PR: Currency note hologram wins industry security award

An anti-counterfeiting device featured on the new Bank of England £5 banknote has won the Best Applied Security Product award at the recent Holography Awards 2016.

The Kinegram Colors foil stripe from Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co was marked out by the judges as the first banknote worldwide to incorporate this feature as the principal security element, marking it as a 'game changing development' in foil-based security features for currency applications.

Also commended in the same category was Kurz’s Kinegram Zero Zero patch on New Zealand’s new 'Brighter Money' banknote series. These are the first polymer notes in the world to feature the technology and will help the Bank of New Zealand secure its currency against the threat of counterfeiting.

New International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) chairman Manoj Kochar said: "The awards celebrate the very best in holographic achievement and the many remarkable innovations the industry introduces each year.

"Creativity, flair and design excellence have again shone through in the 2016 entries, reflecting how holography continues to push the holographic boundaries forward both technically and commercially."

The awards took place at the Holography Conference in Warsaw, Poland and saw leading holography companies gather to recognise excellence and cutting edge technology. Other category winners were:

• Innovation in Holographic Technology – Nano Optical Element 'Egypt Phantasy' from Demax Holograms\

• Best Origination - Nano Optical Element 'Egypt Phantasy' from Demax Holograms\

• Best Display or Emerging Technology Application of Holography – Reverso from Surys

Commended in the Best Applied Decorative/Packaging Product category were Azar Holograms for its TOTAL Quartz hologram, and Morphotonix's Hologram Cap.

Winner of the Brian Monaghan Award for Business Innovation went to John Hazen, president and CEO of Hazen Paper Company for his outstanding contribution to the industry, which includes several initiatives designed to cost effectively commercialise holograms.