Bringing Motion Graphics to Security Print Without Additional Materials

Fathom Optics has patented a software-based process using light field technology to bring 3D and motion graphics to security print without additional materials such as lenticular sheets or metallic foils.

The company’s ‘Fathom Effects’ authentication features are made by printing special patterns on two sides of a clear substrate, using conventional presses and inks. The process assigns effects to spot colours in the original design from which Fathom generates additional plates to produce the enhanced design.

One recent application for the solution involved Little Sparrows Technologies, a Boston-based medical device company, which had introduced ‘bili∙ruler’, a tool to aid in the visual assessment of infant jaundice that doesn’t require access to mobile networks or electricity.

Given the range of environments where the tool could be used, Little Sparrows Technologies was concerned about potential knockoff devices that would pose a high risk to patients. In particular, it was seeking a solution for product authentication that did not require mobile phones or access to electricity.

To meet these challenges, the company partnered with Fathom to create a customised optically varying authentication feature that looks visually distinct from other products in the market.

Fathom authentication features are generated for the specific press that they will be run on, further enhancing the security of the printed device.

Fathom built its expertise in this regard by carefully characterising many dozens of printing presses at various production sites to understand how the technology can robustly add depth, motion, and chromatic effects to a wide range of print applications, including labels, shrink sleeves, and point-of-purchase displays. Its authentication solutions are built upon experience gained in that process, which allows it to provide a more secure authentication solution for firms like Little Sparrows Technologies.

To produce and integrate the optically varying feature, Fathom and Little Sparrows Technologies partnered with Amherst Label, a family-owned converter that has operated for over 40 years in New Hampshire, USA. Amherst applied the Fathom feature depicting a moving, stylised Little Sparrows Technologies’ logo, using a permanent adhesive on a layflat polypropylene material.

Nye Hornor, president of Amherst Labels, said: ‘the best thing about the technology that Fathom has developed is that you get the ‘lenticular’ effect without the cost of using the true lenticular technology’.