While anti-counterfeiting solutions based on digital technologies have become a standard in the brand protection market, digital security features for banknotes have only recently emerged.  

In this paper, Orell Füssli Ltd. Security Printing (OFS) and Scantrust present their joint digital security feature development JAGUAR. Realized with standard offset-printing using standard inks, the JAGUAR feature allows for an authentication through a smartphone application.  

The JAGUAR feature is an advancement of Scantrust’s state-of-the-art brand protection technology, which has been effectively implemented as an anti-counterfeiting solution for billions of products. The technology is based on a copy detection pattern, secured by the so-called information loss principle. Any scanning and re-printing attempt on the pattern causes a reduction of the information level relative to the original pattern. Based on a captured image Scantrust’s proprietary algorithms allow for the quantification of the pattern’s information level. In combination with further metrics extracted from the pattern image, a reliable decision on the pattern’s authenticity is taken. The authentication process itself is easily accessible for the end-user through a smartphone application, that captures the copy detection pattern.  

With OFS’s expertise and competence the technology has been ported to the domain of banknotes. In this respect, adaptions and extensions were necessary to integrate the security pattern into banknote design, platemaking and production process. The resulting advancement of the copy detection pattern has been benchmarked against the banknote security requirements and the standards for banknote durability in circulation.  

With the offset print being among the first printing steps in banknote production, monitoring the relevant pattern metrics helped to understand the effect of subsequent printing steps on the authentication result. In terms of robustness against possible mechanical, chemical, and climatic exposures during circulation, reference benchmark samples have been prepared by applying step-wise ageing cycles to reference banknotes. The metrics of the authentication results on the aged samples have been mapped against measurements on high-quality benchmark ink-jet copies. Based on these findings, the technology has been optimized to create a significant gap of the authentication metrics between the aged samples and the high-quality benchmark ink-jet copies. In this respect, a sufficiently large margin is required to address any adverse effects that impact the quality of the captured image, which overall ensures a stable and robust authentication in the field. 

During the presentation, the capabilities of the JAGUAR technology involving the corresponding smartphone application are demonstrated. The latest Orell Füssli housenote “Cypher Evo” (joint development with Koenig & Bauer Banknote Systems) will serve as the practical use case for the authentication procedure.