Hologram Industry News

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), a not-for-profit organisation that represents and promotes the hologram industry worldwide, has elected a new board following its recent AGM held in Budapest.

Adam Scheer, marketing executive from US-based optical solutions provider JDSU, has been named Chairman of the IHMA board. He joins existing board members Khalid Khanani of Pakistan-based Metatex’s and Rob Levy of Holo-Source Corporation, also in the US.

Founded in 1983, the IHMA is a not-for-profit organization made up of more than 90 of the world’s leading hologram companies, including leading producers and converters of holograms for banknote security, anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, packaging, graphics and other commercial applications.

The IHMA promotes holography worldwide and offers guidance and industry best practices to its members.

Member companies actively cooperate to maintain the highest professional, security and quality standards.

The move comes as the IHMA launches a new mission statement aimed at advancing the understanding, use and development of holograms and holographic technology, particularly in the authentication of products and documents, decoration and illustration, displays and display systems, energy and environmental improvements.

Adam Scheer is joined by a new representative for North America – API Holographics’ Alan Lake. Deputy representatives for North America and the EU/EFTA are still to be announced but the confirmed regional IHMA representatives are:

• Gurkiran Dhillon - Alpha Lasertek (India) – Asian representative
• Manoj Kochar - Holoflex (India) – deputy Asian representative
• Alan Lake – API Holographic (USA) - North American representative
• Pedro de Eguiluz Selvas - Fast Forms (Mexico) - deputy North American representative
• Simone Foine - Centro Grafico (Italy) - EU/EFTA representative
• Goran Milinovic - System Intelligence Products (Serbia) - East Europe/CIS/FSU representative
• Dmitry Paltsev - First Print Yard Holographics (Russia) - deputy East Europe/CIS/FSU representative
• U K Gupta - Holostik India Ltd - HoMAI representative (Hologram Manufacturers Association of India)

Adam Scheer said: “Innovation is flourishing in the hologram industry and it is encouraging to see new ideas being generated by both established players and companies new to the arena.

“The quality of winners at this year’s IHMA Excellence in Holography Awards also reflects this trend. Membership to the IHMA is also growing rapidly, and I am honoured to have been named its Chairman.

“During this time of growth, the IHMA remains committed more than ever to promote the interests of the hologram industry and to provide valuable support and guidance to its members.”

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

New technology continues to push the boundaries of holography as an effective ID anti-counterfeiting device. Here, Philip Hudson, chairman of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, looks at one of the most significant – polycarbonate (PC) security laminates – and the benefits they provide.

In recent years we have seen polycarbonate-faced ID cards become increasingly widespread, aided by the use of smaller and lower cost laser engraving equipment. It is estimated that some 40% of passports worldwide and most national ID card programmes now use PC.

The main attraction of hardwearing PC from a security perspective is that the layers that make up the card or data page are fused together during production, losing all laminar structure, and cannot be prised apart individually. This is a great benefit as any printing, personal data or security feature like a hologram contained within the depth of the card cannot be accessed using mechanical means by anyone trying to tamper with the document.

Holograms, recommended for passports by ICAO and mandatory in the EU, have traditionally had metallised or high refractive index-coated acrylic bases. However, there are drawbacks: firstly, the brightness of the image can fade either during the heat and pressure of the lamination process or simply become dull over time. Secondly, the bond between the hologram and the polycarbonate is a weak point in the card and might result in a breakdown in the lamination of the layers.

But recently we have seen advancements in PC security laminates which could overcome both drawbacks.

The Holofuse™ from JDSU is a new PC film incorporating a clear holographic pattern into the surface without the use of adhesives. The technology, aimed at the identity document security market, is the first of its kind and will thwart counterfeiters as the holographic layer is integral and cannot be removed from the rest of the card.

The partially transparent and customised hologram within the polycarbonate film includes overt, covert and forensic security features.

The hologram is cast in to a coating which then fuses with the polycarbonate before being ready for lamination to the substrates used for ID and passport pages. It is also suitable for the laser engraving of the personal data – all of which avoids the need for a separate lamination step following the application of the variable data.

The cost saving benefit together with improved anti-counterfeiting capability will appeal to manufacturers of documents like passports, identity cards and drivers’ licenses, where resistance to counterfeiting is vital.

There is already considerable interest in Holofuse™, particularly as optical features can be incorporated into the hologram at the time of origination and more security layers in the form of tagants and yes can be added if required.

Another interesting PC development comes from Optaglio with its OVmesh™, a perforated metallic holographic patch which embedded in the laminated PC card. OVmesh™ patches are metal and do not deteriorate under heat and pressure, retaining a high degree of brightness and clarity over a long period.

A key feature is the pitch of the mesh can be tuned to provide variable transparency over the area of the hologram, so that part of the hologram can appear fully metallised for improved verification of the overt and covert security features. Other areas can be transparent over personal data such as the photograph.

During the lamination process, the PC melts and flows through the perforations in the mesh to allow complete bonding between the layers, making it more resistant to delamination when compared to standard embedded holograms. Individual patches can be serial numbered by laser engraving to provide an audit trail of each holographic image, data page or card during the production process and in the finished product.

The product is compliant ICAO and EU requirements on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by members countries, and is already in production for use in the new electronic passport being produced in Europe.

