Over the last one to two years, the currency industry has witnessed a noticeable increase in the launch of security features, particularly in optical security. Technologies that once evolved gradually over long document redesign cycles are now being refreshed at a much faster pace. This raises an important question: has a new race in optical innovation begun?

De La Rue has introduced OPTILIGHT™, a next-generation optical security platform for banknotes, following significant investment in innovation and technology. OPTILIGHT combines nano-science, custom built imaging equipment, proprietary algorithms, and utilises their decades of accumulated experience in the field to deliver intuitive optical effects for public authentication.

The XV Anniversary International Conference on Photonics and Information Optics commenced on 28 January 2026 at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Moscow. Organised in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences, the three-day event gathered researchers, engineers, and academics working in photonics and digital optics.

The integration of holography with postage stamps represents one of the more unusual intersections between security printing, applied optics and philately. The new edition of ‘Holography and Philately: Postage Stamps with Holograms’ marks the most authoritative consolidation of this specialised field to date and underscores how innovation in hologram stamps has ebbed and flowed in recent years.

Display holography has always been as much about how it is shown as how it is made. Unlike photography or print, a hologram can’t simply be hung on a wall, leaving the lighting to chance. It must be illuminated, angled and viewed under carefully controlled conditions to reconstruct the recorded wavefront. These physical constraints make the exhibiting of holography as much to do with where it is being shown as it is about what is being shown.

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.

Reconnaissance, publishers of Holography & Optical Technology News™ and organisers of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conferences, has announced that registration is now open for the upcoming HSP Latin America event, scheduled for 1-3 June 2026 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The program details are already announced.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) will lead a specialist workshop at the Banknote Conference 2026 in Washington DC, reinforcing its role in advancing optical security technologies.

The International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) has adopted a new name that reflects a major shift in the technologies and systems used to control regulated products. The organisation will now be known as the International Tax Stamp, Authentication and Traceability Association, albeit retaining the well-established ITSA acronym by which it is widely recognised in the industry.

LEONHARD KURZ has enhanced its Application Technology Department in Fürth, Germany, by installing a BOBST NOVAFOIL 106 H hot-stamping machine. This installation marks the 55th anniversary of BOBST’s entry into hot transfer technology and strengthens the company’s 20 year partnership.

Vietnam’s cable industry is experiencing rapid growth, with increased infrastructure investment and expanding manufacturing capacity. Meanwhile, counterfeit risk has shifted from isolated incidents to a systemic supply chain challenge.

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.

‘China thinks in centuries, not in years’ – Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State & author of book ‘ON CHINA’.

Crane NXT has announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Italy’s Antares Vision, marking a key step in its strategic expansion into software-led traceability solutions.

DSG-USA, a global supplier of premium aftermarket engine components for heavy-duty and industrial applications (such as Caterpillar® earthmoving equipment) has launched a new security label to safeguard its products against counterfeiting and grey-market diversion.

In the evolving landscape of currency design, the boundary between scientific innovation and artistic expression is blurring. Central banks have long sought features that are not only impossible to replicate but also intuitive for the public to verify.

Georgia just took home the ‘Best New Document Series’ award, presented at HSP EMEA in Rabat, and for good reason. The Georgia Document Family is a harmonised suite of ePassports and eID cards that successfully merges futuristic security with a deep reverence for the nation’s history.

Smithers’ report, ‘The Future of Global Security Printing to 2030’, projects the security printing market will surge to $39.7 billion by 2030, driven by the shift toward integrated physical and digital trust systems. A key part of this growth is the renewed focus on Diffractive Optical Variable Image Devices (DOVIDs), which are expected to reach $4.39 billion by 2030.

The Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt Ltd (BRBNMPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, has issued an amended global Expression of Interest (EOI/010 (A)/CO/2025-26) to establish a manufacturing facility for colour shift pigments (CSP) suitable for printing banknotes/other security products at its Mysure site. The previous bid was for colour shift pigment/films and thread.

In a recent move to enhance night-time road safety and curb accidents caused by poor visibility, the Telangana Transport Department (India) has issued a new mandate requiring all transport vehicles to be equipped with high-standard reflective rear-marking plates and tapes.

Recent financial results from Crane NXT highlight growing global demand for advanced authentication technologies, especially micro-optic security features in banknotes. The company reported strong performance for the fourth quarter and full year ending 31 December 2025, reflecting wider adoption of its currency and security solutions by central banks worldwide.

On International Women’s Day (8 March), we celebrate the female researchers, engineers, and leaders who have helped shape the optical and security printing industry.

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.

