The International Hologram Manufacturers Association’s Excellence in Holography Awards has shown how innovation continues to push the boundaries for new holographic applications.
This year’s awards were presented at the dinner of the annual holography conference Holopack•Holo-print® in Budapest, Hungary in November. They recognise outstanding industry achievement and are presented to organisations who have introduced the most innovative or commercially viable hologram product or technique over the year.
The quality of entries was as high as ever with award winners demonstrating that ground breaking technology coupled with imaginative applications reinforces the important role holography plays, particularly in tackling anti-counterfeiting and authentication.
Holostik India Ltd has created a technique for using low optical density (OD) metalizing on holographic embossing without touching the sealing side of PVC, enabling blister packs to be produced with the hologram on the blister side, which won the ‘Innovation in Holographic Production ’ category.
This advanced hologram for blister packaging can save time and money in production as it does not require changes to the set up of existing packaging machines. Metalizing also enhances the barrier property of PVC blister film while a high temperature scratch proof coating on the hologram, which can be transparent or coloured, was also praised for its technical excellence.
A new holographic security film on polycarbonate (PC) from optical solutions provider JDSU, scooped the prize for the ‘Best Applied Security Product’. Holofuse™ is a laminate layer for PC ID cards, so it requires no additional card manufacturing stage, and the material bonds at the molecular level. It thwarts ID and passport counterfeiters because the holographic layer is integral and cannot be removed from the rest of the card.
Another development came from Specialized Enterprise Holography LLC, which has developed a new holographic security feature for potential ID and document applications among others. Its new T.I.G.R.A. (Transparent Interacting Gratings) security device won the ‘Innovation in Holographic Technique’ category following its appearance as part of the design of a special project dedicated to the famous Ukrainian scientist Ivan Pulyui, whose pioneering work contributed to the discovery of X-rays.
T.I.G.R.A. comprises two holograms, each partially demetallised in a pattern of lines, so that when these are mounted together they produce a dynamic moiré pattern. Control of the period and layout of the lines determines the moiré pattern, so that this can be part of the design of the seen image.
Decorative paper producer Hazen Paper won the ‘Best Origination’ Award for an eye-catching holographic calendar. The ‘Smooth Sailing’ 2009 calendar was recognised for its innovative use of advanced holographic technology combined with opaque and translucent inks to create high impact, visually striking imagery.
The potential use of holography in intellectual property protection was illustrated in a ground breaking project by Optaglio, which won the ‘Best Applied Decorative Product’. The company used holographic technology as an integral part of a publication featuring stories by young mid-European based writers. The publication, produced for Platform Culture Central Europe, uses tiny holograms to hold the complete works in nanotext together with the authors’ portraits.
The Brian Monaghan Award for Business Achievement was made to Dino Radice of Centro Grafico DG in recognition of his transformation of the company from an intaglio printer to a hologram and holographic substrate producer. This has been achieved not only by re-positioning the company but also through the installation of purpose-built equipment to enable Centro Grafico to become a highly respected supplier of films to surface-relief hologram producers.
Organised by the IHMA, the 17thannual Excellence in Holography Awards - sponsored by industry newsletter Holography News® - recognise outstanding industry success and achievement.
The awards go to those organisations that have introduced the most innovative or commercially viable hologram product or technique over the year.
Delegates from the worldwide holography community attended this year’s presentations at the 20th Holopack•Holo-print® conference, held - fittingly - in Budapest, the birthplace of the inventor of the hologram, Denis Gabor.
A display of products from the winners and runners-up was also on show at the conference, signalling the breadth and depth of the technology’s applications and commercial span.
Presenting the awards, outgoing IHMA chairman Philip Hudson, said: “Innovation and quality were again to the fore and congratulations to the winners for their outstanding contribution to the holographic industry over the past year. They have demonstrated the highest technical expertise to design and deliver extremely effective, eye-catching and cost effective holographic solutions which continue to push the boundaries.”
The winners and companies that were highly commended were each awarded a special holographic glass trophy, supplied by Hspace of Canada.
For additional information on the projects and photos, visit the website for the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (www.ihma.org).
List of Awards and Commendations
Innovation in Holographic Technique
Award: Specialized Enterprise Holography for Ivan Pulyui
Commended: Holostik India Ltd for Pisco Peru Plata
Innovation in Holographic Production and OEM Product
Award: Holostik India Limited for its innovative holographic blister packaging
Commended: Optaglio s.r.o. for OVMesh™
Best Origination
Award: Hazen Paper Company for ‘Smooth Sailing with Hazen Paper’ 2009 calendar
Best Applied Security Product
Award: JDSU for HoloFuse™
Commended: Holostik India Ltd for Vanali
Best Applied Decorative Product
Award: Opataglio for Platform Culture Central Europe
Commended: Wrestlemania 25th Anniversary Program Booklet
Brian Monaghan Award for Business Innovation
Award: Dino Radice, Centro DG S.P.A