Covert techniques are in-design hidden techniques that often require special tools to view. These techniques add a higher level of security to hologram labels and since they are hidden, they do not effect the visible design and style of the label itself.
Please have a look at our covert in-design techniques below. For demonstration purposes, each technique is shown as part of our own sample hologram label design. Clients can request physical sample labels from us in order to see how these techniques function in the real world.
Sample Hologram Label
CLR / Animated CLR
Covert Laser Readable (CLR) image allows for static or animated images to be embedded into the hologram and can typically only be read with a laser beam pointed to a hologram label at an angle and the reflection appearing on a white paper. Since the CLR image is hidden and can be made quite small, counterfeiters will have a hard time finding and reproducing this security technique.
Covert Raster Effect
Initially appearing as a simple raster effect image, hidden text can be viewed using a special reading device. Due to it’s hidden nature, counterfeiters will have trouble finding and duplicating this level of security.
Lens Effect
The lens effect is typically placed in strategic areas with in the hologram design and gives the appearance of a simple circle, however upon closer examination with a magnifying glass, the circle will actually appear like a lens.
Animated Concealed Image
This type of effect creates an animated outlined image that can only be viewed from certain angles.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a Quebec based group, developed standards for Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), including passports and visas. These MRTD make it easy for automated systems to scan a travel document. If a country decides to check all visitors against a known criminals data reading the information automatically with a computer will be much faster and less prone to error than if the immagration agent needs to type the information in by hand.
If you're interested in original materials, do not bother with the ISO versions. These $27 documents (well, 34,00 CHF) are are essentially a single page saying, "See ICAO Document 9303". ICAO 9303 is much better and includes several pages documenting the history of the document. It's a bit expensive at $62. You might be able to get it through inter-library loan. I borrowed a copy of the much briefer 3rd edition this way. The 5th edition is much larger (126 pages versus the 30 or so), but I don't access to the 5th edition and am unable to comment on what has been added in the remaining 100 pages.
MRTD's have a Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) at the bottom of them. These MRZes are printed in the monospace font OCR-B. It is printed as "Size 1", which works out to be about 14 point. Further details on the font can be found in ISO Standard 1073-2:1976. The exact location of the MRZ, the type of paper, reflectivity and the like are futher documented in ICAO 9303 and ISO 1831:1980.
On a MR Passport there are two lines. Each line is 44 characters long. There are no blank spaces; where one is necessary is it filled with the filler character, a less than sign (<). Here is an example from ICAO 9303. This person is from the fictional country of Utopia, the country code (UTO) is invalid. I've reformatted it to be similar to a United States passport.
PASSPORT PASSEPORT PASAPORTE
UTOPIA
Type / Type / Tipo
P
Code / Code / Cédigo
UTO
Passport No. / No. du Passeport / No. de Pasaporte
L898902C
Surname / Nom / Apellidos
ERIKSSON
Given names / Prénoms / Nombres
ANNA MARIA
Nationality / Nationalité / Nacionalidad
UTOPIAN
Date of birth / Date de naissance / Fecha de nacimiento
06 Aug 1969
Personal no / no personnel
ZE184226B
Sex / Dexe / Sexo
F
Place of birth / Lieu de naissance / Lugar de nacimiento
ZENITH, UTOPIA
Date of Issue / Date de délivrance / Fecha de expedición
24 Jun 1989
Authority / Autorité / Autoridad
Passport Office
Date of expiration / Date d' expiration / Fecha de caducidad
23 Jun 1994
Ammendments / Modifications / Enmiendas
See Page 24
P
Notable differences between the example data and an actual US passport:
The Place of Birth (if in the United States) will be in the form "State, U.S.A."
The Authority will specify the city of the passport office (New Orleans is one possibility
Passport numbers are 9 digits with no letters.
There is no personal number.
Type, Code, and Passport No. are on the same line. Sex and Place of birth are on the same line. Date of issue and Authority are on the same line. (I haven't figured out how to format it correctly without some tortorous HTML.)
All fields are padded with less than signs (<) to fill the required width. There should be no whitespace in the MRZ. Only letters A through Z, digits 0 through 9, and the filler character < are allowed. Some extended letters are mapped to other sets of characters per the following table. The alternate encoding is used when the normal encoding might caused confusion between different names.
