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Security
holograms have become well-established in many industries
and are commonly found on a host of products and packaging,
including compact discs, computer software, cosmetics,
watches, and sporting goods. Other security uses include
clothing hang tags, certificates (automobile registration,
fine jewelry, etc.) tickets (concert, sporting event,
etc.), passes (ski lift, back stage, etc.), and many
kinds of identification and membership cards You probably
have a security hologram in your pocket...there has
been one on every VISA® and MASTER CARD® produced
for the past twelve years! DOVID's also grace federal
currency and passports in countries such as Austria,
Bulgaria, Finland, Kuwait, Switzerland, and Russia.
In the United States, you'll find high security DOVIDs
on driver's licenses in many states, as well as on
postage stamps and a variety of government issued
bonds and certificates.
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The
decision to integrate a security and authentication
system into your organization's product line or printed
documents is a positive marketing step as well as
a prudent economic choice. According to IHMA1, when
properly carried out, the system should accomplish
all of the following:
- Assure
your customers that the product is genuine and
will perform according to specifications
- Increase
or preserve sales by reducing the sale and use
of counterfeit products
- Enhance
the visual appeal of the product or document and
its packaging
- Make
exact product counterfeit more difficult and unlikely
- Provide
potential forensic information for prosecution
- Establish
defensive evidence against possible defective
product and negligence claims.
For a printed
item, such as an identity card or document with intrinsic
or exchange value:
- Ensure
that only the correct individuals carry the item
or document
- Ensure
that only genuine items or documents are in use
- Make
counterfeiting more difficult and unlikely
- Provide
potential forensic information for prosecution
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Holograms belong to a class of images known as Diffractive
Optical Variable Image Devices (DOVIDs) and are rapidly
becoming the quintessential method of protection against
counterfeiting. Highly valued for security, DOVIDs
can only be produced using expensive, specialized
and technologically advanced equipment. They cannot
be replicated by color copiers, computer scanning
equipment, or by standard printing techniques (analog
or digital )since they are governed by different physical
properties (holograms diffract light whereas print
reflects it). Given that counterfeiters inherently
select the path of least resistance, encountering
a security hologram will frequently cause them to
abandon their efforts to copy your product and move
on to easier targets. As a result, the use of hologram
security devices virtually guarantees product authenticity.
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All A D 2000 Inc. holograms employ a combination of
overt and covert security components. Overt DOVIDs are
visible to anyone and everyone who views them (no special
experience or equipment is necessary to see the image
and/or information contained in the DOVID). Covert elements
can take many forms, from highly secure machine readable
authentication to proprietary graphics which can be
identified only by a trained eye. |
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The importance of adding security features to a product
or document depends upon the magnitude of the potential
loss. Simply adding a hologram to your product will
not prevent counterfeiting, but it significantly ups
the ante for the counterfeiter. The security a hologram
provides is to some extent tied to the complexity
of the image, and since not all products need the
same protection, HoloBank produces DOVIDs in varying
security levels. The required level can be determined
by examining several factors, including actual or
perceived product value, cost (in money or breach
of security) if your product is bootlegged, and the
likelihood that a counterfeiter will go to extreme
lengths to copy both the product and its DOVID authentication.
A useful analogy might be: to determine the height
of the fence needed, you must consider whether its
purpose is to keep school children from trampling
the flower patch or to thwart professional mercenaries
hired to steal your gold!
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Fully custom
holography involves the design and creation of unique,
proprietary images in three dimensions. However, with
set- up costs starting at $5,000, fully custom holograms
can only become cost effective in volume orders around
$10,000. Standard delivery for fully custom projects
is 4 to 6 weeks, though some rush projects can be
accomplished in under a week, please contact
us immediately if your project has a due date
less than 4 weeks away. |
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We've found that there are an extraordinary number
of businesses that would benefit from the use of security
holography, but whose budgets cannot accommodate the
high tooling costs or longer lead times of custom
security holograms. HoloBank was created to address
these issues. HoloBank keeps over a million holograms
in over a hundred designs ‘on the shelf’
for shipments as fast as ‘same day’. The
following section describes a variety of customization
options offered by HoloBank. The prices are shown
on the security
label ordering and pricing page. HoloBank
offers a wide range of stock security images created
using state of the art holographic techniques. When
employed correctly, our stock security holograms provide
the same functional level of security as fully-custom
images, but at a fraction of their cost. For most
projects, HoloBank customized stock security images
offer an unbeatable combination of perceived authenticity
and value.
