Security printing has always borrowed optical phenomena from physics and chemistry, and few are as useful as luminescence.

Since their use on credit cards in the 1980s, holograms have been associated with optical security. Their distinctive rainbow colour shifting on banknotes, passports, payment cards and branded packaging, offer a quick visual confirmation that an item is genuine.

Idvac is a private company based at Manchester Science Park in the UK, founded in 2004 to develop new processes and products for holographic, packaging, and solar window films. It has now developed an innovative process that introduces enhanced design features for security holograms and optical films.

Over the past few years, light-field imaging has been considered one of the more promising directions for next-generation document security features. By reproducing not only the intensity of light but also its direction, a light-field structure can create convincing 3D imagery that changes naturally when the viewing angle shifts. For the holder of a passport, banknote or ID card, the result is an effect that is both visually striking and immediately verifiable by the naked eye.

At the High Security Printing (HSP) Asia 2025 conference in Kuala Lumpur this month, Authentix unveiled PICO secure™, described as the world’s first nano-optic, plasmonic optical variable device (OVD) for polycarbonate identity documents. The feature – says Authentix – delivers always-on structural colour and movement, drawing on its award-winning nano-optic technology.

The European Technology Platform Photonics21 and some of Europe’s largest companies – including Bosch, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia Bell Labs, Zeiss, Trumpf, and EssilorLuxottica – have united to urge the European Commission to prioritise photonics in the upcoming EU Framework Programme (FP10).

In the September issue of Holography & Optical Technology News™, Guri Dhillon wrote about why UV resin is widely used in security holograms, diffractive optical elements (DOEs), and high-resolution embossing applications. In this article, he examines how the curing wavelength influences dimensional stability and discusses formulation and process strategies that allow optical and micro-structured surfaces to be replicated with sub-micron precision.

A project at Duke University has demonstrated how commercial AI models could accelerate microscopic examination of 2D materials and analysis of the results.

The demand for high-security document features has driven research into optical technologies capable of producing effects that are both visually striking and extremely difficult to counterfeit.

A new advance in optoelectronics from the University of St Andrews could accelerate the arrival of holographic technology in consumer devices, including smartphones, wearables, and entertainment platforms.