EP4380801A1

EP4380801A1 - Luminescent printing ink for security printing, item having luminescent feature, and production method

Info

Publication number: EP4380801A1
Application number: EP22751290.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Anika STRITT; Verena ENGELHARDT
Original assignee: Giesecke and Devrient Currency Technology GmbH
Current assignee: Giesecke and Devrient Currency Technology GmbH
Priority date: 2021-08-03
Filing date: 2022-07-27
Publication date: 2024-06-12
Also published as: DE102021003985A1; WO2023011760A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a luminescent printing ink (20) for security printing, having a fluorescent substance (28-F) and a phosphorescent substance (28-P) which each luminesce in the visible spectral range when excited with non-visible excitation light. The printing ink (20) contains one or more capsule luminescent pigment varieties (22-F, 22-P), each of which has a core (24), a shell (26) encapsulating the core and a luminescent substance (28) present in the core. The fluorescent substance (28-F) and the phosphorescent substance (28-P) are each present as a luminescent substance in the core (24) of one or more of the capsule luminescent pigment varieties (22-F, 22-P) so that the capsule luminescent pigments form fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments (22-F) and/or phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments (22-P). The luminescences of the fluorescent and the phosphorescent capsule luminescence pigments (22-F, 22-P) have the same light-fastness and the same chemical stability, and their luminescences visually produce a substantially matching colour impression.

Description

Luminescent printing ink for security printing, object with a luminescent feature and manufacturing process

The invention relates to a luminescent printing ink for security printing and a method for producing such a printing ink. The invention also relates to an object, in particular a document of value, security paper or product packaging, with a printed luminescence feature using such a luminescent printing ink, and an associated manufacturing method.

To protect value documents, such as banknotes or bank cards, product packaging and other products to be protected, such as medicines, luminescence features have been used for many years, which are printed on the value document and whose presence can be used for proof of authenticity by irradiation with a suitable light source . The luminescent substances, which are normally invisible to the naked eye in daylight, are excited by UV radiation of a suitable wavelength and their presence is verified by the luminescent light. In this case, the luminescence can be checked visually, for example the presence of a luminescence emission with a predefined color and the correspondence with a predefined spatial pattern can be checked by an observer. A mechanical authenticity check is also possible, in which the luminescence emission is recorded with an optoelectronic detector and the measurement signal is checked for predetermined characteristic properties in order to obtain an indication of the authenticity of the document of value.

Inorganic phosphors are often used for machine-detectable luminescence characteristics. Because of their short decay times, fluorescent substances are generally less suitable for machine authentication, since many contaminants, such as optical brighteners from household detergents, which are often found on banknotes in circulation, fluoresce themselves and a reliable machine proof of a fluorescent security feature through such background fluorescence is therefore difficult. For machine-verifiable security features, which is why mostly phosphorescent substances are used, which emit light with a characteristic decay time even after the excitation radiation has been switched off, so that the luminescence can be easily distinguished from any background fluorescence.

The inorganic phosphors mentioned generally have good to very good chemical stability and good lightfastness, but they also have a number of disadvantages. In comparison to the organic luminescence substances typically used for visual verification, inorganic phosphors have significantly lower luminescence intensities. This requires a relatively high loading of a printing ink with the phosphorescence pigments in order to still obtain sufficient visual luminescence intensity for a visual inspection. As a result, however, the loaded printing ink is difficult to print, for example filigree patterns cannot be printed. Furthermore, inorganic phosphors have a high mechanical hardness, which can lead to mechanical abrasion and wear in the printing machines. The high density of inorganic phosphors can also lead to the printing inks loaded with them separating during long printing processes in the ink fountain or after prolonged storage.

Organometallic phosphors are known as an alternative to inorganic phosphors. These are more suitable than inorganic phosphors for being incorporated into common printing inks, but they have lower chemical stability and are sensitive to acids and bases, for example. This disadvantage can be countered by using capsule luminescent pigments in which the phosphorescent substances are enclosed in the core and surrounded by a feature-free shell. This increases the chemical stability of the luminescent substances, but only a limited amount of luminescent substance can be distributed in the core, so that encapsulated organometallic phosphorescent pigments mente only have a low luminescence intensity. Although this low luminescence intensity is sufficient for machine authentication, phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments are often not suitable for visual verification.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to provide a luminescent printing ink for security printing which can be reliably checked for authenticity both visually and mechanically. The invention is also intended to provide a manufacturing method for such an ink and to provide an article having a luminescent feature printed with such an ink and a corresponding manufacturing method.

This object is solved by the features of the independent claims. Developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a luminescent printing ink for security printing contains a fluorescent substance and a phosphorescent substance, each of which luminesces in the visible spectral range when excited with non-visible excitation light.

The printing ink contains one or more types of capsule luminescent pigments, each of which has a core, a shell encapsulating the core and a luminescent substance present in the core.

The fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance are each present as a luminescent substance in the core of one or more types of capsule luminescent pigments, so that the capsule luminescent pigments form fluorescent and/or phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments that exhibit fluorescence and phosphorescence. The fluorescence and the phosphorescence of the capsule luminescence pigments have the same light fastness and the same chemical stability, and visually they produce an essentially matching color impression.

Capsule luminescent pigments with the same core-shell structure and the same luminescent substance present in the core are referred to as a type of capsule luminescent pigment. For example, the above-mentioned fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments and phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments each form a kind of capsule luminescent pigment. Capsule luminescent pigments, in the core of which there is both a fluorescent substance and a phosphorescent substance, also form a type of capsule luminescent pigment.

UV light, in particular in the UV-A range, for example with an illumination focal point at a wavelength of 365 nm, can advantageously be used as the non-visible excitation light. In addition, IR-excitable luminescent substances are also known, in particular so-called up-converters, which can be excited with non-visible excitation light in the infrared spectral range and then emit in the visible spectral range.

For the purposes of the present description, the UV spectral range extends from 10 to 380 nm, in particular from 200 to 380 nm, the visible spectral range from 380 to 780 nm, the IR spectral range from 780 nm to 30 pm, in particular from 780 to 3000 nm. The information relates to the focal point of a spectrum.

Fluorescent substances and phosphorescent substances are both luminescent substances, but they differ in their luminescence decay time. Luminescent substances that have a decay time of 10 gs or more are referred to as phosphorescent substances in the context of this description, while luminescent substances that have a decay time of 1 μs or less are referred to as fluorescent substances. A Lumi For the purposes of this specification, nescence with a decay time of 10 gs or more is referred to as phosphorescence, and luminescence with a decay time of 1 μs or less as fluorescence.

