The printing of the hologram image in conventional colors is due to the fact that the hologram does not have a specific color. A holographic image is obtained by reflecting and refracting light on high-resolution structures. Depending on the angle of the incident light, it shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow, which was the reason for the name of the class of holograms - “rainbow” holograms. Some literature sources use the term “optical variable devices” (OVD).
By the way, on our website you will not find a photograph or a computer simulation of a hologram - we save your time, which is spent on loading the page. After all, it is still impossible to convey its unique image, just as it is impossible to paint in one picture the color of the sky, changing during the day.
The effectiveness of protective marking is determined by the degree of uniqueness of the information carrier of the marking.
Optical technologies have expanded the arsenal of security marking tools with holograms, which provide a client-level (exclusive) level of information recording that is not available for direct copying due to the highest resolution.
However, not every hologram is protective. Having the potential for holographic recording of exclusive information, the hologram must be protected not only from copying, but also from the possibility of its reproduction by third parties and unauthorized release of additional copies by the hologram manufacturer.
In this regard, the hologram must combine several different widely separated information recording technologies, including microscopic techniques, hidden images, numbering, etc., and have multi-level authenticity control: from visual to expert. The complexity of the hologram not only creates technological problems for the counterfeiter, but also increases the price barrier to the economic inexpediency of falsification.
When placing orders for protective holographic products, you should focus on enterprises that have licenses in the field of information security, as well as security and legal support, eliminating the leakage of products from the territory of the enterprise.
From point of view practical application holographic protection:
- It has different kinds versions: self-adhesive labels, foil for hot stamping, heat-shrinkable caps with a holographic stripe, combined labels with printed fields
- has resistance to environmental influences and mechanical damage
- can be applied to any material (paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), both manually and using automatic equipment
- can be applied at any stage, both by the Customer himself at the time of packaging the goods or issuing a document, and at the printing enterprise that produces packaging and paper information, under the control of the Customer (the supplied holographic products have an accurate quantitative assessment)
- makes it possible to create a single security element for all types of products (for example, on cardboard packaging, labels, bottles and accompanying documents)
- can serve both as an independent element of protection and additional element to already applied printing protections
- has the ability to fulfill unlimited order volumes in as soon as possible, since small-sized holographic products are manufactured on high-performance equipment
Holographic foil is also often used in security technologies, where optical elements for protection (kinegrams, holograms) are made from it, or used as a means of protecting a signature.
When you order foil for the manufacture of any product, be it packaging or decoration, the technologist of this enterprise must draw up a technical specification for the material. These documents are supplied to manufacturers along with the contract and are taken into account by foil suppliers. Once the contract is fully drawn up and concluded, professional production of the product begins.
Having looked once, you will definitelyAmong the means of protection against counterfeiting, holography is both cost-effective and extremely reliable way Today it occupies one of the leading places. Government agencies use labels with shiny rainbow images on visas in passports, passes, certificates, licenses, banknotes and other securities.
Product protection problems
Increasingly, honest manufacturers of goods are faced with counterfeits, who invest a lot of money in advertising their products and over the years gain the trust of customers by producing high-quality products. To prevent the appearance of counterfeits on the market, manufacturers often resort to changing packaging, regularly informing consumers about the quality of packaging and printing used on packaging. But statistics show that only one month passes from the introduction of such new products to their counterfeiting. Its use to protect goods from counterfeiting is gaining more and more confidence. A hologram is not necessarily a small self-adhesive label. Today, the use of holographic packaging, both polymer and paper-based of various densities, is becoming increasingly popular. Holographic paper is an ideal material for labels, both glass and plastic bottles. On the one hand, the holographic element reliably protects the product from counterfeiting, on the other hand, it attracts the attention of buyers to the bright packaging, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. Hologram and holographic materials are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. This is probably the most nice method protection. What is a hologram?
What is a hologram?
Hologram translated from Greek means “complete record.” Unlike a photograph, a hologram contains all the volumetric and energetic information about an object. Holography received practical and commercial development after the invention of the laser, a source of coherent radiation. A hologram is the registration of the full wave field of an object on a photosensitive material in the form of a microrelief image. When light falls on a microrelief, the phenomenon of diffraction occurs, causing the image on the hologram to shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow, which gives the name to rainbow holograms. The method of recording holograms and subsequent image restoration is based on the phenomenon of light interference. The dimensions of individual elements of a holographic microrelief are comparable to the wavelength of laser radiation - fractions of microns, which in terms of the number of dots per inch (dpi) is about 1500 dpi. Even the most advanced duplicating and printing technology is not capable of reproducing such resolution. This is why holograms are the most effective visual defense against counterfeiting.