Researchers at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea have developed an eco-friendly smart security label that combines colour-based verification with holographic authentication. This sustainable alternative to conventional security labels can dissolve completely in water, leaving no trace.

The Central Reserve Bank of Peru has introduced an updated version of the 200 soles banknote, first issued in 2023 and the highest value in the current series.

Hanoi-based Q&T Hi-tech Polymer continues to strengthen its position in the global polymer banknote ecosystem, combining certification milestones with new technology investments that deepen its capabilities in high-security production.

Fibarcode, a materials science startup spun out of the University of Michigan, has secured a $1.5 million Fast-Track grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance its work on textile labelling for authentication, traceability and recycling.

A breakthrough in computational imaging is set to transform how scientists study complex biological structures. Led by doctoral researcher Shivasubramanian Gopinath at the University of Tartu’s Institute of Physics, a research team has developed a method to bypass one of the most persistent limitations in microscopy – fixed focal depth.

Securikett, a provider of tamper-evident security labels and brand protection products, has announced a strategic partnership with Dust Identity, a provider of physical-to-digital identity technology.

In a move to redefine national security, President Gustavo Petro has unveiled the design of Colombia’s new passport. Set to enter circulation on 1 April 2026, the document is being hailed as one of the four most secure travel documents in the world.

The High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA Awards continue to be the region’s premier platform recognising excellence in banknote and ID design and innovation. This year’s awards took place on 10 February in Rabat, Morocco. In our last edition, we covered the ID awards; now we focus on the best innovation in banknotes.

Just before the end of 2025, I travelled to Uxbridge, north-west London, to see Musion 3D’s newly opened World’s Largest Hologram Showroom (WLHS). The site is located within The Atrium, a conventional mixed-use commercial-technology building whose exterior offers little indication of the optical and computational systems operating within.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) held its electronic Annual General Meeting (e-AGM) on 24 February 2026, reaffirming its governance structure and presenting a strategic roadmap for the coming year.

Covestro, a German materials science company, has concluded a challenging 2025 fiscal year, despite a persistently testing market environment. Volatile geopolitical dynamics, sustained weak global demand, and intense competitive pressure, coupled with the impact of the fire at the Dormagen Chempark, weighed heavily on the group’s economic development.

The UK is navigating a pivotal moment in its national infrastructure, embarking on major security printing tenders totalling over £1 billion. These flagship programs, covering banknotes, passports, and excise-control stamps, will define the country’s currency, identity, and tax-enforcement landscape for the next decade.

The organisers of the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference announce the Call for Papers for ODDS 2027, inviting researchers, technologists, and practitioners to submit original work on document and identity system security.

The High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA Awards continue to serve as the region’s leading platform for recognising excellence in design and innovation for banknotes and IDs. This year’s HSP EMEA awards were held on 10 February in Rabat, Morocco (see also page 8). In this edition, we are covering the ID awards, followed by the best innovation in banknotes in the next edition.

Uchkun OJSC (Open Joint Stock Company), Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned security printing house, has joined the International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA), becoming the association’s first member from the country. The move gives Central Asia a stronger presence in the international optical security community, as well as cementing IOTA’s position as a truly global body, spanning all continents and major regions.

The Bank of Russia introduced a redesigned 1,000 ruble banknote on 26 December 2025, featuring the Volga Federal District and Nizhny Novgorod.

In April 2022, Holography News (the predecessor to Holography & Optical Technology News™) published an in-depth interview with Chris Rich, co-founder and CEO of WaveFront Technology, charting more than three decades at the forefront of holography. That conversation explored WaveFront’s origins in recombination and tooling, its evolution into deep microstructure UV-casting and freeform optical technologies, and the company’s vision to integrate macro, micro and nanostructures into unified optical security features.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) patent newsletter provides crucial insights to its members. In the January 2026 edition of the patent newsletter, over 100 patents were featured, highlighting the latest advancements in the evolving field of optics, which spans security, display technologies, and scientific tools.

With the Vietnamese market receiving numerous reports from consumers suffering significant losses from using counterfeit paint, AkzoNobel, the producers of Dulux and Maxilite paint, has officially reaffirmed its commitment to product quality and announced support activities to help customers identify genuine products.

A research team from Tsinghua University has unveiled a transformative technique for super-high-speed 3D printing. Published recently in Nature, the study details how the team can now print complex, millimetre-scale objects in as little as 0.6 seconds. The cornerstone of this advancement is a process called Digital Incoherent Synthesis of Holographic light fields (DISH).

This February, HSP EMEA marked its 22nd edition with its largest event yet. For the first time, the conference was held in Morocco and on the African continent, highlighting the region’s rising role in secure printing, identity management, and related technologies.

