Techniques

High-Security Printing Capabilities for All Applications

Standard printing security features no longer suffice in today’s advanced threat landscape. At Ashton Potter, we leverage our extensive history of government-grade printing and finishing solutions to protect highly sensitive documents and products from tampering and counterfeiting.

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Multi-Dimensional Security for a Multi-Dimensional Threat Landscape

Ashton Potter considers security at all stages of the process—from design to development, printing, and finishing.

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Secure Product Design and Development

From the very onset of a project, we work with your team to identify the security features best suited for your application, working to incorporate appropriate measures into the final design.

Micro / Nano Printing

A very small line comprised of text or images printed at such a high resolution that it cannot be duplicated by standard printers. Such text can be small enough that the unaided human eye cannot discern the difference between it and a normal line or image.

Guilloche Patterns

A series of two or more intersecting lines that are constructed in a continuous and/or overlapping pattern, typically curved to resemble an intricate weave or wave, making it extremely difficult to copy or otherwise reconstruct.

Intentional Error

An intentional printing mistake or error known only to the printer.

Intaglio Lathe or Vignette

A method for complementing traditional two dimensional printing with three dimensional features through specialized materials and techniques. Combined with the plate’s engravings, which can vary in width, length, and depth, a single ink, with various security features, can portray itself in different colors or brightness depending on the viewing angle or other conditions.

Latent Image

A hidden image which becomes visible when viewed at different angles.

Anti-Counterfeiting Solutions

We utilize an array of advanced anti-counterfeiting solutions ranging flexo, screen and intaglio printing—to prevent falsification or diversion from impacting integrity, authenticity, and prestige.

Liquid Crystal (Rolic)

Our partner Rolic Technologies Ltd.’s patented Light Controlled Molecular Orientation (LCMO) is the core technology that embodies today’s production standard for photo-aligned LCD manufacturing. Its optical effects are utilized in the security industry for the manufacture of forgery-proof elements, such as in banknotes, identification documents, and brand protection.

Taggants

A generic name for a variety of covert materials not naturally found in the ink, printing substrate, or other carrier. Taggants can only be detected by specialized equipment that emits electromagnetic energy and analyzes its effects on the item in question to determine if such materials are present or not.

Color-shift Inks

A series of security inks containing variable pigments or small pieces of metallic substances whose addition causes a color change effect that varies based on the viewing angle or lighting and cannot be replicated or easily reproduced on standard copiers or scanners. These inks can be used in a range of printing methods, including intaglio, screen, or flexo printing.

Other Security Inks

Security inks have elements or features which when printed, either react to the altering or tampering, have anti-photocopying properties, or can confirm authenticity with or without the use of a device.

Holographic Feature and Foiling

Holographic images are created through the use of a physical structure that diffracts light, where ‘hologram’ can reference either the structure or the image itself, and can be viewed by either an illuminated print or aiming a laser through the structure to view the image on a screen.

Tamper Evident Adhesives

Tamper evident technologies which are designed to, when removed, reveal a hidden message, such as “VOID,” or where all of the adhesive remains on the surface and/or no adhesive remains on the tape film.

secure printing and finishing

Secure Printing and Finishing

We offer product design, prepress, and printing across all major printing methods to uphold your most stringent requirements for security.

High-line Screen Printing (Stochastic)

Stochastic screening, or staccato or frequency modulation (FM) screens, refer to micro-dots (20 micron, 10 micron) that are fixed in size and increase tone values by adding more dots. The dots are rendered in a pseudo-random algorithm making them ideal for high definition details in postage stamps and are rendered in a ‘weave’ to create very smooth tonal transitions.

Pantograph

A method of printing a background which produces a warning message when photocopied.

Prismatic Tints

A printed feature demonstrating a controlled subtle color shift in a linear, continuous fashion.

Blind Embossing

A colorless relief image embossed or debossed on a non-printed part of a document.

Tamper-Evident Die-cuts

A series of fine line slits which are die-cut onto a pressure sensitive adhesive substrate that, once applied onto a surface, delaminates and /or destructs at first attempt to remove, thereby proving that the substrate has been tampered with.

Security Substrates

Unique substrates which have security features, elements, or treatments applied or added to them, including watermarks, either machine-made or artificial, chemical sensitivity, embedded threads, visible or invisible fibers, particles, planchettes, and frangibility.

A Deep History in High Security Printing

Learn about our 90+ year track record delivering scalable high security printing solutions for government-grade applications.

Our History

sas model print security

Delivering a High Security SaaS Solution

Augment and extend your security printing with a dynamic SaaS based product security solution.

Our Product Security Solution

Securing the Global Supply Chain, One Product at a Time