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Close-up on a Passport’s heart

How is a passport created? This exciting question is the subject of our article in the first issue of the Regional Gateway Magazine 2022. To read the full article, have a look on page 31 of the actual magazine issue

 

The heart of a passport is the data page. This is where all the relevant data of the passport owner is stored and shown, which is why it is also called the Holderpage. In addition to personal data, this page also contains most of the passport's most important security features. How is this entrance ticket for border crossings created and how can be guaranteed that the wrong person will not walk through the checkpoint with it?

The Holderpage is not just a single page, but consists of several layers. The layers are made of polycarbonate foil and every layer has a different function and appearance. The so-called core layer builds the white background for the transparent overlay sheets.

During the production process of the Holderpage, a sheet hot stamping machine applies special diffractive optical variable image devices, better known as holograms, on one or more of the polycarbonate layers. The elements are processed from the reel and directly transferred to the sheet through freely programmable parameters such as time, pressure and temperature. Each hologram may in turn contain a wide range of additional security features such as micro-text, nanotext, spectral colors, guilloches, three-dimensional effects or special holographic elements. Depending on the illumination or viewing angle, the appearance of the holograms change with regard to color and design.

The chip for eHolderpages is also embedded between the layers. To enable this chip to "communicate", it is connected to an antenna using thermo-compression welding. This thin copper wire can receive information and also transmit data stored on the chip when requested by a reader. To check that the chip and other security features are working perfectly, quality assurance machines test all inlays and automatically sort out damaged inlays.

 

Read the full article in the Regional Gateway Magazine!