Banknote security specialist Hueck Folien has acquired California-based WaveFront Technology LLC, transforming the Austrian firm into a ‘full-liner’ with end-to-end control over the security feature lifecycle. By integrating WaveFront’s 30-year expertise in micro and nanostructures, Hueck Folien secures strategic independence and the ability to originate custom optical designs in-house. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Back in our November 2025 editorial for Holography & Optical Technology News™, we said that collaboration was becoming a smarter strategic pathway than aggressive acquisitions, which appeared to have reached a natural peak. This shift encouraged more agile partnership models, offering companies a faster route to innovation in the rapidly evolving anticounterfeiting landscape.

In October, Holography & Optical Technology News™ reported on Hong Kong Customs (HKC) launch of a three-month pilot programme for its new tobacco duty stamp system. The initiative involved holographic trial duty stamps on duty-paid cigarette packs to help prevent illegal trade and enhance tax compliance.

The Central Bank of Turkmenistan has unveiled a new series of banknotes, designed and printed by De La Rue on SAFEGUARD® polymer, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s recognition as a permanently neutral state. Included in the upgrade are the three lowest denominations – the 1, 5, 10 manats – along with a new high denomination 200 manat. The previous highest denomination was the 100 manat, and the series also includes 20 and 50 manats.

Holography, once the domain of high-energy lasers and complex camera arrays, is now entering the realm of everyday consumer technology. A recent study published in Optics Letters demonstrates how a single smartphone – specifically, an iPhone 13 Pro – can be used to generate full-parallax holographic portraits, offering a low-cost and accessible alternative to traditional methods.

Imagine a material that doesn’t contain colour in the usual way—no dyes, no pigments—yet it is colourful. It can sweep smoothly from red to blue simply by being stretched and then snap back again when released.

Many efforts to use holographic storage for computer memory have fallen by the wayside, but the approach being taken by London-based HoloMem might finally see holograms used successfully as a means of archiving records efficiently while allowing rapid access.

Holoflex Limited, a leading provider of holograms, tax stamps, and labelling solutions in India, has introduced a refreshed brand identity to mark 35 years of excellence.

The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) has introduced an upgraded version of its highest-value banknote, the 500 Seychellois rupee (SCR), replacing the superwide Optiks thread (which has now been discontinued as a security feature) with a holographic stripe. The new 500 rupee banknotes entered circulation in December 2025.

With advances in holographic and foil technology, calendars are now more than just practical tools. They have become collectible items that tell a story and mark special moments. Many people still enjoy using wall or desk calendars, whether it’s flipping through the pages, marking birthdays, or writing reminders. These simple rituals offer something that digital apps can’t quite match.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) announced the winners of its inaugural Excellence in Optical Technologies Awards 2025 at the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference in Warsaw, Poland (see HOT News, September 2025).

Scientific Games (SG), the world’s leading lottery company and a long-time pioneer in holographic instant scratch games, has unveiled Obsidian, its latest premium breakthrough in scratch game design.

Instantly access and analyse any documents, anywhere in the world, with DocCheck, a new member service for the International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA). This powerful tool is available to IOTA members starting January 2026.

The 21st High Security Printing™ Asia (HSP-Asia), organised by Reconnaissance, took place in Kuala Lumpur 1-3 December 2025 and was the most successful event in its history (see HOT News December 2025).

Vehicle emission monitoring in Karnataka (India) has come to a standstill, with more than 400 Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres forced to shut due to a shortage of mandatory hologram stickers.

Reconnaissance, publisher of Holography & Optical Technology News™ and organiser of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conference series, has confirmed that final preparations for HSP EMEA 2026 are underway, with registrations filling near capacity. The event will take place from 9-11 February 2026 in Rabat, Morocco, and registration will close soon.

The Banknote Conference 2026 will take place 11-14 May in Washington DC. Even though the event is still months away, the organiser, Currency Research, has already shared details about six pre-event workshops and the first tranche of confirmed speakers, showing that a strong, technical program is planned.

As part of an initiative to define and categorise the visual characteristics that contribute to the ‘WOW factor’ in security holography, Reconnaissance International conducted a global survey of professionals involved in the specification, design, and assessment of holographic security features. The objective was to identify the attributes that are most effective in capturing attention and supporting document authentication across both ID documents and banknotes.

Hanoi-based Q&T Hi-tech Polymer continues to strengthen its position in polymer banknote production with the acquisition of a BOBST VISION K5 HS vacuum metalliser featuring AluBond® technology. The 1,350mm-wide system, scheduled for installation in early 2026, will be the company’s first in-house metallising line, marking a vital step in vertically integrating one of the most critical processes in high-security polymer banknote production.