The luminescent printing ink must have at least one fluorescent substance and at least one phosphorescent substance, but it goes without saying that it can also have a number of fluorescent substances and/or a number of phosphorescent substances. A fluorescent substance or a phosphorescent substance can also be present as a mixture of several fluorescent substances or phosphorescent substances.

The phosphors of the present invention advantageously have a decay time of at least 100 gs, particularly preferably between 250 gs and 5 ms. In this time window, an exact detection of the decay behavior of a marking printed with the luminescent printing ink is also possible on fast-running bank note processing machines. A further advantage of phosphorescent substances is that the characteristic luminescence decay time of a phosphorescent substance used can be used as a further authenticity feature.

The decay time of the fluorescers of the present invention is advantageously even below 0.1 gs and can be down to the nano or even picosecond range.

The phosphorescent substance of the luminescent printing ink advantageously has a luminescence decay time that is at least a factor of 10, preferably even a factor of 50 or even 100, longer than the fluorescent substance.

The at least one phosphorescent substance is advantageously an organic or organometallic phosphorescent substance, preferably a metallo- ganic phosphorescent substance with Ir, Pt, Zn, Cu, Eu, Tb, Dy, Gd, or Sm as the central atom, particularly preferably around a lanthanide complex with Eu, Tb, Dy, Gd, or Sm as the central atom, and very particularly preferably with Eu or Tb as the central atom.

The phosphorescent substance is preferably selected in such a way that it can be excited with UV radiation, preferably in the UV-A range, particularly preferably with radiation having an illumination focus of 365 nm, and emits in the visible spectral range. The mass fraction of the phosphorescent substance in the core of the capsule luminescent pigments is advantageously between 0.1 and 30%, preferably between 5 and 25%, the percentages relating to weight percent.

If the proportion of phosphorescent substance is above 30%, there is a risk that the phosphorescent substance will interfere with the crosslinking during the formation of the core polymer or the polymer of the shell, so that the shell has cracks, for example, and the protective function of the shell can thus be lost. However, due to the maximum phosphorescent content of 30%, the capsule luminescent pigment appears relatively faint visually under UV light, although the phosphorescence intensity is sufficient for machine readability. According to the invention, this problem is overcome by combining the phosphorescent substance with a fluorescent substance or with fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments with an essentially matching color impression, since the fluorescent substance can significantly increase the visual brightness.

The lower chemical stability of the organometallic phosphorescent substances mentioned at the outset is overcome within the scope of the present invention by the use of capsule luminescent pigments in which the luminescent substance is enclosed in the core and surrounded by a feature-free shell. This makes it possible to increase the chemical resistance of the luminescent substances and to achieve good incorporation into the printing ink. Due to their relatively low density, the capsule luminescent pigments according to the invention do not separate from the thus loaded inks during long printing runs in the ink fountain and remain homogeneously dispersed in the ink of the invention. Their low hardness enables the printing plates to have a long service life. The ink itself is also suitable for attractive, delicate print designs, such as high-resolution screen printing. While conventionally the limited amount of phosphorescent substance that can be distributed in the core of a capsule luminescent pigment usually does not allow visual verification due to the low luminescence intensity, the combination according to the invention with a fluorescent substance of the same color allows a high visual brightness of the luminescence despite the use of encapsulated phosphorescent substances.

The at least one fluorescent substance is preferably one or more organic or organometallic fluorescent substances. The fluorescent substance is preferably selected in such a way that it can be excited under irradiation with UV radiation, preferably in the UVA range, particularly preferably with radiation having an illumination focus of 365 nm, and emits in the visible spectral range. Examples of suitable organic fluorescent substances are perylene, benzoxazinone, oxinate, benzothiazone, anthranilic, aldazine and salicylic acid derivatives.

The fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance are particularly preferably matched to one another in such a way that they can be excited with the same non-visible excitation radiation.

The combination according to the invention of the two types of capsule luminescent pigment means that the luminescent printing ink simultaneously achieves high visual brightness despite a low visual brightness of the machine-readable phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments. Because of the essentially matching color impression, the effects of the two luminescences are visually intensified. The combination also offers the possibility of increasing the intensity of the visual and machine-readable luminescence in a targeted manner, in particular independently of one another, by means of the Setting the mixing ratio of the two luminescent substances and adapting it to an intended application.

In an advantageous embodiment, the luminescence spectra of the fluorescent substance and of the phosphorescent substance are different from one another despite the essentially matching visual color impression. The existence of different luminescence spectra with essentially the same visual color impression is known from color theory as metamerism and is based on the physiological structure of the color receptors in the eye, so that it is not possible to draw conclusions about the composition of the color stimulus (here: the luminescence spectrum) from the color impression. The different luminescence spectra can serve as a further machine-readable mark of authenticity, since the measured luminescence emission then has different spectral distributions depending on the time of measurement due to the different decay times of the luminescent substances. In the case of a measurement during the duration of the non-visible excitation, both the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance contribute to the emission, the total emission represents a weighted addition of the two luminescence spectra. In the case of a measurement after the end of the excitation during the decay period of the phosphorescent substance, on the other hand, only contributes nor does the phosphor contribute to the emission, so that the total emission shows the spectrum of the phosphor alone.

The capsule luminescent pigments of the printing ink advantageously each have a polymer core with at least one luminescent substance dissolved or dispersed therein, and a shell made of a second polymer. Suitable polymers for the core and shell are selected in particular from publication WO 2017/080654 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated into the present application in this respect.

Such a core/shell structure ensures high chemical stability of the luminescence of the encapsulated luminescent pigments with respect to external influences. There- in external influences are understood to mean in particular humidity, watery environment, sweat, fats, detergents, solvents or chemical compounds such as alkalis, acids, alcohols or acetone. The core and the shell of the different types of capsule luminescent pigment are preferably made of the same materials, so that they differ only in the luminescent substance in the core. In an advantageous variant, the core consists of a first polymer and the shell consists of a second polymer which differs from the core polymer in at least one monomer.

With particular advantage, the two types of capsule luminescence pigment of the luminescent printing ink do not essentially differ in their chemical and physical properties. This can be achieved by a coordinated choice of the materials for the capsule core and capsule shell, for example in the simplest case the same materials can be selected for the core and the shell of different types of capsule luminescent pigments, as described above. It is particularly important that the fluorescence and the phosphorescence have the same light fastness, ie do not differ in their stability to exposure to daylight. Otherwise, there could be discrepancies in an authenticity check, since a luminescent feature printed with the printing ink can then, for example, still luminesce visually enough, but is rejected by a banknote checking device because the intensity is too low, since the phosphorescent component is already degraded.