This field is the passport holder's name. The general format is "LAST". The name is entirely upper case. Puncuation (like hyphens) are replaced with the filler character < The surname is given first, then the filler character twice (<<), then the remainder of given names. Separate names in the surname or given name are separated with the filler character < The filler character < pads out the field to fill 39 characters.
Suffixes (Jr, Sr, II, III, etc) are encoded as part of the last name, without punctuation.
If the name is too long to fit the most significant parts of the name are used. Names may abbreviated if necessary to make them fit.
In the above example Anna's surname is Eriksson, her first and middle names are Anna and Maria. Her name is encoded as
ERIKSSON<
George Michael Richards-Stevens Jr. would be encoded as
RICHARDS
######### - Passport Number
This is the passport number, as assigned by the issuing country. Each country is free to assign numbers using any system it likes. If the number has non-letter or number characters they are replaced with the filler character <.
C - Check digit
Check digits are calculated based on the previous field. Thus, the first check digit is based on the passport number, the next is based on the date of birth, the next on the expiration date, and the next on the personal number. The check digit is calculated using this algorithm.
bbb - Nationality
The issuing country or organization, encoded in three characters. The code is pulled from this table.
In the example above the code is UTO. This code doesn't exist; it's the fictional country of Utopia for the example.
YYMMDD - Date of Birth
The date of the passport holder's birth in YYMMDD form. Year is truncated to the least significant two digits. Single digit months or days are prepended with 0.
In the example Anna was born in August 6th, 1969. That encodes as "690806".
s - Sex
Sex of the passport holder, M for males, F for females, and < for non-specified.
This is a check digit for positions 1 to 10, 14 to 20, and 22 to 43 on the second line. Thus, the nationality and sex are not included in the check. The check digit is calculated using this algorithm.
Check Digit Calculations
First, break the input into individual characteres and numbers.
Next, convert non-digits into numbers. A through Z are encoded to 10 through 25. The filler character < is encoded as 0.
<
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
0
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Now, multiply each number by the corresponding weighting. The first digit is multipled by 7, the next by 3, and the next by 1. The pattern then repeats (7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, etc).
Add up the results, then divide by 10. The remainder is the check digit.
As a special case, if the personal number on the second line is not used (and thus entirely filled with the filler character <), the check digit for that section can be replaced with the filler character <.
This table is used for both issuing country and nationality. If the code is shorter than 3 characters it is padded to three characters with the filler character <.
Dithers a continous tone image to 1-bit black and white line art. Three dithering algorithms are offered including an algorithm developed by former Apple software developer and now nature photographer Bill Atkinson. Despite beeing coarser his algorithm produces much better looking results by default. I want to thank Mr. Atkinson who passed the algorithm on to John Balestrieri (see HyperDither below) and Mr. Balestrieri for sharing the information.
SCREENSHOT
PRICING
Freeware or 12 EUR for version shown in the screenshot above. Mac OS X alternative: HyperDither
PLATFORM
Tested with WINDOWS XP and WINDOWS 7 - 64 bit For other Windows versions please test yourself using the demo version below!
COMPATIBILITY
Tested with Photoshop 6, 7, CS, CS2, CS3 and CS5.1. For other versions please test yourself! A monitor resolution of at least 1024 x 768 pixels is required. Does not work with Adobe Photoshop (64 bit).
PLEASE TEST YOURSELF
Please try out the demo below before ordering to make shure that the plugin works well with your Photoshop and Windows version.
SUPPORTED IMAGE MODES
8 bit, RGB, Grayscale
DOWNLOAD
(Right-click the link and choose "Save")
FREE VERSION
ditherfree.8bf This free version has a smaller preview, no image enhancement controls, no color options and no "blend with original" modes.
Navigate to the Photoshop application folder into a subfolder named Plug-Ins (i.e. Zusatzmodule in German).
To keep things organized create a meaningful named subfolder in the Plug-Ins folder. Move the downloaded file into this newly-created folder.
In Photoshop use Filter > Martin Koch line art > Dither to run the plugin.
