China Banknote Ink Co Ltd (CBI) provides security inks and related products for China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM). An affiliated company of CPBM, it was founded in 2001 in Shanghai, and focuses on banknote printing inks - offset, intaglio and letterpress inks - along with protective coatings and specialised varnishes. CBI also develops and produces high security inks for stamps, passports and valued documents, as well as inkjet inks.
Protective coating
In August 2019, the 2019 edition of the fifth series of Chinese currency was issued. It was the first time Chinese currency was produced with a protective coating. With the huge volume of circulation in different geographical environments varying greatly in temperature and humidity, the upgraded Chinese banknotes have performed well over the last three years, and tests have shown positive benefits from the addition of the anti-soiling and rub resistance properties of the protective coating.
The protective coating, independently developed and produced by CBI, is suitable for use on both paper and polymer substrate. CBI has a dedicated production line for the coating.
To date, CBI’s protective coatings have also been successfully applied on Nepalese rupees and commemorative banknotes produced for the 24th Beijing Winter Olympic games, among others. Besides excellent chemical and physical resistance, the coating is environment friendly due to its zero component of Volatile Organic Compounds in the formula. It is also possible to add anti-bacterial agents if required.
The successful application of protective coatings on the upgraded Chinese currency is part of CBI’s green business strategy.
Security inks
The security inks and related products, manufactured by CBI, are supplied mainly to printing plants for banknotes, stamps, and valued documents. These plants are located in different countries and regions, with different environments and machines. CBI has taken into account this diversity and provided customised solutions. For example, CBI’s unique intaglio ink products can be adapted to a wiping solution with 0.2-0.5% of sulphated castor oil, offering a green choice for customers.
For all of its inks, from raw material selection onwards, CBI says it has prioritised environmental friendliness, maintaining a balance with printability. It has achieved less than 3% of VOCs in its offset and letterpress inks, and less than 12% in intaglio inks.
In order to offer customers comprehensive security solutions, CBI range of security inks includes IReadTM machine readable ink, MagmatTM dynamic ink, BifrostTM fluorescent ink, phosphorescent ink, light color infrared absorptive ink, magnetic ink, silkscreen iridescent ink, silkscreen liquid crystal ink, metallic ink, and more.
Digital inkjet ink
As digital printing presses become more prevalent in security printing, CBI has also ventured into digital inkjet technology. For paper and polymer substrates (both polypropolene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)), CBI has developed high speed UV-LED cured one-pass inkjet inks. High speed colour inkjet ink, fluorescent inks and inkjet varnish meet the design demands of coins, and enhance their security.
Based on the above, inkjet inks developed by CBI could be used in one-pass barcode and QR code printing. QuicktraceTM security inkjet ink, with outstanding physical and chemical resistance, and covert security feature, could also meet the expectations of future banknotes, as well as a track and trace applications.
Balancing green chemistry and product printability, CBI says it is accelerating its technology progress and product upgrades to provide global customers with quick response, customised service and high quality products.