Light fastness is defined in the present description as described in publication WO 2017/080654 A1, in which case the luminescence of the capsule luminescent pigments of a luminescent printing ink according to the invention can be tested for light fastness in particular using the test method described there. Accordingly, the same light fastness is present in particular when the intensities of the fluorescence and phosphorescence of the capsule luminescent pigments normalized to the initial value are each on a wool scale of 1 to 4 according to test method B of WO 2017/080654 A1 differ from one another by less than 20 percentage points, particularly preferably by less than 10 percentage points. This makes it possible for the fluorescence and phosphorescence of the printing ink to not degrade at different rates when exposed to daylight.

The encapsulation of the two luminescent substances can also ensure that the fluorescence and the phosphorescence do not differ in their chemical stability. This offers a significant advantage over an alternative approach in which fluorescers and phosphors are mixed without a shell. Without encapsulation, one of the pigments can be lost or faded after washing, for example, so that machine readability could be lost without this being visually recognizable.

The visually visible component could also be dissolved out by treating the document of value with a solvent, while the machine-readable component would remain. The security feature would then no longer be recognizable or only with difficulty for the normal user and would therefore be of no use to the public.

In the context of this invention, a substantially equally high chemical stability of fluorescence and phosphorescence is understood to mean that the intensity of fluorescence remaining after exposure to a chemical, measured for example during continuous excitation illumination (see below), and of phosphorescence, measured for example 10 ps after the end of the excitation (see below), a test print is higher than 80% of the initial intensity, in particular after exposure for 5 minutes to toluene, ethyl acetate, hydrochloric acid (5%), caustic soda (2%), sodium hypochlorite solution (5% active chlorine) and acetone. For details of the test method, reference is made to test method A5 of WO 2017/080654 A1. If the printing ink contains several types of capsule luminescent pigment, these advantageously have the same grain size, with the D99 value of the capsule luminescent pigments advantageously being less than 25 gm, preferably even less than 12 gm, in particular less than 6 gm. The same grain size means a maximum deviation of the D99 values of the capsule luminescent pigments of 20% or less, preferably 10% or less.

Due to the advantageous similarity of the physical and chemical properties of the capsule luminescent pigment types, they can be easily mixed in a security ink. Since the pigments have the same printing properties, the mixture in the printing ink cannot separate again because the pigments have the same density. The visual and machine-readable impressions also do not change independently of one another as a result of external influences, so that even if the overall color impression changes over time, the color impressions generated by the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance remain the same. It is therefore not possible for an observer to recognize without the aid of optical devices, for example a spectrometer, that the printing ink not only contains a single luminescent pigment but actually a mixture of two luminescent pigments of the same color. This makes it significantly more difficult to reproduce a luminescence feature produced with the printing ink.

The fluorescence and the phosphorescence of the capsule luminescent pigments visually produce an essentially matching color impression. In the context of the present invention, two luminescences have a substantially matching color impression, in particular if the standard color value components (xi, yi) and (x2, ?) of the luminescences in two color regions adjoining one another along a line or a corner, preferably in the same color region of the CIE standard color space (CIE-1931), as described in the article by Kenneth L. Kelly, "Color Designations for Lights", Journal of the Optical Society of America, vol. 33 (1943) pp. 627-632, are defined. These color regions are also briefly referred to below as Kelly color regions.

For illustration, Fig. 4 shows the CIE 1931 color diagram in the coordinate system of the standard color value components x and y with the Kelly color regions No. 1 to No. 23 drawn in. The color impression of the color region No. 23 is referred to as "green" according to Kelly, for example, the color impression of the adjoining color regions No. 2 and No. 22 as "yellowish green" or "bluish green", etc. The specific designations of the color regions are not essential for the present invention, they only serve to briefly name the different color regions.

In an advantageous embodiment, the phosphorescent substance and the fluorescent substance are each introduced separately into the cores of different capsule luminescent pigments. The printing ink therefore contains a first, fluorescent capsule luminescence pigment type whose cores contain only fluorescent substances but no phosphorescent substances, and a second, phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment type whose cores contain only phosphorescent substances but no fluorescent substances. This configuration has the advantage that the quantitative ratio of phosphorescent substances and fluorescent substances in the printing ink can easily be adjusted individually and the relative intensities of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence can thereby be set as desired.

In another, likewise advantageous embodiment, the phosphorescent substance and the fluorescent substance are introduced together into the cores of capsule luminescent pigments, so that the printing ink contains a fluorescent and at the same time phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment type whose cores contain both fluorescent substances and phosphorescent substances. With this configuration, the same chemical stability and printability is automatically guaranteed and both luminescent substances are always homogeneously distributed in the printing ink. A combination of the two configurations is also possible, so that in a printing ink, for example, there is a first type of capsule luminescent pigment whose cores contain both phosphorescent and fluorescent substances, and a second type of capsule luminescent pigment whose cores contain only fluorescent substances or only phosphorescent substances . A combination of all three varieties is also possible.

The fluorescent substance of the capsule luminescent pigments is present in the printing ink in particular in a concentration that allows the luminescence to be checked visually. The luminescence brightness of the printing ink is preferably at least 100%, preferably at least 150%, in particular at least 200%, of the reference brightness of a green luminescent printing ink with a ZnS:Cu standard safety pigment with 10% by weight pigmentation with the same pressure strength. Further advantageous details on the standard security pigment and a preferred definition of the reference sample are given below. The spectral integral over the luminescence spectrum during the excitation, multiplied by the visual sensitivity curve of the human eye, advantageously serves as a measure of the brightness.

The phosphorescent substance of the capsule luminescent pigments is present in the printing ink, in particular in a concentration that allows the luminescence to be checked mechanically in a bank note processing machine. The phosphorescence intensity of the printing ink is preferably at least 100%, preferably at least 120%, in particular at least 130%, of the reference intensity of a green luminescent printing ink with a ZnS:Cu standard safety pigment with 10% by weight pigmentation with the same pressure force. Further advantageous details on the standard security pigment and a preferred definition of the reference sample are given below.

The spectral integral over the luminescence spectrum after the excitation illumination has been switched off, for example 10 ps after the excitation illumination has been switched off, advantageously serves as a measure for the phosphorescence intensity. In all configurations, the concentration of a luminescent substance in the ink is the product of the concentration of the luminescent substance in the associated capsule luminescent pigment and the concentration of the associated capsule luminescent pigments in the ink.

