PR: ITW Security's passport laminates have variable data security covered

Passport documents by their very nature require the variable data of each holder to be secure and protected from fraudulent activity. It is essential that these pages are adequately protected from tampering and alteration, however the recent proliferation in the number of passport technologies has meant that there is a wider than ever need for effective solutions that work across a variety of passport formats, setting a real challenge for security providers.

ITW Security Division has recognised this need and invested in its Holographic, Fasprotek and Passprotek Printed security laminates to deliver an effective solution across multiple formats. So whether the passport requires a laminate for protecting paper or security features embedding into polycarbonate pages, ITW Security Division has variable data protection covered.

Protection of variable data and the passport holder's image

ITW Security Division is unique in its ability to offer a complete range across document types and specifications. From being able to work with lower volume projects for printed solutions or larger volume opportunities for the Holographic or HoloPrint (Holographic + Printed Features) technology solutions often demanded, no project is too big or small. To date the company has supplied over 60 different passports across 54 countries and produces over 8,000,000 passport laminates every year.

ITW Security Division's Holoprotek security laminates utilize proprietary technology to create fully customized solutions for protecting government and personal ID documents against forgery and counterfeit attempts. A recent customer project in the Middle East chose Holoprotek for its security and flexibility across different formats. Al Madina Development and Supply LLC commented: "Holoprotek offers a unique solution for the protection of passport datapages combining traditional holographic effects with high security print, this provides excellent level one security features for public recognition as well as easy to verify level 2 security features. The product was available in multiple formats but ultimately we went with a 1up sheet solution and closed book laminators as this best matched our requirements."

Being able to offer lower volume solutions including self-adhesive sheet options means ITW Security can easily meet the needs of those documents which are usually quite small, such as Diplomatic and Seaman's passports. Whilst many providers are capable of integrating sophisticated security into the larger document projects, the challenge of effectively meeting the security requirements cost effectively for smaller document volumes is a real challenge. Through its investment in document design and production capabilities, ITW Security Division is able to supply the same design across multiple formats, ensuring that documents are protected across the complete ID chain. By using the same design inspection officers have less security features to be trained to look for.

Protection of the supply chain

ITW Security Division also understands that the foundation for secure materials starts with highly secure manufacturing sites where materials are tightly controlled. All products are manufactured from start to finish in one of their secure facilities, enabling ITW Security Division to satisfy the "under one roof" production requirement stipulated by many government tenders. To further the commitment to manufacturing facility security, all ITW Security Division operations are independently audited yearly against the industry's most stringent physical security standards and regularly audited by government customers.

Commenting on the capability to provide security across passport formats Bob Carey, ITW Security Division's Business Unit Manager said "Some of the world's most secure passports utilize ITW Security Division's Covid and Fasver security laminates to protect their data pages from counterfeiting and alteration attempts. Our unique combination of holographic and printed security features, available across a range of formats, makes ITW Security Division laminates especially difficult to counterfeit and easy to authenticate, whilst being cost effective for governments to use across their various document types. "

About ITW Security Division

The ITW Security Division was formed in 2012 through the coming together of the management teams, technologies and resources of Covid, Fasver and Imagedata. Leveraging the strengths of these brands, the ITW Security Division today offers the secure document market a single source supply for high security laminate documents and dye diffusion (D2T2) ribbons.