2017-10-07 Sat

A new form of high-resolution ‘printing’ called nano-scale plasmonic colour filters has been invented by a team of engineers from the University of Glasgow to combat counterfeiting. The technology can be applied to data storage, anti-counterfeiting measures, and digital imaging.

The technology displays different colours based on the orientation of light falling on the object. It allows you to print two different detailed and coloured images within the same surface area. This is impossible to achieve using older ‘structural colour’ techniques.

Traditional printing uses dyes and pigments while structural colour uses specially structured nanomaterials for colouring. They produce higher-resolution prints that do not fade over time. A normal image in a magazine might have 300 coloured dots per inch while structural colour techniques can touch a resolution of 100,000 DPI or more. New types of colour filters for digital photography can be made using this technology.

These images are impossible to be replicated without the access to dedicated facilities – perfect for introducing the next-level security features for banknotes.