30th November 2020


RAPID® HD Brings New High-Contrast Colors and Sharp Movement

High Definition Banknote Security

 

Crane Currency presents RAPID® HD, an advanced form of RAPID® micro-optic security thread that provides for even higher public engagement and ease of use. RAPID HD affords new customizable banknote design possibilities with a broad palette of rich colors that highlight sharp, fast movement effects.

Since its introduction to the industry in 2014, RAPID has been an extremely popular security feature. Within 12 months it found its way into over 1 billion banknotes.

RAPID HD is the next step in banknote security with sharper effects and a larger, richer color selection. It provides central banks with an expanded palette of design possibilities and increased ease of use.

“At Crane Currency, we constantly look to improve and enhance our security features, fundamentally and through better integration into the overall banknote design. Our R&D and Design Teams have taken micro-optics technology one step further with RAPID HD. It leverages the high counterfeit resilience of micro-optics while further improving the feature’s visual appeal and ease of use,” says Karin Como, Product Manager at Crane Currency.


Public First

A recent study in the Netherlands shows that people are quite good at picking out fakes from genuine banknotes within a second. To support quick public verification, you need a feature effect that is blatantly obvious – and at the same time very difficult to create.

In the domain of public security technology, contrast and movement are critical to providing easy and intuitive authentication. Easy to see movement is the public’s most important visual cue for verifying authenticity quickly and decisively.

RAPID HD security threads exhibit high contrast movement effects with images and colors that can exactly meet the theme of the banknote. The effects are always visible with only a ‘flick of the wrist’ and in any lighting condition.

The RAPID security thread was first introduced in 2014 and it quickly claimed the industry’s distinction of having the fastest and easiest-to-verify movement. RAPID HD raises this already high bar through advancements in material properties and processing that yield results that are deservedly described as high definition or “HD”.

 

Glide – The New HD Movement Effect

A new visual effect called “Glide” is offered together with RAPID HD. Glide effects propel customized images across the feature in response to even the slightest tilt of the banknote. The simplest advice to “look for the movement” is now even easier to follow.

RAPID HD packs increased security and ease of use into a security thread that is nearly 10% thinner than traditional RAPID. This reduction means its integration is made even easier.

RAPID HD security thread is also highly durable. It is resistant to soiling and oils and can be post-print varnished.


Machine Readability with RAPID HD Detect

RAPID HD Detect uses a secure IR material that is invisible to the public and easily detected by high-speed sorting and cash processing equipment. Only available to the currency industry, Detect exhibits a unique IR signal that can be easily verified by cash processing equipment.

Since 2005, Crane Currency’s micro-optic security threads have been used to protect tens of billions of banknotes issued worldwide and integrated into paper by the industry’s leading banknote paper mills.


Facts about RAPID HD

  • Expansive micro-optic color palette for enhanced banknote designs
  • Simple and intuitive movement, easy to see and understand
  • Quick movement – fast verification at a ‘flick of the wrist’
  • Thin and easy to integrate into modern, inventive window patterns
  • Available in widths from 3 to 6 mm
  • Sealed against soiling and varnish compatible
  • Additions: Detect machine-verification, UV fluorescence