subject: Stopping Bank Note Counterfeiting With Copiers - How Does It Work? [print this page] Stopping Bank Note Counterfeiting With Copiers - How Does It Work?
That colour printer you have on your desk that can print out at a resolution higher than most professionals could manage a few years ago has inside it the type of technology that also sits well within the photocopier that is probably languishing unused most of the time in the corner of the office.
The drums, developer and toner than has seen an incredible rate of development, driven in part by the insatiable needs of consumers and desktop authors was originally taken from the photocopier. Photocopiers are now taking them back!
The increased resolutions of scanning equipment and the developers, toners and other bits that work together to spit out an exact replica of what you want have meant that some governments are worried about the ability to copy banknotes and other important documents at such a quality that forgery is easy. In fact, the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG) was given the mandate to identify threats to note security and find ways to stop it becoming a problem. Some of the ways they do this involve law enforcement agencies in many countries, but they have adopted a very clever way of dealing with it when dealing with technology manufacturers.
They have actually worked with many companies to ensure their copierscannot duplicate sensitive documents through the use of software.
This is similar technology that is used in Adobe's Photoshop software. Since version eight, any attempt to copy a banknote that it recognised (initially American notes but also now European) would result in it being blocked. It doesn't stop there, other software caught on and Paint Shop Pro (the smaller, cheaper, not so loved neighbour of Photoshop) now has the technology built in too.
So, it stands to reason that if desktop software can do it, these big clever copiers can do it too and it's in a company's interest to comply with governments and ensure they also block unauthorised copying of such material.
This system (known as "Counterfeit Deterrence System" or "CDS") has actually been around since 2000 and has been adopted by many technology companies, including large PC manufacturers and software companies.
Of course, this doesn't stop it completely. It is, after all, a bit of software that stops these things from happening and given enough determination, I'm sure some enterprising criminals have already found their way around it.
Andy Calloway is the online marketing director at Calloway Green Ltd, a website design and optimisation company based in Wolverhampton in the UK. Calloway Green take fantastic website design and turn it into a marketable and usable product that will actually make you money. They specialise inWeb Design Birmingham for West Midlands based organisations that are looking to sell their products to a wide audience.
Occasionally Andy works for a company specialising inphotocopiers and helps with their marketing activities and social networking.