The most widely used are holograms made using the technology of self-adhesive labels, which are applied to the object to be marked manually, using a label gun or labeling equipment. Self-adhesive label can be pasted directly onto the product, packaging, form, etc. Holographic security tags are made on the basis of multilayer films, so when you try to remove the tag from the product, it is destroyed, and the attacker will not be able to reuse the hologram, i.e. transfer the label to the fake.
Holographic foil for hot stamping has all the informational properties of holograms, but is applied to the surface using standard hot stamping equipment. This can be a manual press or automatic printing equipment. Most often, holographic foil is used to protect documents, securities, labels for exclusive cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, etc.
Holographic scratch is a special type of foil for hot stamping. It differs in that the scratch surface is easily scratched, and hidden information can be placed underneath it. It is most often used to protect code on plastic cards and in the lottery business.
2D and 3D holograms
If the variety of designs of holographic materials is dictated by the scope of application, then the main types of holograms are determined by recording methods. There are 2 main types of rainbow holograms - 2D and 3D.
A 2D hologram is a set of areas with different color effects. When you change the angle of rotation of the hologram, the colors change sequentially.
The 3D hologram contains the effects of multi-colored three-dimensional plans. When the hologram is rotated in the horizontal plane, the plans shift relative to each other. A classic 3D hologram is an optical representation of a real object. Typically, holograms are produced on a metallized polymer base (lavsan, polypropylene, etc.).
HoloTransmit™. The use of transparent composites makes it possible to produce holograms to protect information without obscuring them for visual viewing, but preventing contact access to them and the possibility of copying.
And a few more words about the essence of the holographic method. A holographic image is created on physical principles other than in traditional printing (photography, photocopying, etc.). Possibility of recording information in volume on different lengths waves of light in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet ranges provides rich opportunities for encoding information, the probability of decoding which is negligible. The complexity of a hologram is determined by the importance of its application. Strengthening the protective properties of a hologram is achieved by introducing hidden images, microfonts, kinetic effects, color coding, and numbering. In addition to visual control, hardware control can be used. The introduction of additional “security elements” requires special identification devices.
Despite its comparative youth, holographic technologies are undergoing rapid development. Methods for recording holograms are being improved, and new methods for synthesizing holography with printing technologies are emerging.
What does practice show?
Practice has shown that the entire arsenal protective equipment Holograms can be transferred directly onto packaging materials. On the threshold of the third millennium, the world market appeared the new kind holographic products - packaging with holographic elements. Self-adhesive paper, plain paper, cardboard, film materials for packaging - all this can be made with an original holographic pattern containing both the customer’s logo and any other explicit and hidden information. The presence of a hygienic certificate for contact with food allows the material to be used when packaging various food products from sweets and ice cream to pasta and dumplings. Holographic materials can be processed like traditional, familiar papers and films, and printed on their surface using the offset and flexographic method. The experience of using printing on holographic materials shows high economic efficiency. Thus, the financial success from the sale of video cassettes with the Hollywood films “Men in Black” and “Godzilla,” according to analysts, is largely due to the use of packaging made of cardboard with a diffraction effect. This is understandable, since in a number of products in bright multi-colored packaging, a product in a bag or box with optical diffraction (or holographic) effects will always look brighter. This is due to the physical principle of light reflection - more light is always reflected from a holographic material than from plain paper or film.
Application of new modern material opens up new opportunities for design and printing. Products in holographic packaging have a number of competitive advantages in the market. Firstly, packaging that is shiny and shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow attracts more consumer attention. Secondly, it has high levels of protection against counterfeiting, which is very important for the Russian market. Thirdly, products in authorized holographic packaging acquire more weight in the eyes of the consumer than similar, but not counterfeit-proof products.
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Holograms in modern world are one of the most reliable ways to protect a product from counterfeit. With the help of holograms, documents, banknotes, and bank securities are protected in all countries. Of course, there is no absolutely reliable lock - you can find a key for any one. However, making holograms is a fairly reliable method of protection, since its cost makes it economically impractical to counterfeit the product, not to mention the fact that it is illegal. Making a holographic trademark for a brand quickly pays off, like any investment in marketing promotion. In addition, goldmi.com.ua reminds owners brands that there are several ways to produce holograms with different levels of protection, production times and costs.
What are holograms?
Depending on the manufacturer's goals, he may use different types holographic products. Self-adhesive holographic stickers are very effective in protecting against counterfeiting. Their base can be self-destructive, which completely eliminates the possibility of its transfer to another surface. Holographic ones have proven themselves to be excellent packing tapes, paper or cardboard. One of the most common types of holographic stickers is a label produced by hot stamping foil - one or two colored foil with an image is pressed onto the finished holographic background. This may be a logo, trademark, or other personalized information. In some cases, manufacturers use heat-shrinkable caps or transparent films that contain holographic elements to great effect.
