Appendix F:
Description of the New Design Concept
On July 13, 1994, the Secretary of the Treasury announced a new design concept for the $100 banknote, due for production by 1996. The lower denomination banknotes will also be redesigned. These will be introduced at the rate of approximately one new denomination design per year. Since the design for the $100 notes was announced prior to completion of this study, it does not incorporate the recommendations included in this report. Several new features in the new design are of interest to the current study, so a brief description of the new design is included in this report.
In addition to traditional numerals, titles, and engraved borders similar to the current design, the new design will have a larger, off-center portrait and a portrait watermark (see Figure F-1). In addition, several other features have been chosen for inclusion in the design. All of these features will require some development and feasibility analysis, so the final design chosen after all the development work may not contain all the features proposed in the original design. These features are as follows:
- Distinctive, machine-detectable fibers. Special fibers with specific properties are often added to security papers for forensic purposes. Modern security fibers can be designed to incorporate many types of machine-detectable characteristics.
- Iridescent planchettes. Traditional planchettes are colored pieces of tissue paper a few millimeters in diameter incorporated directly into the paper, either in rows or randomly distributed. In newer planchettes, such features as microprinting and iridescence are used to enhance the security.
- Security thread: A security thread is a thin thread or ribbon running through a banknote substrate. It is a versatile feature, and there are many types currently available, including microprinted, metallic, magnetic, windowed, and imbedded. The thread currently in use in U.S. currency is an embedded, microprinted thread that can only be seen when held to light. This characteristic makes it impossible to copy with a color copier, which uses reflected light to generate an image.
- Watermark. A watermark is an image formed by purposely creating localized variations in the paper density during the papermaking process. The image is visible as darker and lighter areas when held against a light source. Like the embedded thread, it does not copy on color copiers.
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- Color-shifting inks. These inks change color when viewed from different angles. For instance, an ink that appears gold when viewed directly may change to green when viewed obliquely.
- Moiré-generating line structures. These types of line structures appear normal to the human eye but cannot be properly resolved by scanning equipment. This results in the creation of spurious images, or moiré patterns, in the digital output, producing a copy that is noticeably distinguishable from the original.