2020-04-15 Wed

Art does not only refer to the painting, dancing and other skills but has a far deeper meaning. Artistic nature can come out from any nook and corner of the daily lives. In the 21st Century, the definition of art has been broader than before. And can be seen in very common articles. E.g. the banknotes that we carry! The polymer note or the new generation banknotes have been introduced. This World Art Day let’s know the Art of Making Polymer Notes.

Polymer banknotes are made with a thin film of strong, durable plastic. Artwork, graphic design, and the inclusion of all security features that must appear on a note occur at this stage. Once the design is created, it is submitted to the authorized parties for approval.

The next stage or the plate making stage is an intricate and long process involving things like color separation. The digital proof prints produced in the design stage are sent to high precision equipment that will make the mother plates that will be used for intaglio printing, where the ink that can be found below the plate’s surface is used for the printing.

Once the plates are ready, it’s time for the printing of the currency notes. First, a polymer or paper substrate is selected which is printed with multi-color background designs and tints both on the front and backsides of the sheets. Then comes the intaglio printing at the back where the substrate sheets come into contact with the printing plates at high pressure and ink is transferred to the paper or polymer to make 3D fine lines.

Once the printing is complete, the sheets are varnished to make them more secure. They are then are stacked in hundreds for cutting. After cutting, each note is passed through a quality control section where it is inspected for defaults. The approved notes are counted, stacked into bundles of thousands, and stored so they are ready for delivery.

Image Courtesy: banknoteworld