Traditional Printing Processes
Offset Lithography
Intaglio
Typography
Screen
Traditional Printing Process
Photography
Platemaking
Printing
Common denominator between all bills
Treasury Seal
How is photography used in counterfeiting
- Negative is made
- green filter to eliminates serial #’s and Treasury Seal
- white out filter to capture seal.
What is Halftone
Breaks image up into dots
grid like pattern
Dots vary in size to create tones
**Not a printing process
Describe platemaking
- Negative on top of light sensitive emulsion
- transferred onto aluminum sheet
- sheet washed leaving behind raised image.
Line offset printing characteristics
Even ink distribution
flat on surface of paper
sharp edges
Single-color halftone offset characteristics
- Image broken into dots
- vary in size
- regular, repeating patterns
- flat on the surface of paper
- Darker areas larger dots, lighter areas smaller dots.
Full color halftone offset characteristics
- Image broken into dots
- vary in size
- regular, repeating patterns
- flat on the surface of paper
- Patterns overlap w/four colors: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black.
Black Toner characteristics
- Solid material
- rests on surface of the paper
- gritty appearance around edges
- shiny, glossy surface
Monochromatic Toner characteristics
- Solid material
- rests on surface of the paper
- gritty appearance around edges
- shiny, glossy surface single color other than black.
Full color toner characteristics
- Solid material
- rests on surface of the paper
- gritty appearance around edges
- shiny, glossy surface
- four colors - cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Inkjet characteristics
- colored dots
- level with paper surface
- randomly spaced
- irregularly shaped, roughly same size.
CFT Intaglio characteristics
- Not as sharp as genuine
- doesn’t carry as much ink
- recessed acid etched image on plate
CFT Typographic characteristics
- Halo
- THIN ink layer
- raised acid etched image on plate
CFT Screen Printing characteristics
- Not on genuine currency
- Ink squeezed through screen on paper
- OVI often printed by screen
- Thick ink layer
- Stairstep pattern
Counterfeit Classification System
- Helps associate notes from all over back to original
- Gathers statistics for investigative/sentencing purposes.
Traditional Circular (eg. C-2300)
Counterfeit printed entirely or partly with traditional process.
PRJT Classification (P-9686)
-Low passing <10,000/year
-CFT printed entirely w/digital
Classified by:
-Note Style
-Printing Process
-Denomination
Digital Circular (D-note) eg D-23001
High passing >10,000/yr counterfeit digital note.
- Printed with inkjet or toner
- Assigned number similar to traditional but to classify as digital
If two notes have same defects on all 3 plates and same identifiers
Same circular
Note has different identifiers from original, but same defects on all 3 plates
Variation (eg. 21191 A)
Note has different identifiers and only 1 or 2 identical plates
Allied Note:
- New Circular
- Parent Note # (PN-8094)