The invention also includes methods of making a luminescent ink of the type described above for security printing. In a first advantageous variant of the method, it is provided that

B) a fluorescent substance and a phosphorescent substance are provided, which each luminesce when excited with non-visible excitation light in the visible spectral range, and whose luminescences visually produce an essentially matching color impression and have the same light fastness,

El) the fluorescent substance is introduced into the core of the first capsule luminescent pigments and the phosphorescent substance is introduced into the core of the second capsule luminescent pigments, the capsule luminescent pigments each having a core and a shell encapsulating the core and the materials of the core and shell of the capsule -luminescence pigments are chosen such that the luminescences of the first and second capsule luminescence pigments have the same chemical stability, and

D) the first and second capsule luminescent pigments are introduced into a printing ink with the luminescent substances introduced into the core.

In another, also advantageous variant of the method, it is provided that

B) a fluorescent substance and a phosphorescent substance are provided, which each luminesce when excited with non-visible excitation light in the visible spectral range, and whose luminescences visually produce an essentially matching color impression and have the same light fastness, E2) the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance are introduced together into the core of third capsule luminescent pigments which have a core and a shell encapsulating the core, and

D) the third capsule luminescent pigments are introduced into a printing ink with the luminescent substances introduced into the core.

The invention also includes an object, in particular a document of value, security paper, a security element or product packaging, with a printed luminescent feature, which comprises at least one luminescent printing ink of the type described.

Finally, the invention also includes a method of manufacturing an article of the type described, in which a luminescent feature is printed onto the article using at least one luminescent ink of the type described.

Further exemplary embodiments and advantages of the invention are explained below with reference to the figures, which are not shown to scale and proportions in order to improve clarity.

Show it:

1 shows a schematic representation of a banknote with a machine-readable security element printed on the banknote paper,

FIG. 2 shows the security element of FIG. 1 in a schematic cross-sectional view,

3 (a) a security element in which phosphorescent substances and fluorescent substances are introduced together into the core of capsule luminescent pigments, and (b) a security element with first mixed ones capsule luminescent pigments and with second, fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments,

4 shows the CIE 1931 color diagram in the coordinate system of the standard color value components x and y with the Kelly color regions No. 1 to No. 23 drawn in,

5 in a representation like FIG. 4 in the CIE color diagram, the color locations of proofs A, B and A _x B _y (color regions Nos. 2, 23) and proofs E, F and E1F2 (color regions Nos. 9, 12) ,

6 shows a section of a bank note with a paper substrate and a luminescent security element according to the invention printed on the paper substrate, and

7 shows a security element on a paper substrate of a document of value according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.

The invention will now be explained using the example of banknotes and other documents of value with printed luminescence features. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a banknote 10 with a machine-readable security element 14 printed on the banknote paper 12. The security element 14 represents a luminescence feature that is not visible under normal daylight illumination and that when irradiated with non-visible excitation light, for example UV -Light 16, luminescent in the visible spectral range.

As illustrated by the schematic cross-sectional representation of FIG. 2, the security element 14 is printed onto the banknote paper 12 with a luminescent security printing ink 20 which contains a combination of two different capsule luminescent pigment types 22-F, 22-P. For easier explanation, the Si- Security element 14 is shown as a homogeneous surface, but it goes without saying that luminescence markings are in practice usually formed in the form of a spatial pattern from a plurality of surface areas with possibly different luminescence colors, for example in the form of a raster print. In this case, part or all of the luminescence marking can be printed with security printing inks according to the invention.

The capsule luminescent pigments 22 of the security printing ink 20 each contain a core 24 made of a first polymer with a luminescent substance 28 dissolved or dispersed therein and a core encapsulating shell 26 made of a second polymer. Suitable polymers are advantageously chosen according to the teaching of publication WO 2017/080654 A1. Such a core/shell structure ensures high chemical stability of the luminescence of the encapsulated capsule luminescent pigments with respect to external influences.

The core 24 and the shell 26 of the various capsule luminescent pigment varieties 22 are preferably each made of the same materials, in the first capsule luminescent pigment variety 22-F, however, a fluorescent substance 28-F is introduced into the core, while the second Capsule luminescent pigment type 22-P a phosphorescent substance 28-P is introduced into the core. The two capsule luminescent pigment types 22-F, 22-P therefore essentially have the same physical and chemical properties, but differ in the decay times of the luminescent substances contained in the core.

Despite their different decay behavior, the fluorescent substance 28-F and the phosphorescent substance 28-P are selected in such a way that the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, and thus the two capsule luminescent pigment types 22-F, 22-P, visually produce an essentially matching color impression in produce luminescence. The exact luminescence spectra of the two luminescent substances 28 can differ definitely differ, what is essential is the visual agreement of the color impression perceived by the eye.

By embedding the luminescent substances 28 in core-shell particles, whose cores and shells are each formed from the same materials, the formed capsule luminescent pigment types 22-F, 22-P, and thus the fluorescence and phosphorescence, the same chemical stability and the same light fastness, i.e. the same stability when exposed to daylight. This same level of stability is important because the security element 14 is exposed to various environmental influences, such as sunlight, sweat, detergents or solvents, while the bank note 10 is in circulation. Due to the same light fastness, the color impressions of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence not only match initially, but the match is maintained throughout the life of the banknote 10 even when exposed to the sun for a long time.

Due to its special design, the security element 14 can be easily checked both visually and by machine and has a high degree of security against forgery. The phosphorescent substance 28-P of the security element 14 enables reliable machine detection, while the color-matching fluorescent substance 28-F ensures a high visual brightness of the luminescence and thus enables a reliable visual check. The same lightfastness and chemical stability of the luminescence of the two capsule luminescence pigment types 22-P, 22-F also ensures that the two types do not degrade at different rates during the life of the banknote 10, but rather behave like a single luminescence pigment.

The schematic representation of FIG. 2 shows only one phosphorescent substance 28-P or one fluorescent substance 28-F in the core of the pigments 22, but it goes without saying that in general several phosphorescent substances or fluorescent substances can also be present in the respective core. However, in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, each capsule luminescent pigment 22 contains either only phosphorescent substances or only fluorescent substances. The proportion of phosphors and fluorescers in the printing ink can thereby easily be individually adjusted in order to adjust the relative intensities of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence as desired.

