Inkjet, multiple portraits among emerging security feature trends

An analysis of evolving security feature trends over the past 20 years has uncovered an upswing in the use of features such as inkjet printing, secondary portrait images and laser engraving.In findings presented at the identity technologies event SDW 2016, the Keesing ID Academy revealed the results of research into trends in basic and additional security features based on the Keesing Reference database.In terms of general trend, there has been some interesting evolutions over the past two decades.For instance, data page substrate is increasingly non-paper, rising to 27% of documents in 2006 to 2016 from 19% in 1996-2005.The position of the data page is also changing. In the previous period some 35% of countries placed bio data on inside cover, but by this year this had fallen to just 8%.Of the countries placing bio data on inside cover, the numbers were dominated by Asia at 43%, followed by Africa at 23% and Europe at 12%.While the location of the bio data page is not a security feature in itself, the research also covered basic and additional features as defined by ICAO Doc 9303.In terms of having two watermarks instead of just one, an additional feature, Keesings found that this has doubled in the last decade to 20% of all documents.For personalisation techniques, Inkjet has seen a significant jump in usage.Inkjet print was used for personalisation in 46% of documents in 2006-2016, ahead of laser engraving at 28% and laser print at 16%.This compares to inkjet in 34% of documents in 1995-2005, laser engraving at just 13% and laser print at 23%.Photo techniques have emerged as a key trend, with multiple portrait images increasingly being used to secure documents.While just 29% of passports had multiple portrait images in the previous period, this had risen to 57% in 2006-2016.While the secondary portrait image is an ICAO Doc 9303 additional feature, "the repeating of personal data is becoming increasingly popular", said Michael van Gestel, Supervisor Content Management at Keesing Technologies.The Keesing ID Academy, which was launched in 2014 by Keesing Technologies, is powered by knowledge based on the Keesing's nearly a century of experience and expertise. As a knowledge and education center it provides information on ID documents, document verification, design and development, testing, security features, printing techniques and fraud prevention. The ID Academy also offers education on ID document authentication through lectures at conferences, online training and professional workshops at different levels.

Also in the news:

Ontario seeks public input on digital ID Austrian company outlines mobile ID ambitions Precise Biometrics wins DoD order