Security features maintained in the enhanced Federal Reserve Notes include a portrait watermark visible when held up to a light, two numeric watermarks on the $5s, an enhanced security thread that glows under an ultraviolet light, micro printing, improved color shifting ink that changes color when the note is tilted, and on the newly redesigned $100 notes, a 3-D security ribbon and enhanced, raised printing...
is primarily made of wood pulp; however, United States currency paper is composed of 75% cotton and 25% linen...
and watermark are already built into the paper when it is received.
All bills, regardless of denomination, utilize green ink on the backs. Faces, on the other hand, use black ink, color-shifting ink in the lower right hand corner for the $10 denominations and higher, and metallic ink for the freedom icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills.
details such as outlines, tone, and shading will "translate" when engraved and printed on an intaglio press.
Then using a high-resolution film recorder, each color separation is imaged onto a sheet of sensitive film in negative form. A thin sheet of steel, coated with a light-sensitive polymer, is exposed to ultraviolet light while covered by the film negative which contains the imagery. The areas on the film that allow light to pass onto the plate are transferred or exposed. The unexposed areas around the images are washed away with water and soft scrubbing brushes. This process is called "burning a plate."
One plate contains the background pattern that will be printed in green and peach. The second plate contains the images that will be printed in blue — an eagle and the words TWENTY USA. The photoengraver takes great care to make sure the images are perfectly aligned on both plates, or else the images will not line up properly when printed on the bills
The blank sheet of paper passes in-between the face and back blankets and simultaneously prints the complete image on the paper. The press has eight print units, four on the face and four on the back, with two comprehensive computer control consoles. Many of the press settings can be controlled from these consoles and their status displayed on the computer screens
next section, Intaglio printing
Paper is then laid atop the plate, and the two are pressed together under great pressure. As a result, the ink from the recessed areas is pulled onto paper, creating a finished image
Sharp tools (commonly called gravers) and acids are used to cut the fine lines, dots and dashes that uniquely describe the subject the engraver is creating. Additionally, the engraver must cut the image in reverse to how it will actually print on a highly polished steel die.
individual plastic molds are made from the master die and are assembled into one plate containing 32 exact duplicates of the master die. Plate makers will then process this plate to create the metal printing plates that go on the presses
signatures into the plates using a pantograph machine. A pantograph copies the die engraving onto the plate. As one part of the machine traces the original engraving another part engraves the image onto the new plate.
Electroplating is how this is done. The plastic master, which is called the "basso", is sprayed with silver nitrate to act as an electrical conductor. The plate is then placed into a tank filled with a nickel salt solution, and an electric current is generated. Nickel ions leave the solution and deposit themselves on the electrically charged surface of the master. After about 22 hours, a nickel plate, called an "alto" has literally grown. The alto is separated from the plastic master, trimmed, and inspected by the engravers. The plate contains the mirror image of the master in all its intricate detail and is an exact replica of the original engraved die.
That final printing plate is coated with a thin layer of chrome to make it hard and slick. It contains the Intaglio image in recessed grooves only 2/1000 (0.002) of an inch deep — but that is deep enough to hold ink for intaglio printing.
High-speed, sheet-fed rotary I-10 Intaglio printing presses are used to print the green engraving on the back of U.S. currency
Paper is applied directly to the plate and under tremendous pressure (approximately 20,000 lbs. per sq. inch), the paper is forced into the engraved plate, thereby removing the ink and printing the image.
Sheets that were printed from the Back Intaglio process require 72 hours to dry and cure. During this drying process, the sheets bond and stick together. Therefore the sheets must be separated and neatly jogged before they can be printed on the Face Intaglio press. To do this the BEP employs automated joggers shaped much like the letter "C." Support personnel retrieve the load and place it into the jogger. The load is turned on its side and, through the combination of vibration and forced air, the sheets are separated. The process takes approximately 10 minutes. Once jogged, the load is moved to the designated Face Intaglio press.
Special cut-out ink rollers transfer the different inks to a specific portion of the engraving, thus allowing three distinct colors to be printed on the face of the note; the black for the border, portrait engraving, and signatures of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Treasurer of the United States; the color-shifting ink in the lower right hand corner for the $10 denominations and higher; and the metallic ink for the freedom icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills or color shifting ink on the redesigned $100 notes' freedom icons. Bills printed in Fort Worth, Texas, will also have a small "FW" printed in black ink. The loads of these freshly printed sheets will still require 72 hours to dry and cure before they can continue to the next operation.
To recap, the subtle background colors are printed first using Offset print technology, then the green engraving on the back is printed second using the Intaglio printing process. The third printing operation is the Face Intaglio printing process
transmissive camera is used to inspect the paper by looking through the sheets to ensure the thread and portrait watermark are in the correct position. In addition, two separate cameras take a digital picture of both the front and back of the sheets, breaking the images down into four million tiny pixels. After the sheets are trimmed, a trim camera takes measurements of the sheets. All data is gathered from the sheets and compared to what is considered a perfect "golden image," and within three tenths of a second, the computer decides if the sheet is acceptable or a reject, looking for defects such as ink spots, ink deficiencies, or smears.
