed with the naked eye, but when the pattern is enlarged with a magnifying glass or the like, it can be seen that it is printed in multiple fluorescent colors, making it a medium with high counterfeit prevention effects.

1, 7... Anti-counterfeit printed matter 11... Substrate 12... Pictorial character printed section 13... Invisible security printed section 13'... Security pattern 13R... Red fluorescent ink 13G... Green fluorescent ink 13B... Blue fluorescent ink 14'... Enlarged section 2... Black light 4, 5, 6... Printing arrangement 43R, 53R, 63R... Red fluorescent ink 43G, 53G, 63G... Green fluorescent ink 43B, 53B... Blue fluorescent ink 63B... Blue fluorescent section

Claims (7)

A counterfeit prevention printed matter having a pictorial character printed portion visible under normal conditions and an invisible security printed portion invisible under normal conditions on at least one surface of a substrate,
The invisible security print portion is a thin line formed with red fluorescent ink, a thin line formed with green fluorescent ink, and a thin line formed with blue fluorescent ink, which are arranged at a predetermined interval and width,
the thin lines of red fluorescent ink, the thin lines of green fluorescent ink, and the thin lines of blue fluorescent ink are repeatedly arranged in a predetermined order, and have a portion where they are arranged in a locally different order;
Anti-counterfeiting printed material. An anti-counterfeiting printed matter as described in claim 1, characterized in that the thin lines are lines that extend in a fixed direction within the invisible security printed area. An anti-counterfeiting printed matter according to claim 1, characterized in that the invisible security print is a linear pattern, and the thin lines extend in the thickness direction of the linear pattern. 4. The anti-counterfeiting printed matter according to claim 1, wherein the thin lines are printed by any one of offset printing, gravure printing, and flexographic printing. 5. The anti-counterfeiting print according to claim 1 , wherein the fine lines have a thickness in the range of 0.03 to 0.17 mm. 6. The anti-counterfeiting print according to claim 1, wherein the fine lines are spaced apart from one another at intervals ranging from 0.03 to 0.17 mm. 7. The anti-counterfeiting printed matter according to claim 1, wherein an overcoat varnish layer having a dot area ratio of 100% to 40% is provided on the entire upper surface of the picture character printed area and the invisible security printed area.