All of the above are holographic stickers. Their advantages: low cost, speed of production, possibility of personalization. Among the disadvantages, one can only name a weaker level of protection compared to full-fledged holograms that are made on the basis original master– matrices. However, the level of protection they provide is quite enough to protect a mass-produced product from counterfeiting.
Unique holograms require significantly higher production costs. The complex and lengthy creation process fully pays off when it comes to protecting an exclusive product from counterfeiting.
Detailed information on our website Goldmi.com.ua - contact and order!
Making a hologram is the most modern and reliable way of protection and control quality of products or documents. At the same time, a hologram is an element of the company’s image, which emphasizes the status of the company and is a carrier of certain information.
Hologram manufacturing technology
The choice of material for a hologram depends on its functions. For example, destructible materials are used to make security holograms. Such a hologram can be removed from the surface of the product only by mechanical action. Therefore, it is often used as a warranty seal, etc. Another material is indestructible foil, which peels off easily. It is used when serious protection is not required. The signature on documents can be protected by a hologram made of transparent material.
The production of holograms in St. Petersburg, as well as other cities of Russia, is carried out primarily for customers who want to personalize their products. This is possible by applying a logo, company name and other unique elements to a ready-made standard background. The application of an inscription or design can be carried out using the method of stamping from colored foil, when a single-color image is printed on the finished hologram. You can also make laser marking, in which the background layer is burned out and the inscription becomes transparent. Individual numbers can be applied to holograms, which enhances protection and product accounting.
What materials are holograms made from?
Kyiv, Moscow, Minsk and other world capitals are actively producing relief-phase holograms, which consist of microscopic gratings coated with a layer of aluminum. The production line creates these raised grilles by embossing the varnish with a hot nickel die. The varnish is applied to the lavsan film in advance. Then glue is applied to the relief and covered with paper, which has been treated with an anti-adhesive substance. The hologram can be easily removed from such paper without damage and is securely glued to the surface of the product. This is the most general scheme manufacturing. In this case, the thickness of the lavsan, the color of the varnish, the characteristics of the reflective layer and glue may vary. The result is more than 30 variants of different holograms.
Stages and equipment for making holograms
The first stage of making a hologram is shooting a model. It can be done using different technologies: optical and digital. Optical technology is the process of capturing a three-dimensional object on a holographic plate. Additional flat images and texts are applied during re-exposure through pre-prepared masks. A master hologram is obtained, which is transferred to a glass plate coated with chromium and photoresist using the contact copying method. The microrelief is formed after etching the photoresist. For this method, a stand for holographic photography, baths, reagents, and a spray chamber are used. Digital technology begins with the calculation of the holographic structure on a computer. After this, it is displayed on a chromium layer using microphotolithography using a special laser or electron beam machine.
The second stage of hologram production is the creation of a master matrix. Serial prints can be produced using thermal printing. In this case, the microrelief is transferred from the surface of chromium to the surface of nickel foil, which is characterized by thermochemical resistance, hardness, and elasticity. The third stage is printing. It is produced on a rolling machine that clamps the master foil with heated rollers. Under high pressure, foil and lavsan film are rolled along the shaft. The fourth stage is sizing. To do this, a special adhesive application machine is used, which applies protective paper and glue to the back surface of the tape. The fifth stage is cutting out holograms. For this, an automatic or manual cutting machine or a laser cutting machine can be used (for complex hologram contours). The sixth stage is numbering using a laser machine. In addition to industrial production, it is possible to produce holograms at home. Of course, the quality of such a hologram will not be very high, but expensive special equipment will not be required.
Making holograms at home
The most common device used to make holograms at home is a laser pointer. In addition to it, laser modules and diodes can be used. The most important condition is a flat platform for exposure, which should not vibrate. In addition, a lens is required to expand the laser beam, photographic plates and holders for them. First, an optical circuit is built, most often vertical. It consists of a platform, a photographic plate holder, a screen, a laser, a mirror with a reflective coating on the outside, and a short-focus lens. Making home holograms aims to create three-dimensional photographic images. The depth of the image on the hologram is determined by the coherence length of the laser beam. It varies from 1 cm (for a laser pointer) to one-quarter of a meter. Making holograms at home is a complex technical process that requires excellent knowledge of physics, as well as access to the necessary equipment.
Making holograms using modern equipment is a high-tech process. Its most important achievement is the ability to produce original holograms, when a master matrix is developed according to the client’s individual order and a circulation of holographic stickers is produced. Exclusive holograms have unique design, and can also be endowed with the most modern elements protection. Various effects are created when the text information on the hologram is made in voluminous font, can appear and disappear when the sticker is rotated, as well as increase and move. The production of exclusive holograms has become associated with the quality of the product, since manufacturing companies consider such stickers to be part of the image of their own business.