HoloBank uses state of the art laser technologies
when creating stock security holograms. Each image
has certain unique features which make it visually
exciting as well as difficult to copy. Even images
which look simple are actually created using highly
complex techniques, many of which are proprietary
to the lab in which they were created. |
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For projects where our custom holography is not viable
due either to cost or time constraints, HoloBank offers
three unique levels of security: custom etched stock
hologram images (where your ad copy or logo is added
as a diffractive element), overprinted stock (where
your ad copy or logo is printed on top of the stock
image hologram of your choosing), and ‘off the
shelf’ stock which is a substantial ‘step
up’ from no-hologram and is excellent for lower-security
requirements. All HoloBank security holograms offer
a high level of perceived authenticity and value for
small fraction of the cost of low-run fully custom
projects |
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Following
are a number of the specific techniques employed by
A D 2000 Inc. to customize and further authenticate
security hologram labels.
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Customizing images through etching or overprinting
offers great flexibility within a hologram authenticity
program. Whether you begin with a stock or fully custom
hologram, the addition of etching or overprinting
allows multiple uses of the same image, for instance
you may wish to have multiple departments dates or
dates while employing a single hologram image.
Custom etching is a sophisticated and powerful way
to customize the look of an image, whether stock or
custom. For a one-time set-up cost (generally around
$1,500), we will etch your logo or ad copy into the
holographic master shim, so that each hologram has
your message showing as a 2D surface graphic.
Customized Overprinting adds your logo or ad copy
as an overprint color (generally black or white) for
a very low set up cost and an added running charge.
Tamper Evident (T.E.) labels describes products that
in some way show ‘evidence of tampering’
if removal is attempted (as long as the original application
was to a smooth, clean, and dry surface). If the T.E.
label is removed, the remaining portions that come
off will be invalid and / or unusable.
Tamper Evident hologram labels are excellent if your
product can be out-dated or canceled after issue (such
as ID cards). Without tamper-evident protection, the
label could be removed and applied intact to a counterfeit
product. A D 2000 Inc. offers a number of Tamper Evident
solutions depending on the specific project requirements
Sequential numbering, available on orders of 1,000
images or more, appears in black on top of the hologram
in sizes of 1/16" or 1/8". Consecutive numbers
can serve a variety of purposes, such as product tracking,
inventory control, and multiple uses of a single stock
hologram.
HoloBank stock security holograms are provided on
rolls as kiss-cut square or round labels ready for
hand application. However, many images can be die-cut
in varying shapes and sizes for an even greater level
of customization.
Cutting a label can be a complex issue and deserves
special attention. For automatic application, the
accuracy of cutting and uniformity of the repeat down
the web is critically important. The prices in this
catalog all assume that labels will be applied by
hand. Please advise your HoloBank sales representative
if the project will require machine application and
they will provide a job-specific quote. All labels
are supplied with acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive.
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A D 2000
Inc. offers a full range of options for custom holograms
in hot stamping foil, and HoloBank offers a number
of ‘off the shelf’ registered and continuous
security hot foils for shorter run requirements. Please
email your specific requirements
and we will have one of our specialists contact you
with further information. |
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These low cost alternatives that some companies refer
to as ‘holograms’ are not, in fact, dimensional
holograms at all. Rather, these ‘holographic
diffraction patterns’ are generally available
‘off the shelf’ through thousands of non-security
graphic supply sources worldwide. Though A D 2000
Inc. offers cost-effective imprinted diffraction labels
for advertising and promotion, the use of our HoloBank
Stock Security options (listed below) offers far superior
security at a similar cost to the diffraction pattern
option. If you are interested in our diffraction label
line, please email a request
for our complete Diffraction Label Catalog.
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