House Notes
Notes that Speak to Design, Technology and Aesthetics
CURRENCY NEWS, JULY 2021 – Crane Currency holds a holistic view of banknotes, with a passion to continuously strive to integrate new security features, substrate enhancements, print and design. With an ever-increasing number of technologies being introduced, Crane Currency remains continuously end-user oriented with product design and feature integration at its core.
For two decades, the Crane Design Team has honed its skills, explored new technologies and educated central banks on matters of design and technology through its production of house notes, averaging the creation of a new house note every year.
āThe Crane Design Team sees itself more as architects and product designers than creators of a banknote aesthetic. This is an ongoing evolution of mindset and skill and comes with the emergence of new and exciting technologies, and the ongoing collection and application of experienceā, said Karin Mƶrck-Hamilton, Director of Global Design Crane Currency.
2022 ā The āPinball Noteā Featuring MOTION SURFACEĀ® on Polymer
At the beginning of May 2022, Crane Currency unveiled that MOTION SURFACEĀ would now be available for all banknote substrates, including polymer.
With the number of security features for polymer banknotes being limited, the Pinball note was developed to fix security weaknesses before counterfeiters can learn to exploit them. Printing white ink on plastic is becoming easier and highly deceptive diffractive and iridescent features can be obtained via social media.
With MOTION SURFACE on polymer, all banknotes can be secured with customized visual effects that quickly communicate authenticity and make public instruction easier.
The Pinball Note was designed to improve public education usingĀ gamification. Strong three-dimensional effects promote interaction andĀ curiosity, while high-speed movement rewards the public for looking precisely at the banknoteās most secure effects.Ā Simply, gamificationĀ helpsĀ to make theĀ challenge of banknote validation easy andĀ fun.
The Pinball Note uses a 12 mm wide MOTION SURFACEĀ®Ā micro-optic stripe designed to secure polymer banknotes.
2018 ā The āMalta Noteā Featuring MOTION SURFACEĀ®
The Malta House Note was the second house note produced by Crane Currency to feature its micro-optic feature MOTION SURFACEĀ®. From the most modern banknote printing works in the industry, and having the industryās first micro-optic stripe, the Malta House Note speaks to the global appeal of experience and expertise, cutting-edge technology, and aesthetics.
Its principal public security feature, the 10mm wide MOTION SURFACE stripe, has the visual effects Deep, Shimmer and Topo ā the latter being the subject of a research study conducted by Birmingham University that showed it enables the general public to detect counterfeits reliably with just a glance.
2019 ā The āBug Noteā Featuring RAPIDĀ® Detect
The Bug Note was designed to introduce another industry first, a machine-readable RAPIDĀ® micro-optic security thread which includes an invisible near IR-absorbing material that produces unique responses at different wavelengths. It is easily interrogated with sensors that today exist in most banknote equipment, from those used at POS to the high-speed processing equipment employed by central banks.
The theme of bugs provided spectacular subjects that included naturally occurring phenomena involving iridescence, ultraviolet and even near infrared wavelengths, i.e., those that we humans cannot see but can be displayed and/or detected by many types of insects. The Bug Noteās combination of visible and invisible features makes it a study of functionality effectively balancing and integrating security features for both the public and machines.
2018 ā āThe World in MOTIONā House Note featuring full Crane Micro-Optics
The World in Motion note was the Crane Design Teamās submission to the World Banknote Project sponsored by the International Banknote Designers Association. Craneās goal was twofold: to stimulate thinking, and to show off the diversity of talent and skills resident within its team.
Crane embraced the idea that its theme would be truly worldwide selecting global climate change from a shortlist of ideas generated by the team.
Leveraging the micro-optic technology behind the security features MOTIONĀ®, RAPIDĀ® and MOTION SURFACEĀ®, the Crane Design Team created a fully micro-optic banknote integrating all three technologies. The front of banknote features the South Pole. The team brought depth to the flat space of the banknote with Topo effects that bulge out from the note surface with an apex of up to 10mm above the note. In the plane of the banknote itself, there is a micro-optic-propelled compass effect integrated with offset and intaglio printing. Tilting the note towards and away from you āblowsā snow from side-to-side; and tilting the note left and right sends the snowflakes rotating in place.
On the reverse of the note, the North Pole provides storytelling with movement. The Topo feature and compass effect tie themes on the front of the note to the back. Topo bubbles are rendered in a different colour from their surrounding micro-optic effects. This heightens contrast and enforces the separation of their above-the-surface feeling from the dynamic Deep water molecule icons below.