The protection of identity documents against counterfeiting and forgery is paramount. Personalised security features safeguard biometric data and enhance document uniqueness. However, the rapid advancement and accessibility of technological advancements have enabled criminals to replicate these features, posing a significant threat to identity security. To maintain the integrity of these documents over its ten-year lifetime, it is imperative to develop innovative and robust personalised security features. Traditional approaches confine these features to a single layer, making them susceptible to tampering and forgery. We propose a novel approach through multi-layer personalisation. By distributing the security feature construction across multiple layers within the document, we can significantly enhance their resilience against tampering and forgery. This multi-layer strategy ensures that each layer complements the others, creating a robust defence mechanism that remains effective despite technological advancements.

IAI Industrial Systems B.V. has been at the forefront of this innovation, developing multi-layer personalised security features with combined technologies for various material substrates, including polycarbonate and security paper. For identity cards and polycarbonate-based data pages, we will be introducing new developments in our Laser Colour Inkjet (LCI) family. This suite of security features spans between three to four layers and is made by the combination of two processes: laser engraving and inkjet printing. This enables different effects such as tactility, optical properties and hidden or encrypted information to be achieved. For visa pages and paperbased data pages, we will be presenting the PaperProtect™ family. This security feature made by secure inkjet printing spans different depths of the paper. This empowers to secure the front and back of a paper sheet by creating various optical properties, such as different response to wavelengths and changing appearance between transmitted and reflected light, that are visible from both sides of the page.

Hereby these two security feature families provide a diverse offering of options that integrates different biometric data into a cohesive security feature where different layers and processes complement each other. Our approach will demonstrate how traditional security features can be seamlessly integrated with new ones within a multi-layer framework. Finally, our research aims to inspire further innovation in the field of document security, opening new avenues for development and ensuring the long-term protection of identity documents against emerging technological threats.