Guardian® banknote substrate is the world’s leading secure banknote material due to its ability to accommodate and integrate a variety of security features.

Presently there are 16 security features that can be used in Guardian^® substrate that use a wide range of technology and exhibit a full spectrum of visual and sensory characteristics.

The security features are identified in five ways:

Look At: features that are viewed in reflection

Metalix™

METALIX^™ is a breakthrough metallic-effect feature that is available exclusively from Securency.

Until now, metallic inks have been restricted to embedded banknote features such as threads and foils. Exposure to alkaline substances such as washing detergent quickly breaks down the integrity of traditional metallic inks, making them unfit for printing on banknotes.

METALIX^™, however, is resistant to alkalis retaining a brilliant lustre throughout the life of the note.

This exciting new colour range opens up an entirely new landscape of options for banknote design: Metallic green, blue, violet, red, copper, silver and gold can now be printed directly over transparent windows, creating yet another integrated security option for client nations.

WinVU®

WinVU^® is the immediately recognisable vignette design feature placed in the transparent window that adds both aesthetic and security dimensions to a note. The opacity of the window is adjusted to achieve distinctive designs, while complex line structures add tremendous difficulty to replicating the window.

MultiCLR®

MultiCLR^® (pronounced: MultiColour) refers to the multi-coloured effect generated by different colours within the substrate. An effective security measure, MultiCLR^® is available in a wide range of colours and is integral to the overall banknote design.

Microlettered threads

Printed security threads can be incorporated during the manufacture of Guardian^® banknote substrate. This includes creating micro-text from thread, which can also be included in a transparent window if desired.

Look Through: features that are viewed in transmission

WinTHRU®

WinTHRU^® is the large transparent window located on the banknote, and is a primary security feature that can be customised for each denomination using integrated security features to produce a uniquely secure note.

All Guardian substrate banknotes feature at least one large transparent window, although multiple windows are now becoming more popular.

Shadow Image

The shadow image in Guardian^® banknote substrate uses a tonal image to create an effect similar to a watermark in a cotton-paper banknote. It is produced by altering the opacity or the colour of a substrate layer and is therefore far more durable than a traditional watermark. Shadow image highlights can also be employed as bold text or numerals that are more apparent when viewed in transmission.

Half Window

The half window is a variation on the full transparent window, with one side of the banknote opacified. The resulting effect is a glossy surface on one side while the other side becomes a normal printing surface. As with WinTHRU^®, the half window supports complexity by housing additional security features.

Look Around: features that require the note to be moved for authentication

LATITUDE™

LATITUDE^™ is a sophisticated optically variable device that is designed within one or several large transparent windows. Verification of the note’s authenticity is immediately apparent to the user by moving the note back and forth, picking up intricate colour and kinetic changes.

While conventional banknote technology depends on the use of foils that limits optical effects to simple stripes or basic patches, LATITUDE^™ uses a unique foil-less method that allows complete freedom to create intricate designs of any complexity, in any size, and in one or several positions across the note.

AURORA™

AURORA^™ is an innovative design technology that has taken the use of colour shifting inks to a sophisticated new level.

Named after the vibrant colour shifts seen in the natural polar phenomenon, AURORA^™ uses these inks in specific colour combinations to create complex and distinct colour shifts that cannot be replicated with even the most advanced digital printing machines.

Critically, when integrated with Securency’s design expertise in drawing from a palette of AURORA^™ colour pairs, colour splitting, colour movement and combination effects are possible. The results are highly distinctive and eye-catching and allow for immediate authentication.

G-Switch®

G-switch^® is a dynamic optical feature that enables the banknote to change colour when tilted under a light source. The bright and transient colour-switching effect is produced in the substrate layers. When viewed at different angles, it alternates between two contrasting colours, creating a reflective effect.

WinBOSS®

WinBOSS^® is a permanent embossed mark that adds a physical dimension to the banknote’s authenticity. Client nations have found this security feature most effective as a security device and most appealing to the public when the embossed mark appears as a 'transitory’ image in the transparent window, combining tactile and visual characteristics.

IRI-Switch®

IRIswitch^® features a colour changing ink with a pearlescent sheen which is used to print broad colour bands or images onto Guardian^® banknote substrate. When viewed at different angles, the colour and texture of the iridescent feature changes significantly.

TIED®

TIED^® (Transparent Intaglio Disappearing Effect) is an augmentation technology that involves transparent intaglio printing onto the reflective metallic gold. This combination creates a disappearing effect as the intaglio print is only visible at viewing angles where the background is in high reflection.

Look With: features that require a device for authentication

WinDOE®

WinDOE^® is an optically variable device (OVD) that appears in a transparent window and is only visible in transmission with the assistance of a distant point light source. This ingenious device is unique for its ability to be seen best at night or in dim light, an environment that often renders cotton-paper based security features unusable.

By holding the WinDOE^® feature up to the eye with a distant point light source in the background (light bulbs or street lights for example, not the sun) the transparent window is transformed into a recognisable image via light diffraction.

MAGread®

Threads can be used in Guardian^® banknote substrate, and contain metallic, magnetic, phosphorescent and fluorescent pigments. In addition to being positioned straight through the note, Guardian^® banknote substrate allows thread to be a complex curved pattern, non-continuous, or multi-directional.

Image Gallery - Horizontal - Item - Plain 1794

Feel: features that provide tactility

Domino™

DOMINO^™ is a durable and visually subtle, tactile embossed feature that aids the vision impaired in recognising, denominating and orienting banknotes both reliably and quickly.

DOMINO^™’s high abrasion resistance with GUARDIAN^®’s smooth substrate properties enhances the distinctive feel of the DOMINO^™ feature making it superior to other similar tactile-based features on paper-based substrates.

Issuers

Benefits

Design Evolution of Guardian®

Security Features

Guardian® banknote substrate is the world’s leading secure banknote material due to its ability to accommodate and integrate a variety of security features.

Look At: features that are viewed in reflection

Metalix™

Look Through: features that are viewed in transmission

Look Around: features that require the note to be moved for authentication

LATITUDE™

AURORA™

G-Switch®

TIED®

Look With: features that require a device for authentication

Feel: features that provide tactility