3 schematically shows in (a) an embodiment in which phosphorescent substances 28-P and fluorescent substances 28-F are introduced together into the core of the capsule luminescent pigments 22-FP, which thus each have both a phosphorescent substance and a fluorescent substance. The security ink 20 of FIG. 3(a) therefore contains only a single type of luminescent pigment, the capsule luminescent pigments 22-FP of which are both fluorescent and phosphorescent. In this configuration, the same chemical stability of the luminescence and printability is automatically ensured and both luminescent substances are always distributed homogeneously in the printing ink.

In the further exemplary embodiment of Fig. 3(b), the printing ink 20 contains two types of capsule luminescent pigments, namely mixed capsule luminescent pigments 22-FP, whose cores contain phosphorescent substances 28-P and fluorescent substances 28-F, and fluorescent ones Capsule luminescent pigments 22-F, whose cores contain only fluorescers 28-F, and which serve to increase visual brightness. Analogously, designs are also possible in which the printing ink 20 contains mixed capsule luminescent pigments 22-FP and, to improve machine readability, phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments 22-P, or designs in which the printing ink 20 contains mixed capsule luminescent pigments 22-FP, fluorescent Capsule Luminescent Pigments 22-F and Capsule Luminescent Phosphorescent Pigments 22-P.

4 illustrates the essentially matching color impression of the capsule luminescence pigments 22-F, 22-P. The figure shows the CIE 1931 color diagram 30 in the coordinate system of the standard color value components x and y and the Kelly Color regions #1 through #23 as defined in the above-referenced Kenneth L. Kelly article, "Color Designations for Lights".

Also shown are the color loci of the luminescence of the capsule luminescent pigments 22-F and 22-P, both of which are in the same color region No. 23 ("green"), so that they visually produce a matching color impression.

Also shown are the color coordinates of the capsule luminescent pigments of a modification of the luminescent printing ink of FIG. 2, in which the color coordinates of the fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments 32-F are in color region no. Luminescent pigments 32-P is in color region no. 23 ("green"). Color regions #2 and #23 border one another along an edge such that the capsule luminescent pigments 32-P, 32-F, and thus the fluorescence and phosphorescence, visually produce a substantially matching color impression in luminescence.

In the case of another luminescent printing ink, the color point of the included fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments 34-F is in color region no. 12 ("pink") and the color point of the included phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments 34-P is in color region no. 14 ("red purple "). The color regions No. 12 and No. 14 adjoin one another at a corner, so that the luminescence pigments 34-P, 34-F, and thus the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, visually produce an essentially matching color impression in luminescence.

The standard color value components (x,y) of a luminescence, for example a fluorescence or a phosphorescence, can be determined according to DIN EN ISO 11664:2007 using the steady-state emission spectra of proofs. For example, a Horiba FluoroMax-4P spectrometer with the following spectrometer settings is used for the measurement:

A reference substance is used to assess visual brightness and machine-readable phosphorescence intensity, Honeywell's CD140 inorganic phosphor. This phosphorescent substance is a green luminescent standard security pigment (ZnS:Cu) for use in banknote printing. The pigment was mixed into a printing ink with a pigment content of 10 wt. -% and printed in offset printing with a pressure of 1 g/m ² on security paper (banknote paper) without optical brighteners in order to obtain a reference proof. Inorganic phosphor CD140 has low visual brightness but good machine readability.

To assess the visual brightness and machine-readability of the printing ink to be compared, these were also printed on security paper with a proof strength of 1 g/m ² in order to obtain test proofs.

To assess the visual brightness, the reference print and the test print are excited with non-visible excitation light, in particular UV light, and the steady-state luminescence spectrum is measured in each case. For example, a Horiba FluoroMax-4P spectrometer with the following spectrometer settings can be used: The measured luminescence spectra are multiplied by the human eye's spectral sensitivity curve and spectrally integrated to obtain a measure of visual brightness. The visual lightness of the proof is then divided by the visual lightness of the reference and normalized thereby to obtain a relative visual lightness of the proof.

To assess the machine readability, the reference print and the test print are excited with non-visible excitation light, in particular UV light, and the phosphorescence intensity is measured and spectrally integrated after the excitation has been switched off. For example, a Horiba FluoroMax 4P spectrometer with the following spectrometer settings is used for the measurement:

The measured spectrally integrated phosphorescence intensity of the proof is then divided by the spectrally integrated phosphorescence intensity of the reference proof and normalized thereby to obtain a relative phosphorescence intensity of the proof. The relative phosphorescence intensity is a measure of machine readability.

Some specific, non-limiting exemplary embodiments of luminescent printing inks with their properties are described in more detail below. The chemicals and reagents used for the preparation of the exemplary embodiments were obtained from the following companies and used without further purification: 2-amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid (acbs) from TCI, terbium chloride hexahydrate from Sigma- Aldrich, CD396, CD397, CD740, CD748 from Honeywell and Lumogen Red F305 from BASF.

Exemplary embodiment 1 is based on a pigment system composed of a green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment and a green phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment.

The pigments used were produced in accordance with example 1 of publication WO 2017/080656 A1. The green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment GF1 consists of a polyurea core with an organic fluorescent substance from the class of quinazoline derivatives (CD 396 from Honeywell) distributed in it and a melamine-formaldehyde shell.

The green phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment GP1 consists of a polyurea core with a rare earth metal complex distributed therein (CD 748 from Honeywell) and a melamine-formaldehyde shell. The mass fraction of the two luminescent substances in the core polymer is in each case 20% by weight, based on the core polymer.

Both capsule luminescent pigments are green luminescent under excitation with UV light with a focal point of illumination at 365 nm. If it is mentioned below for short that these pigments or colors or proofs derived from them luminesce, this always means that they luminesce under UV excitation at 365 nm.

Production of the printing inks:

Pure fluorescent ink (A): 120 g of the green fluorescent pigment GF1 are incorporated into an offset printing ink (Sicpa Holding SA) using a three-roll mill. The degree of pigmentation of the paint is 15% by weight. Pure phosphorescent ink (B): 120 g of the green phosphorescent pigment GP1 are incorporated into an offset printing ink (Sicpa Holding SA) using a three-roll mill. The degree of pigmentation of the paint is 15% by weight.

Mixed colors (A _x B _y ): The two colors A and B are mixed with each other in respective proportions with the help of a three-roller machine in such a way that the two colors A and B have an x:y ratio of 2:1 (A2BI), 1: 1 (AiBi), 1:2 (A1B2) or 1:3 (A1B3). The offset printing inks obtained luminesce green.