UNINSTALL
Navigate to the Photoshop application folder into a subfolder named Plug-Ins (i.e. Zusatzmodule in German).
Find and delete the ditherdemo.8bf file.
RELEASE NOTES
Version 1.0 released on July 19, 2007
BACKGROUND
FLOYD-STEINBERG ALGORITHM
X 7/16
3/16 5/16 1/16
The gray value of every pixel (X) is compared to 50% gray and either set to black or white. The entire error (pixel value minus pixel value after applying the threshold) is distributed to the neighbor pixels as shown (7/16+3/16+5/16+1/16=1). As the image is processed from left to right and from top to bottom the threshold is applied to already altered pixels and the error is distributed again and again.
BILL ATKINSON ALGORITHM
X 1/8 1/8
1/8 1/8 1/8
1/8
Only three quarters of the error are equally distributed to six neighbor pixels as shown.
RANDOM DITHER
Every pixels is compared to an individual, randomly determined threshold level. Gray values below the threshold level become black, values above become white.
dither Convert an image, increasing apparent color resolution by dithering Syntax
X = dither(RGB,map)
BW = dither(I)
Description X = dither(RGB,map) creates an indexed image approximation of the RGB image in the array RGB by dithering the colors in colormap map. X = dither(RGB,map,Qm,Qe) creates an indexed image from RGB, specifying the parameters Qm and Qe. Qm specifies the number of quantization bits to use along each color axis for the inverse color map, and Qespecifies the number of quantization bits to use for the color space error calculations. If Qe < Qm, dithering cannot be performed and an undithered indexed image is returned in X. If you omit these parameters, dither uses the default values Qm = 5, Qe = 8. BW = dither(I) converts the intensity image in the matrix I to the binary (black and white) image BW by dithering. Class Support The input image (RGB or I) can be of class uint8, uint16, or double. All other input arguments must be of class double. The output image (X or BW) is of class uint8 if it is a binary image or if it is an indexed image with 256 or fewer colors; otherwise its class is double. Algorithm dither increases the apparent color resolution of an image by applying Floyd-Steinberg's error diffusion dither algorithm.
In this tutorial you'll learn how to create a security seal using Guilloche, the artistic technique that is typically used in banknote design and other documents to prevent them from being forged.
Background
According to Wikipedia, "Guilloche is a decorative engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically engraved into an underlying material with fine detail. Specifically, it involves a technique of engine turning, called guilloché in French after the French engineer 'Guillot', who invented a machine 'that could scratch fine patterns and designs on metallic surfaces'. The machine improved upon the more time-consuming practice of making similar designs by hand, allowing for greater delicacy, precision, and closeness of the line, as well as greater speed."
Surely there's a Guilloche design in your everyday life. Bills, checks, ID cards, passports, driver licenses and several documents including academic diplomas or certificates. Any kind of document that requires some complex graphics to avoid being forged, are using Guilloche in some way or another.
This lost art is still kept alive due to the necessity of authenticating a paper that has some value and there are companies dedicated to this job. Securency is a global company specialized in creating designs for banknotes in over 22 countries: securency.com.au/.
Online Guilloche Pattern Generator
Googling "guilloche" you'll find many images related to this technique, and even some free or pay apps for these creations. Guilloche Pattern Generator allows you to create a guilloche rosette online, but only exports a low-resolution JPG. Anyway it's interesting to spend some time creating different patterns to understand better the technique: subblue.com/projects/guilloche.
Guilloche Software I: Excentro (Mac)
Excentro is Mac OS software for creating all kinds of elements using Guilloche. This app seems to be very complete, but it costs $500, a bit expensive for a tool that we'll use occasionally: excourse.com/excentro/.
Guilloche Software II: GuardSoft Cerberus
Other apps such as Cerberus GuardSoft are specific to companies involved in the creation of banknotes and documents, and in this case the price is not published on its website, but is likely higher than Excentro's: guard-soft.com/cerberus.html.
In our tutorial we'll create a fictitious Security Seal that may be used in diplomas, certificates, or seals for software or an original DVD. Since the amount of patterns that can be made with Illustrator are unlimited, we'll explain only some basic designs for you to know how they can be made and then you can investigate on your own how to create new patterns.