It’s certain that there are some exciting new developments out there to reaffirm holography’s pre-eminent position as an effective, added value solution for putting eye-catching, hard to copy images onto brands without relying on the application of a label – providing an extremely cost effective anti-counterfeiting solution in the process.

Hologram. Industries has continued its European expansion with growth of 18% in the first nine months of 2009 that included gains of 39% in Western Europe.
2009 2008
nine months nine months
€ millions % € millions %
Western Europe 7.5 36% 5.4 28%
Eastern Europe 5.6 27% 5.7 29%
Rest of the world 7.8 37% 8.2 43%
Of which - Asia Pacific 4.2 20% 5.1 27%
Of which - The Americas 2.0 10% 2.0 10%
Of which - Africa & Middle East 1.6 7% 1.1 6%

After restating for products invoiced in Europe whose final destination is Asia, the latter region would account for 25% of total revenue.

* 2009 outlook
Visibility for sales remains good with a high rate of repeat business and a satisfactory performance for new business acquisition. On this basis, the Group confirms its targets for profitable growth.

In light of the level of sales at September 30, 2009, the current order book and projects in the process of finalization, Hologram. Industries expects to achieve full-year sales of approximately €29 million for the full year, with the target for the current operating margin maintained at 20%.
Source: http://www.reuters.com

The 20th Holopack-Holoprint will be held on Nov 11-13, 2009 at Budapest, Hungry, the Birth place of Dr. Dennis Gabor (1900) who invented the hologram in 1947.

It’s 20 years since the first Holo-pack•Holo-print, during which time holograms have significantly developed and emerged as one of the most effective anti-counterfeiting and authentication devices used by public and private sector organisation the world over.

Holography is amongst one of the few industries which has tremendous opportunities, but is also subject to rapid advancement and innovation. The pace of change and innovation in holography has quickened in recent years, so the theme of this year’s event will be ‘Holography: the next 20 years’. This will allow the industry to look at new strategies that will sustain holograms as the pre-eminent document protection and brand anti-counterfeiting device, to develop and grow in other established applications and to find new applications in the face of the toughest economic downturn for more than 70 years.

Holopack∙Holoprint 2009 will see hologram producers, strategists, business development executives, artists and designers as well as origination, production and finishing equipment suppliers attending. Holo-pack•Holo-print 2009 will also host the annual International Hologram Manufacturers’ Association Excellence in Holography Awards. These recognise outstanding industry achievement and are given to those organisations that have introduced the most innovative or commercially viable hologram product or technique over the past year.

For more information, visit at http://www.holopackholoprint.info

January 16, 2009, [United Kingdom]; The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has elected a new Board following its recent AGM - and the end of a successful year marking the 60th anniversary of the invention of the hologram.

Optaglio’s Philip Hudson becomes the new Chairman. Fellow Board members are Khalid Khanani of Metatex (Pakistan) and Rob Levy of Holo-Source (USA). Simone Foine of Centro Grafico (Italy) becomes the new regional representative for the EU/EFTA, while Manoj Kochar of Holoflex (India) is the new deputy regional representative for Asia.

The Board is now comprised as follow:
• Philip Hudson – Optaglio (UK/CzechRepublic) – Chairman
• Khalid Khanani - Metatex (Pakistan) - Board member
• Rob Levy - Holo-Source (USA) – Board member
• G S Dhillon - Alpha Lasertek (India) – Asian representative
• Manoj Kochar - Holoflex (India) – deputy Asian representative
• Laurence Holden - JDSU (USA) - North American representative
• Pedro de Eguiluz Selvas - Fast Forms (Mexico) - deputy North American representative
• Simone Foine - Centro Grafico (Italy) - EU/EFTA representative
• Goran Milinovic - System Intelligence Products (Serbia) - East Europe/CIS representative
• Dmitry Paltsev - First Print Yard Holographics (Russia) - deputy East Europe/CIS representative

At the IHMA, Chairman Philip Hudson said: “2008 was a year of remarkable technical achievement and progress.

“The industry is a very strong position, with innovation being driven not only by established hologram companies but also those new to the industry.

“New ideas and investment is allowing the holography industry to expand rapidly – borne out by the membership of the IHMA, which stands at an all time high with more than 90 and is expected to reach 100 soon.”

About IHMA:
The IHMA is made up of 90 of the world’s leading hologram companies, including leading producers and converters of holograms for banknote security, anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, packaging, graphics and other commercial applications around the world.

Applications are now being invited for the Excellence in Holography Awards 2007. Held by the IHMA and sponsored by Holography News, the awards are presented in recognition of outstanding innovations in holography which offer major commercial benefits to the producers and their customers. In the 14 years since they were established, these annual awards have recognised many of the groundbreaking developments within the holographic industry.
As in previous years, the awards cover all different types of holographic technology and there will be six categories for hologram manufacturers to compete within - authentication and hologram security, packaging, promotion/illustration and industrial (a new category introduced last year), along with Best New Product and Best New Technique. From these and the other categories one winner will be chosen for the Best of the Year Award. Last year this achievement was won by Hologram Industries, University of Liège Hololab and Lucimed for Luminette® spectacles which are used for phototherapy (the therapeutic use of light to correct disorders based on light deficiency) and which contain holographic optical elements to focus light into patients’ eyes.