The pure colors A, B and the mixed colors A _x B _y are printed on security paper with a pressure of 1 g/m ² and the proofs are dried at 60° C. for 2 hours. The corresponding proofs are referred to below as proofs A, B and A _x B _y .

The table below shows the color regions of the CIE standard color space of FIGS. 4 and 5 and the visual brightness and phosphorescence intensities of the luminescence emissions of the proofs.

Proof B is visually about as bright as the reference proof, but at 189% its phosphorescence intensity is significantly higher than the reference. When mixed with pure fluorescent dye A, visual brightness is enhanced while machine readability is maintained. The proportion of the pure phosphorescence color B, or of the phosphorescence pigment in the mixture should be above 50% in order to still obtain a sufficiently high level of machine readability.

The standard color value components of the two proofs A and B are in the adjacent Kelly color regions No. 2 and No. 23, so visually they have an essentially identical color impression. The binary mixtures A _x B _y are all in the same color region No. 2 as the fluorescent color A. In a representation like FIG. 4, FIG. 5 shows the color locations of the proofs A (white point), B (black point) and the proofs A _x B _y (hatched points) in the CIE color diagram 30.

In addition, the proofs A and B, and thus the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, also have the same lightfastness of the luminescence when exposed to sunlight. Since the emission spectrum remains constant with aging, the spectrally integrated intensity of the fluorescence emission is measured as a parameter of the visual brightness. The spectrally integrated intensity of the phosphorescence emission is measured as a parameter of the machine-readable intensity. Both intensities show a similar course of the wool scale.

The visual brightness and machine luminescence intensity of a proof is measured quantitatively before irradiation, for example using a Horiba FluoroMax 4 spectrometer with the settings mentioned above, and normalized to 100%. The pressure strip is then subjected to a wool scale test analogous to EN ISO 105-B01:1999, referred to below as the light test, for example in a Q-Lab xenon test chamber (Q-SUN Xe-2-H). The remaining intensity of the luminescence after reaching the Woll scale points is shown in the table below.

Since the residual intensities of proofs A and B differ by less than 10 percentage points for all wool scale points considered, the fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof A) and the phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof B) have, by definition, the same light fastness of the luminescence.

Accordingly, the mixed printing inks also show phosphorescence and fluorescence with the same light fastness, as shown by proof A1B2:

The intensities of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence of the proof A1B2 normalized to the initial value differ by less than 10 percentage points on the wool scale 1 to 4 and therefore, by definition, have the same light fastness of the luminescence. The proof A1B2 therefore represents a green-luminescent luminescence feature according to the invention, in which the machine-readable component and the visual visible component age uniformly in the light test. Both the visual brightness (314%) and the phosphorescence intensity (132%) are significantly increased compared to the reference. The same applies to the proof AiBs, in which the phosphorescence and fluorescence also have the same light fastness, and in which both the visual brightness (241%) and the phosphorescence intensity (143%) are significantly increased compared to the reference.

Because of the described core/shell structure of the pigments, the two luminescent substances in the mixtures A _x B _y are also chemically stable to external influences.

Example 2:

Exemplary embodiment 2 is based on a pigment system composed of a green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment and a green phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment.

As the capsule luminescent phosphorescent pigment, the capsule luminescent green phosphorescent pigment GP1 of Working Example 1 was used.

The green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment GF2 of Example 2 consists of a polyurea core with an organic fluorescent substance distributed therein from the class of benzoxazinone derivatives (CD 397 from Honeywell) and a melamine-formaldehyde shell.

The pure fluorescent color C was produced analogously to exemplary embodiment 1 with the named capsule luminescence pigment GF2.

To produce a mixed color C1B2, 40 g of the green fluorescent pigment GF2 and 80 g of the green phosphorescent pigment GP1 were incorporated into an offset printing ink (Sicpa Holding SA) using a three-roll mill. The degree of pigmentation of the paint is 15% by weight. The offset printing ink obtained luminesces green. Proofs C and C1B2 were produced analogously to example 1.

The standard color value components of the two proofs C and B, and thus of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, are in the adjacent Kelly color regions No. 2 and No. 23, so visually they have an essentially matching color impression. Binary mixture C1B2 lies in the same color region #2 as fluorescent color C.

In a light test analogous to example 1, proofs B and C show the following residual intensities of the luminescence: Since the residual intensities of proofs C and B differ by 10 percentage points or less for all wool scale points considered, the fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof C) and the phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof B) have the same lightfastness by definition.

Accordingly, the mixed printing ink C1B2 also shows phosphorescence and fluorescence with the same light fastness. The fluorescence and phosphorescence of proof C1B2 show the following residual intensities in a light test:

The intensities of fluorescence and phosphorescence normalized to the initial value differ by less than 10 percentage points on a wool scale of 1 to 4 and therefore, by definition, have the same light fastness.

The proof C1B2 therefore represents a further green luminescent luminescent feature according to the invention, in which both the machine-readable component and the visual component age uniformly in the light test. Both the visual brightness (194%) and the phosphorescence intensity (130%) are significantly increased compared to the reference. Due to the core/shell structure of the pigments, both luminescent substances in the C1B2 mixture are chemically stable to external influences. Exemplary embodiment 3 is based on a pigment system composed of a red fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment and a red phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment.

The pigments used were produced analogously to Example 1 of publication WO 2017/080656 A1. In the context of this invention, analogous production means that the encapsulation method was adopted, but other dyes were used. The red fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment RF1 consists of a polyurea core with distributed organic fluorescent substances from the class of benzoxazinone derivatives (CD 397 from Honeywell) and perylenes (Lumogen Red F305 from BASF) and a melamine-formaldehyde -Covering. The mass fraction of the two luminescent substances in the core polymer is 15% by weight of the benzoxazinone derivative and 1% by weight of the perylene, based on the core polymer.

The red phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment RP1 consists of a polyurea core with a rare earth metal complex distributed therein (CD 740 from Honeywell) and a melamine-formaldehyde shell. The mass fraction of the luminescent substances in the core polymer is 1 to 20% by weight, based on the core polymer.

The pure fluorescent ink E and the pure phosphorescent ink F were produced analogously to Example 1 with the capsule luminescent pigments mentioned. The pure fluorescent ink E contains the red fluorescent pigment RF1 and the pure phosphorescent ink F contains the red phosphorescent pigment RP1.

To produce the mixed ink E1F2, 40 g of the red fluorescent pigment RF1 and 80 g of the red phosphorescent pigment RP1 were incorporated into an offset printing ink (Sicpa Holding SA) using a three-roll mill. The degree of pigmentation of the color is 15% by weight. The resulting offset ink is red luminescent. Proofs E, F and E1F2 were produced in the same way as in example 1.