Step 1
One of the most important starting tasks is to create a grid that will help us to draw objects as accurately as possible. The dimensions of the document are important and also the use of guides to mark the exact center of the workspace.
Then we'll create a new 800 by 800 px document. In Edit > Preferences we'll set two things: the measure unit in pixels, and size/color of the Grid. We need a grid of 100 pixels subdivided to 10, obtaining small 10 px squares. Use a not very dark color to help you have the grid always visible without bothering your sight.
Step 2
It's also important that at many steps of our exercise you ask Illustrator to place an object snapped to the grid, or you can hide/show it all the time and the same with the exact center of the document guides. There will be some mechanic tasks that will require extreme precision and that's why we'll use all that help and guidance in our drawing job.
Step 3
In a 800 by 800 px document with a grid of 10px and Guides in the center, we'll draw an oval of 80px width and 200 px height, aligned with our vertical guide and touching the top of the document.
Dragging an object with the grid visible makes it stick to the grid to be finally placed with accuracy. This oval has no fill color, just a stroke of 0.25 points and a Black color at 80%.
Step 4
In the exact middle point (we hide our guides so you can see better) draw a cross that will help you turn the oval using the document axis.
Step 5
While pressing Alt + Shift, drag the oval to the opposite side. The Alt key will duplicate the original object and Shift moves it through a straight line.
Step 6
We group both ovals with the cross and double-click on the Rotate tool, which will open its options window. We'll rotate our group 2 degrees making a copy and leaving the original where it is.
Step 7
A keyboard shortcut that we'll use often in this tut is Command + D. Once we rotate a copy of our group, press Command + D to create more copies with the same rotation angle. Will start to see what was the purpose of this group of items as we keep pressing Command + D.
Step 8
We took a full turn of 360° rotating 2 ovals and this is the first outcome of our tutorial, a basic Gulloche rosette pattern. We remove all the crosses as we only used them to help us with the group duplication. Delete all of them using the Group Selection Tool.
Step 9
We need our pattern not to look so basic so we'll remove some of the ovals. Double-clicking on our first oval will select the opposite one. Delete the group.
Step 10
Going clockwise you must delete 1 group of ovals and leave the following 6. This action will make equal blank spaces across the pattern.
Step 11
This is the final look of this task. Now our pattern isn't basic and it looks a bit elaborate. We shall see later whether to modify the stroke weight, but first let's get all the necessary elements for a later edition once we have it all.
Step 12
In a new layer we'll cover a large part of the rosette with a 740 px circle, filled with a white color, and using the same stroke of 0.25 pt and black color at 80%.
Step 13
Now create a copy that is 97% smaller by selecting the circle and double-clicking on the Scale tool. Again we'll make a copy to preserve the original object.
Step 14
Go to Window > Pathfinder, and while selecting both circles we'll choose Divide. This action cuts both circles into two different objects.
Step 15
We'll separate this group with Object > Ungroup, then select the outer ring you will cut and paste it into a new layer, thus leaving the other circle in a layer below it.
Step 16
Between the ring and the circle we'll repeat the task of creating a rosette, this time smaller and thinner than before. Then repeat the previous steps of duplicating this new oval and draw a cross for reference.
Step 17
Since our ovals are narrower, this time the pattern will be tighter. With Command + D, repeat the rotation of 2 degrees as we did before to complete the whole 360° rotation.
Step 18
Taking a look to what we have drawn so far, we'll notice that it's giving us some cool results. At this point we have a typical guilloche style pattern, but we'll continue to create more complex forms in this exercise.
Step 19
Let's draw a 36 points star. Select the Star tool, click on the exact center of the document, and then fill the options with these sizes and amount of points.
Step 20
We'll round the star corners in Effect > Stylize > Round Corners.
Step 21
Use a radius of 20 pixels in the options box.
Step 22
Illustrator creates Appearances on objects, giving another look to an objet without destroying the original. So you'll see that the star still has its points, but they look curved. In the next steps we will remove that appearance, but for now we'll continue this way. What we have to do now is make a copy of our star, but 50% smaller. With the star selected double-click on the Rotate tool to enter these values.
