14th March 2023
RAPID® Vision Meets High Demand for Intelligent Banknote Security
Breakthrough Innovation with Secure Color Movement
Crane Currency today presents RAPID® Vision, a new and innovative micro-optic security thread for banknotes that brings high-contrast color movement to a new level.
“RAPID Vision is the best banknote security thread on the market, and a tribute to Crane Currency’s R&D and production teams. It is a breakthrough innovation, unlocking for our central bank customers fluid, fast-moving color movements never seen before. It’s an intelligent security solution given its ability to address the many needs of modern banknotes, both for the public and machines,” says Sam Keayes, President of Crane Currency.
Crane’s micro-optic features are unique in that the complexity of their production is hidden. A mastery of precision, material science and proprietary equipment produce effects that are very difficult to simulate but very easy for the public to verify, and within a fraction of a second.
The new security feature was presented at Crane Currency’s Public First event in Malta, a currency learning event bringing together approximately fifty central banks, banknote printing works, scientists and industry experts from around the world.
New Public Perception Study
At the Public First event, Professor Jane Raymond, CEO of Secure Perception Research presented the results of a public perception study assessing the particular trigger features used in RAPID Vision.
“The study showed that the addition of color movement effects allowed the public to more quickly verify the feature and without any loss of accuracy. Highly accurate verification was achieved in fractions of a second,” said Jane Raymond.
The demand for new security threads has increased over the years. Bright, attractive features that are dynamic enough to be verified quickly and in different lighting conditions are highly sought. Traditional solutions were shiny foils and metallic inks. However, counterfeiters are accessing commercial materials that can simulate these features. RAPID Vision provides central banks with a solution that provides stable, high contrast color movements that do not exist elsewhere.
RAPID Vision exhibits real time color effects that perfectly synchronize colors and movement. The combination has never been achieved before and represents a step-change advancement in security for banknotes, raising the bar even higher for would be counterfeiters.
Crane Currency’s micro-optic design software leverages two decades of software development to deliver a transparent and linear creation process. Customization of RAPID Vision uses the same process that dozens of central banks around the world have used for over a decade to create MOTION® and RAPID® security threads. From initial customer concepts to digitization, sample prototyping, and scaled production, central bank input is kept at the center of the feature’s customization. The result is a transparent, predictable process that harmonizes feature customization with the design of the banknote.
“We advanced our digital design process to keep pace with RAPID Vision, so central banks can immediately start experimenting with its new color movement effects exactly as before. In spite of the increased complexity of the technology behind RAPID Vision, the customization process is just as straightforward and enjoyable as with RAPID and MOTION,” said Yadira Sierra, Vice President of Design at Crane Currency.
The proven familiarity of the design process is helpful for another reason.
“We have already been approached by a number of central banks that are exploring use of RAPID Vision security thread to protect new and upgraded high value banknotes. It is important for them that the new banknote exhibit movement effects that complement the features in existing banknotes, or allow for complementary effects across an entire series of banknotes from transactional to high denominations,” continued Sierra.
More of What Works
Because security is tied to micro-optics’ secure movement, the effects exhibited by RAPID Vision are entirely new but also still familiar.
“The excitement that RAPID Vision has created is similar to what we saw in 2014 when Crane Currency launched RAPID. At that time, no one had seen movement effects so fast and clear, with colors stable at every viewing angle. Today, RAPID Vision provides that same high-contrast movement but with multicolor effects. It provides central banks a whole new way to secure banknotes that is unexpected and attractive,” commented Tod Niedeck, Marketing Director at Crane Currency.
Facts about RAPID Vision
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