The tristimulus components of the two proofs E and F, and thus of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, lie in the Kelly color regions No. 9 ("reddish orange") and No. 12 ("pink"), which adjoin one another via a corner visually an essentially matching color impression. Its binary mixture E1F2 lies in the same color region No. 12 as the pure phosphorescence color F. The color locations of the proofs E (white dot), F (black dot) and the proof E1F2 (hatched dot) are also shown in FIG.

In a light test analogous to example 1, proofs E and F, and thus the fluorescence and phosphorescence, show the following residual luminescence intensities: Since the residual intensities of proofs E and F differ by less than 10 percentage points for all wool scale points considered, the fluorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof E) and the phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments (proof F) have the same lightfastness of luminescence by definition. Accordingly, the mixed printing inks E1F2 also show phosphorescence and fluorescence with the same light fastness. The fluorescence and phosphorescence of proof E1F2 show the following residual intensities in a light test:

The proof E1F2 therefore represents a red-luminescent luminescence feature according to the invention, in which both the machine-readable component and the visual component age uniformly in the light test. Both the visual brightness (166%) and the phosphorescence intensity (121%) are significantly increased compared to the reference. Due to the core/shell structure of the pigments, both luminescent substances in the E1F2 mixture are chemically stable to external influences.

Comparative example 1:

Comparative example 1 relates to a combination of luminescent pigments with different color impressions, specifically a green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment and a red phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment. The pigment GF1 of exemplary embodiment 1 was used as the green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment, and the pigment RP1 of exemplary embodiment 3 was used as the red phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment.

For the production of the comparative mixed colors A _x F _y, the printing colors A and F from example 1 or 3 were mixed with each other with the help of a three-roll mill with the respective proportions in such a way that the two colors A and F were mixed in an x:y ratio of 1 :2 (AIF2), 1:3 (A1F3) and 1:5 (A1F5) are present. The offset printing inks obtained luminesce yellow to orange.

The proofs A _x F _y were produced analogously to exemplary embodiment 1.

The color regions of the CIE standard color space of FIG. 4 and the visual brightnesses and phosphorescence intensities of the luminescence emissions of the proofs are given in the table below.

The phosphorescence intensities of the comparison proofs A _x F _y are higher than those of the reference. But since the color region no. 2 ("yellowish green") of proof A, i.e. the fluorescence, and color region no. 12 ("pink") of proof F, i.e. the phosphorescence, do not adjoin one another, the fluorescence and the phosphorescence of the Mixed colors do not have a matching or essentially matching color impression. Accordingly, the standard color values of the comparison proofs A _x F _y are neither in color region No. 2 of proof A nor in color region No. 12 of proof F. Rather, the mixture of a green fluorescent pigment A and a red phosphorescent pigment F results a yellow or orange luminescent ink. The luminescence pigments A and F cannot therefore be mixed with one another in order to obtain a security printing ink according to the invention, since in particular the fluorescence and phosphorescence intensity cannot be adjusted while retaining the luminescence color impression.

Comparative example 2:

Comparative example 2 contains a phosphorescent substance with poorer light fastness of the luminescence, a terbium complex with 2-amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid (acbs) as a ligand being used as the phosphorescent substance.

The synthesis of the terbium complex with 2-amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid as a ligand proceeded as follows:

7.689 g (0.045 mol) of 2-amino-4-chlorobenzoic acid (acbs) are suspended in 200 ml of water and heated to 60.degree. 1.792 g of sodium hydroxide (0.045 mol) are added as a solid to the suspension and the mixture is stirred at 60° C. for 1 hour. 5.579 g of terbium chloride hexahydrate (0.015 mmol) as a solution in 20 ml of water are slowly added dropwise to the reaction solution, with a colorless precipitate being formed. The reaction mixture is stirred at 60° C. for 5 h. The precipitated solid is then filtered and washed with water (20 mL). After drying in a drying oven at 60 °C, the terbium complex remained in the form of a slightly yellowish powder (10 g, 0.0149 mmol, 99%).

The pigment GF1 of Example 1 was used as the green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment. A pigment GP2 was produced analogously to example 1 of publication WO 2017/080656A1 as the green phosphorescent capsule luminescence pigment. The pigment GP2 consists of a polyurea core with the terbium complex described above distributed therein and a melamine-formaldehyde shell. The mass fraction of the two luminescent substances in the core polymer is in each case 20% by weight, based on the core polymer. Both pigments are green luminescent.

The pure phosphorescent color G was produced analogously to exemplary embodiment 1 with the named capsule luminescent pigment GP2.

For the production of the comparative mixed ink AiGi, 40 g of the green fluorescent pigment GF1 and 40 g of the green phosphorescent pigment GP2 were incorporated into an offset printing ink (Sicpa Holding SA) using a three-roll mill. The degree of pigmentation of the paint is 15% by weight. The offset printing inks obtained luminesce green.

The proofs G and AiGi were produced in the same way as in example 1.

The standard color values of the two proofs A and G, and thus the fluorescence and phosphorescence, are in the adjacent Kelly color regions No. 2 and No. 23, so visually they have an essentially identical color impression. Your binary mixture A1G1 is in the same color region no. 2 as the pure fluorescent color A. In a light test analogous to example 1, the proofs A and G, and thus the fluorescence and the phosphorescence, show the following residual intensities of the luminescence: Since the luminescence intensity of proof G, i.e. in particular the phosphorescence, falls significantly faster in the light test than that of proof A, i.e. in particular the fluorescence, the residual intensities differ by more than 20 percentage points for the wool scale points 1 to 4. The capsule luminescent pigments A and G therefore have different degrees of lightfastness of the luminescence.

The fluorescence and phosphorescence of the proof AiGi show the following residual intensities in a light test: The intensities of fluorescence and phosphorescence normalized to the initial value differ by more than 20 percentage points on wool scale 3 and 4 and therefore have different lightfastness. In particular, the phosphorescence intensity of the proof AiGi already falls below that of the reference at wool scale 1.

A green luminescent security feature not according to the invention was obtained with the comparison proof AiGi. The machine-readable component ages faster than the visual component in the light test. After exposure to daylight, the security feature is still visually bright enough, for example with a wool scale of 4, but is no longer machine-readable and would therefore be sorted out by a bank note processing machine.