Step 23
Now we work with the Blend Tool. Select both stars and then click on an edge of the bigger star.
Step 24
Clicking on the same tip of the smaller star we'll see the mixing effects between two objects. We will modify that.
Step 25
Double-clicking on the Blend tool will show its options. We need 30 steps of blending.
Step 26
We get another classic Guilloche pattern: the Oyster. To hide the outer edge of this pattern we'll create a solid stroke above it.
Step 27
Select both stars and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Now we can copy and paste the bigger star in a new layer.
Step 28
There we will apply a 9 points stroke on our new star, and will convert this line into curves by going to Object > Path > Outline Stroke.
Step 29
With the Eyedropper Tool we can click on another element of the tut and give the same values to the new one. First select it and then choose another item to obtain the same appearance.
Step 30
Now let's draw a line around this star we've got. Using the Line Segment tool we will create a vertical line at the exact middle of the file. Hide the central guides by going to View > Guides > Hide Guides for a better view.
Step 31
Since the star had 36 points, we'll repeatedly copy this line until you get 36 lines rotated 10°, each to complete the whole 360°.
Step 32
Remember that we can also use Command + D here to duplicate the turned line. You will see that these new lines match with the curved edge of the star.
Step 33
Now we group these lines by selecting them and pressing Command + G or by going to Object > Group. And again we'll make a copy of this group, but only using 5° of rotation.
Step 34
This has filled the spaces between lines with other lines. We'll reduce them a bit to match the stroke of the star without exceeding that area.
Step 35
Now we'll select the first set of matching lines with the star edges. Now change the stroke color to black and increase the weight to 3 points.
Step 36
Finally, we'll make a copy of the smaller star placed in some layer below. We'll paste it over all and we'll rotate this new element 5° matching the star edges with the dark strokes created before.
Step 37
In a new layer we'll create a 200 px circle with black color at 80%. With the Ellipse tool, click on the document and write these values in its window. Then place the circle in the exact center.
Step 38
Now we'll use a very interesting tool of Illustrator: Scribble. Go to Effect > Stylize > Scribble with our circle selected.
Step 39
In the Scribble Options dialog box enter these values. This action creates symmetrical curves within the circle using its fill color to draw some lines with an ornamental look.
Step 40
With simple steps we get a spherical shape made of moire lines. Using other figures and playing with parameters, you'll find interesting uses of the Scribble tool in the Guilloche style.
Step 41
Now create a 660 px circle with the Ellipse Tool. Select that tool and click on the workspace to open its window and enter the exact value. Once you've drawn this circle, you can accurately center it with a simple trick: pressing Command + 1 will exactly center your screen. Then select your circle, press Command + X (Cut), then Command + V (Paste), and Illustrator will place the object perfectly centered into your document.
Step 42
We'll increase the circle stroke to 80 points using the same color all over the work, with 80% black.
Step 43
Now let's draw a new circle where you'll apply a text that surrounds the previous circle. We repeat the above steps, but this time draw a 645 px circle.
Step 44
Choose the Type on a Path Tool and click on the top point of the circle. This makes a text field so we can start writing.
Step 45
Using the Times New Roman Bold font at 21 point size, start to write the text and then select it with the Type tool in regular version. Then press Command + C one time and Command + V several times to duplicate it.
Step 46
To approximate the distance between first and last copied text, we'll increase text tracking to 33. The tracking value will depend on the text you type, and our purpose is to create a continuous text as united as possible from beginning to end.
Step 47
Be sure to use a new layer for each object that we created because that helps to edit the file later. Now create a "V" using Times New Roman Bold at 450 pt. Try to align this letter leaving 2 large areas on its bottom sides to enter additional text. Then convert it into outlines by applying Type > Create Outlines.
Step 48
Then we'll create a wave pattern to fill our V. Select the Line Segment tool in the toolbar and click on the screen to open the editing window, entering these values. Apply to this line 0.25 pt weight and 80% black. Then select it and press Shift + Alt, then drag a few pixels down. Now duplicate this action with Command + D to create a straight lines pattern.