The new serial numbers consist of two prefix letters, eight numerals, and a one-letter suffix. The first letter of the prefix designates the series (for example, Series 1996 is designated by the letter A, and Series 1999 is designated by the letter B). The second letter of the prefix designates the Federal Reserve Bank to which the note was issued. The serial numbers are overprinted in sequential order and remain in order until the 16-subject sheets are cut.
inspected by the COPE Vision Inspection System (CVIS)
is primarily made of wood pulp; however, United States currency paper is composed of 75% cotton and 25% linen...
and watermark are already built into the paper when it is received.
All bills, regardless of denomination, utilize green ink on the backs. Faces, on the other hand, use black ink, color-shifting ink in the lower right hand corner for the $10 denominations and higher, and metallic ink for the freedom icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills.
details such as outlines, tone, and shading will "translate" when engraved and printed on an intaglio press.
Then using a high-resolution film recorder, each color separation is imaged onto a sheet of sensitive film in negative form. A thin sheet of steel, coated with a light-sensitive polymer, is exposed to ultraviolet light while covered by the film negative which contains the imagery. The areas on the film that allow light to pass onto the plate are transferred or exposed. The unexposed areas around the images are washed away with water and soft scrubbing brushes. This process is called "burning a plate."
One plate contains the background pattern that will be printed in green and peach. The second plate contains the images that will be printed in blue — an eagle and the words TWENTY USA. The photoengraver takes great care to make sure the images are perfectly aligned on both plates, or else the images will not line up properly when printed on the bills
The blank sheet of paper passes in-between the face and back blankets and simultaneously prints the complete image on the paper. The press has eight print units, four on the face and four on the back, with two comprehensive computer control consoles. Many of the press settings can be controlled from these consoles and their status displayed on the computer screens
next section, Intaglio printing
Paper is then laid atop the plate, and the two are pressed together under great pressure. As a result, the ink from the recessed areas is pulled onto paper, creating a finished image
Sharp tools (commonly called gravers) and acids are used to cut the fine lines, dots and dashes that uniquely describe the subject the engraver is creating. Additionally, the engraver must cut the image in reverse to how it will actually print on a highly polished steel die.
individual plastic molds are made from the master die and are assembled into one plate containing 32 exact duplicates of the master die. Plate makers will then process this plate to create the metal printing plates that go on the presses
signatures into the plates using a pantograph machine. A pantograph copies the die engraving onto the plate. As one part of the machine traces the original engraving another part engraves the image onto the new plate.
Electroplating is how this is done. The plastic master, which is called the "basso", is sprayed with silver nitrate to act as an electrical conductor. The plate is then placed into a tank filled with a nickel salt solution, and an electric current is generated. Nickel ions leave the solution and deposit themselves on the electrically charged surface of the master. After about 22 hours, a nickel plate, called an "alto" has literally grown. The alto is separated from the plastic master, trimmed, and inspected by the engravers. The plate contains the mirror image of the master in all its intricate detail and is an exact replica of the original engraved die.
That final printing plate is coated with a thin layer of chrome to make it hard and slick. It contains the Intaglio image in recessed grooves only 2/1000 (0.002) of an inch deep — but that is deep enough to hold ink for intaglio printing.
High-speed, sheet-fed rotary I-10 Intaglio printing presses are used to print the green engraving on the back of U.S. currency
Paper is applied directly to the plate and under tremendous pressure (approximately 20,000 lbs. per sq. inch), the paper is forced into the engraved plate, thereby removing the ink and printing the image.
Sheets that were printed from the Back Intaglio process require 72 hours to dry and cure. During this drying process, the sheets bond and stick together. Therefore the sheets must be separated and neatly jogged before they can be printed on the Face Intaglio press. To do this the BEP employs automated joggers shaped much like the letter "C." Support personnel retrieve the load and place it into the jogger. The load is turned on its side and, through the combination of vibration and forced air, the sheets are separated. The process takes approximately 10 minutes. Once jogged, the load is moved to the designated Face Intaglio press.
Special cut-out ink rollers transfer the different inks to a specific portion of the engraving, thus allowing three distinct colors to be printed on the face of the note; the black for the border, portrait engraving, and signatures of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Treasurer of the United States; the color-shifting ink in the lower right hand corner for the $10 denominations and higher; and the metallic ink for the freedom icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills or color shifting ink on the redesigned $100 notes' freedom icons. Bills printed in Fort Worth, Texas, will also have a small "FW" printed in black ink. The loads of these freshly printed sheets will still require 72 hours to dry and cure before they can continue to the next operation.
To recap, the subtle background colors are printed first using Offset print technology, then the green engraving on the back is printed second using the Intaglio printing process. The third printing operation is the Face Intaglio printing process
transmissive camera is used to inspect the paper by looking through the sheets to ensure the thread and portrait watermark are in the correct position. In addition, two separate cameras take a digital picture of both the front and back of the sheets, breaking the images down into four million tiny pixels. After the sheets are trimmed, a trim camera takes measurements of the sheets. All data is gathered from the sheets and compared to what is considered a perfect "golden image," and within three tenths of a second, the computer decides if the sheet is acceptable or a reject, looking for defects such as ink spots, ink deficiencies, or smears.
The new serial numbers consist of two prefix letters, eight numerals, and a one-letter suffix. The first letter of the prefix designates the series (for example, Series 1996 is designated by the letter A, and Series 1999 is designated by the letter B). The second letter of the prefix designates the Federal Reserve Bank to which the note was issued. The serial numbers are overprinted in sequential order and remain in order until the 16-subject sheets are cut.
inspected by the COPE Vision Inspection System (CVIS)
