Clear windows and substrate elements
Level
Level 1
Machine
Optional
Immediate public recognition, transmission checks, and design complexity.
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Modern currency security is not a single device. It combines independent optical, ink-based, tactile, covert, and machine-readable layers so counterfeiters must defeat several unrelated technologies at once.
The PDF recommends combining at least one dynamic Level 1 feature with at least one Level 3 machine-readable element. This table makes that logic visible before the feature demos.
| Feature family | Authentication level | Machine readable | Security role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear windows and substrate elements | Level 1 | Optional | Immediate public recognition, transmission checks, and design complexity. |
| Diffractive OVD / hologram | Level 1 / 2 | Limited optical | Tilt-based color shift, image change, and movement resistant to copying. |
| Micro-optic and micro-mirror features | Level 1 / 2 | Optional | Depth, floating images, and programmed light movement for intuitive checks. |
| OVI and dynamic movement inks | Level 1 / 3 | Magnetic / spectral | Color shift, rolling-bar motion, and restricted pigment response. |
| UV, IR, and magnetic signatures | Level 2 / 3 | Yes | Sorter, ATM, central-bank, and forensic authentication support. |
Immediate public recognition, transmission checks, and design complexity.
Tilt-based color shift, image change, and movement resistant to copying.
Depth, floating images, and programmed light movement for intuitive checks.
Color shift, rolling-bar motion, and restricted pigment response.
Sorter, ATM, central-bank, and forensic authentication support.
Advanced light-diffraction and micro-structured optics integrated within the substrate core to prevent duplication.
Diffractive optical variable devices create angle-dependent color shift, image change, and apparent movement that cannot be reproduced by ordinary scanning or printing.
Micro-lens structures produce floating depth, parallax, and counter-intuitive motion effects that are highly recognizable in normal light.
Computer-oriented reflective facets can produce crisp metallic highlights, 3D depth, and programmed movement under varied lighting conditions.
Specialized chemical formulations respond to viewing angle, ultraviolet or infrared light, heat, solvent exposure, and magnetism for multi-level authentication.
Advanced inks that display multiple visual states when excited or viewed from different perspectives.
Standard daylight angle-dependent color shift (e.g., green-to-blue) easily verified by the public.
Invisible under normal light, glowing under specific ultraviolet or infrared wavelengths to reveal hidden security layers.
Optically variable ink that changes colors depending on whether it is viewed against a light or dark background.
Heat-sensitive ink that temporarily changes color or disappears when touched with a finger or exposed to body heat.
Pigments that re-orient and change optical behaviors under the influence of an external magnetic field.
Magnetically oriented pigments can create rolling-bar movement and color travel while also contributing to machine-readable magnetic response.
Magnetic pigments aligned during curing to create dynamic rolling-bar or shifting-ring effects.
Micro-structured optical features that create the illusion of light moving across the note surface.
Interact with the virtual polymer security card below to test how different security features behave under various lighting, tilt, thermal, and magnetic conditions.
Simulates diffractive color shifts and micro-lens parallax.
Reveals fluorescent layers that remain hidden in normal light.
Applies simulated body heat to trigger thermochromic fade.
Moves an external magnetic field across dynamic pigments.