Step 49
Select all lines and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Zig Zag. In that window, enter these parameters and press OK.
Step 50
We'll use our V to mask this pattern. Copy the V we made earlier and paste it into the lines pattern layer. To create a mask with this vector always place it above the object to mask, and remove any fill or stroke leaving this vector completely transparent. Select the pattern and the V and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make or press Command + 7.
Step 51
In order to properly show the pattern on the V we should change its color to white. To select objects within a mask you can use the Group Selection Tool.
Step 52
Let's create another pattern for the filling of our V. Draw a circle at 280 pixels, align it with the vertical guide and 60 pixels away from the top of our document.
Step 53
Choose the Rotate Tool and click on the lowest point of the circle. Your cursor will change from a cross to a black arrow, taking that point as the rotation axis. Now press the Alt key and you'll see how the cursor changes to a double arrow, indicating that the object will be duplicated. With the Info window open, make sure to rotate the copied object as close as possible to 6°.
Step 54
With Command + D you will repeat this action to complete a 360° rotation.
Step 55
This is the result of what we just did, a new rosette pattern normally used in Guilloche designs. We'll also change the stroke color to white.
Step 56
Increase the thickness of the strokes to 0.5 points to get a better contrast from the wave lines pattern. We'll mask our rosette in the same way as we did with the previous pattern, and make sure to place the rosette center in a non-visible area inside the mask, because at that spot there is a lot of lines, and it won't look good inside our V.
Step 57
Zooming in with Command + we can appreciate the details in our V. This combination of patterns is used very often in Guilloche style work.
Step 58
In a new layer we'll copy and paste our V again to create a stroke around it. Select and go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter these parameters in the editing window:
Step 59
Offset Path creates another object behind the original, grouping both. We'll use just the outer stroke so we must split these vectors. To ungroup them, go to Window > Pathfinder and choose the Divide option. This cuts both objects separately and we can remove the inner vector to preserve the other.
Step 60
With Alt + Shift we'll create a copy upward to the left top to create a 3D extrusion. Then fill it with white and black at 80% color stroke with 0.25 pt weight.
Step 61
Now we finish our label edition by adding a gradient in the outer morphed star behind the V. Since these are 2 objects joined with the Blend Tool, what we do with the outer shape will affect the morph with the inner shape. So let's fill the big star with 20% black and white 0.5 pt stroke. We'll also change the small star's stroke with the same values as the big one, but keeping its white color fill.
Step 62
Let's edit a final text in our seal, drawing a 300 px circle centered on our document.
Step 63
Previously you must download and install this font in your OS: dafont.com/united-states.font. It's a similar font to the one used in dollar bills.
Step 64
Select Type on a Path Tool and click on the top of the circle, then begin to write using our new font at 21 pt, always using black 80%.
Step 65
Selecting this new text path, click on the tool and this will open its window where you'll choose these options. By selecting the Flip option our text will use the inner side of the path.
Step 66
With the Selection Tool you can drag that little line at the beginning of the text. That will allow you to move the text within the path to your desired position.
Step 67
Since we want this text not to be overlapped with the V letter, we'll add some blank space typing with the space bar.
Step 68
If for some reason your text doesn't fill the whole path, you can edit the text tracking for better results. In this case the text exceeds the space and we had to reduce the tracking in order not to touch the V.
Step 69
Once we finish, we'll add a Drop Shadow on the text. Go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow.
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Step 70
We'll reduce the blur to zero because smooth shadows aren't a style used in Guilloche. Enter the other parameters of this capture and press OK:
Conclusion
Finally, we've got a realistic Guilloche seal working with Illustrator and certain precision tricks used in this style. Now that you've learned some techniques, you can observe Guilloche designs and try to replicate those that inspire you later with vectors.
Black at 80% gives a smooth look to the seal and brings better integration between shapes. You should try to paint each layer with a different color, because a multicolor guilloche seal is also helpful for counterfeiting prevention due to the prints complexity.
Don't forget to play around with Copy + Rotate in simple shapes to create new rosettes and know all the creative possibilities of the Blend Tool, Moire Scribble, Wave Patterns and Shapes with Rounded Corners, like the stars we drew.
