In our daily lives, many important identity documents contain personal data. To facilitate verification, holograms have been gradually introduced. Holographic images offer a unique and attractive appearance for quick visual identification, and they are made by using high-resolution lithography systems, making them extremely difficult to counterfeit.
Even with significant effort and cost, achieving a perfect replica is nearly impossible, thus establishing holography as a crucial anti-counterfeiting measure for documents.
The Need for Transparent Holograms
Many identity documents, such as driver’s licenses, passports, and ID cards, require data reading. Traditional aluminum-coated holograms can cover the information on these documents, affecting readability. Hence, transparent holograms were developed for use on documents, leading to the introduction of HRI technology.
What is HRI Technology?
HRI technology, which stands for High Refractive Index, was first seen in passports issued by the United Arab Emirates. This transparent holographic overlay is created by using high refractive index materials to form a clear layer, then coating it over the holographic image.
The high-refractive transparent medium offers high diffraction efficiency and light transmittance without affecting the recognition and reading of document information.
The materials used to produce HRI are typically oxides (such as titanium dioxide) or sulfides (such as zinc sulfide). Currently, Suzhou Image employs mostly zinc sulfide in its optical card film production.
The highly transparent anti-counterfeiting film, when applied to designated documents, not only serves as an authentication measure but also protects the personal data contained within passports.
Customized Solutions for Various IDs and Documents
Suzhou Image Technology produces customized hologram overlays suitable for various card printers, integrating multiple levels of security features to provide high anti-counterfeiting performance that is extremely difficult to replicate.
These tailored anti-counterfeiting solutions meet the needs for personalized graphics and security technologies, applicable to various IDs, residence permits, social security cards, and driver’s licenses.
Using specialized lamination machines, the optical overlay film forms a protective layer on the card surface, preventing physical scratches and enhancing the card’s security. HRI technology ensures high transparency and appropriate diffraction rates on the card surface without covering printed information.
Applications of HRI Technology
Currently, HRI technology is mature and widely applied in the production of various card-type and booklet-type documents. Here are five types of optical security films using this technology, which effectively ensure the safety of long-term use legal ID documents and other important documents, while also preventing surface wear.
Surface-Applied Hologram Patch: Also known as patch film, this is lined on a release film and then hot-pressed onto PVC cards, offering strong scratch resistance.
Edge-to-Edge Transfer Film: Using specialized lamination equipment, the pattern on the film completely covers the entire standard CR80 card surface, achieving seamless coverage.
The film and card appear as one unit, with dynamic color changes on the surface, effectively preventing information tampering.
Embedded Lamination: Suitable for card manufacturers, this solution heats large sheets of embedded overlays applied to cards using large laminating equipment. The card material must match the film material to ensure adhesion.
ID Card Laminate Pouches: Commonly used for large events, conferences, and concert passes, these consist of an inner core with attendee information and an outer optical laminate pouch.
After lamination, the personal information on the inner core must be readable and identifiable, thus typically using HRI technology for transparency rather than an aluminum coating.
Passport Lamination: Suzhou Image provides roll and sheet forms of hologram passport films to protect personal information on passports from counterfeiting.
Suzhou Image Technology has a professional R&D team continually exploring high-security anti-counterfeiting technologies to safeguard ID and document security. For sample requests, please get in touch with our sales team.