By way of illustration, FIGS. 6 and 7 show two exemplary embodiments of objects according to the invention provided with the described luminescent printing ink. 6 shows a section of a banknote 10 with a paper substrate 12 and a luminescent security element 40 printed on the paper substrate with two partial areas 42, 44, each of which is printed with a luminescent printing ink of the type described above.

The visual impression of the security element 40 when viewed in white light is not the focus of the present invention. The security element can be invisible in white light or appear as a homogeneous, monochromatic area, for example by the luminescent printing inks of the partial areas 42, 44 being mixed with suitable remission pigments in addition to the capsule luminescent pigments described.

When excited with non-visible excitation light, for example UV light 16, the security element 40 luminesces and shows a multicolored luminescence motif with different luminescent color impressions in the partial areas 42, 44. For example, the luminescent motif can represent a national flag with a partial area 42 that luminesces green under UV illumination 16 and a partial area 44 that luminesces red.

The green luminescent partial area 42 can be printed with an ink based on the above-described mixed color A1B2 of exemplary embodiment 1, for example, and the red luminescent partial area 44 can be printed with an ink based on the above-described mixed color E1F2 of exemplary embodiment 3. After excitation, the security element 40 shows both a high visual luminescence brightness and a high phosphorescence intensity for the machine authenticity check in both partial areas 42, 44.

It is also possible that only one of the sub-areas is printed with a luminescent printing ink according to the invention and that the other sub-area is printed, for example, with a printing ink of high visual brightness but without machine readability. Both subareas are then involved in the visual authenticity check, while only the subarea printed with the luminescent printing ink according to the invention takes part in the machine authenticity check.

It goes without saying that other fluorescent substances and other phosphorescent substances can also be introduced into the cores of the capsule pigments in order to produce desired color impressions in luminescence.

7 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a security element 50 on a paper substrate 12 of a document of value which, when excited with UV light 16, shows a natural motif, specifically a white snowflake 52 in front of a blue sky background 54. In white light, the security element can be invisible or appear as a homogeneous, monochromatic area. The white luminescence of the partial area 52 is obtained by a suitable mixture of red, green and blue luminous capsule luminescence pigments in a printing ink, which have the same stability against environmental influences, so that the white color impression does not change over time.

Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment for the red and blue luminescence, capsule luminescent pigments are used, in whose cores red or blue fluorescent luminescent substances have been introduced. Red or blue phosphors are not included in the ink for the white portion. For the green luminescence, the printing ink contains, for example, the green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment GF1 and the green phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment GP1 of exemplary embodiment 1.

In the event of UV excitation 16, the security element 50 visually shows the nature motif with a white snowflake 52 in front of a blue sky background 54, as illustrated in FIG. When the excitation radiation is switched off, the fluorescence emission of the red and blue capsule luminescent pigments and the green fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment GF1 ends.

The more slowly decaying phosphorescence emission of the pigment GP1 is used for the automatic authenticity check, with both the decay time and the luminescence spectrum of the pigments in the green, as well as the outline of the green phosphorescent partial area 52 being able to be used as a mark of authenticity. Reference List

bank note

Paper substrate machine-readable security element

UV light

security ink

Capsule Luminescent Pigments -F, 22-P, 22-FP Capsule Luminescent Pigment Grades

core

Covering

Luminescent substances -F fluorescent substance -P phosphorescent substance

CIE-1931 Color Chart -F, 32-P capsule luminescent pigments -F, 34-P capsule luminescent pigments

Security element, 44 sections

Security element, 54 sections

Claims

P atentClaims

1. Luminescent printing ink for security printing, with a fluorescent substance and a phosphorescent substance, each of which luminesces when excited with non-visible excitation light in the visible spectral range, the printing ink containing one or more types of capsule luminescent pigments, each of which has a core, a core have an encapsulating shell and a luminescent substance present in the core, the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance are each present as a luminescent substance in the core of one or more of the capsule luminescent pigment types, so that the capsule luminescent pigments form fluorescent and/or phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigments that form a fluorescence and have a phosphorescence, the fluorescence and the phosphorescence have the same light fastness, the fluorescence and the phosphorescence have the same chemical stability, and the fluorescence and the phosphorescence visually have a substantially matching color have leg impression.

2. Luminescent printing ink according to claim 1, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance has a luminescence decay time that is at least a factor of 10 greater than that of the fluorescent substance, preferably that the phosphorescent substance has a luminescent decay time of at least 10 gs, preferably at least 100 gs, particularly preferably between 250 gs and 5 ms, and/or that the fluorescent substance has a luminescence decay time of less than 1 gs, preferably less than 0.1 gs.

3. Luminescent printing ink according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance is an organic or organometallic phosphorescent substance, and/or that the fluorescent substance is an organic or organometallic Fluorescent substance is preferably that the phosphorescent substance is an organometallic phosphorescent substance and at the same time the fluorescent substance is an organic fluorescent substance.

4. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance have different luminescence spectra.

5. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance have a luminescence in the green spectral range.

6. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the core and the shell of the different capsule luminescent pigment types each consist of the same materials, the core of the capsule luminescent pigments preferably consisting of a first polymer and the shell of the capsule luminescent pigments consists of a second polymer that differs from the core polymer in at least one monomer.

7. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the intensities of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence normalized to the initial value differ from each other by less than 20 percentage points, preferably by less than 10 percentage points, on a wool scale of 1 to 4.

8. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the color locations of the fluorescence and the phosphorescence in the CIE standard color space are in the same or in adjacent Kelly color regions.

9. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance and the fluorescent substance are each introduced separately into the cores of different capsule luminescent pigments, so that the printing ink contains a first, fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment type whose cores contain only fluorescers, but no phosphors, and a second, phosphorescent capsule type luminescent pigment containing only phosphors but no fluorescers in the cores.

10. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance and the fluorescent substance are each introduced separately into the cores of different capsule luminescent pigments, so that the printing ink has a first, fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment type and a second Contains phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment variety, the luminescence of the fluorescent capsule luminescent pigment variety preferably having a luminescence decay time below 1 gs, and the luminescence of the phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment variety having a luminescence decay time of at least 100 gs.

11. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance and the fluorescent substance are introduced together into the cores of capsule luminescent pigments, so that the printing ink contains a fluorescent and at the same time phosphorescent capsule luminescent pigment type , whose cores contain both fluorescent substances and phosphorescent substances.

12. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the fluorescent substance of the capsule luminescent pigments is present in the printing ink in a concentration that allows a visual inspection of the luminescence of the luminescent printing ink.

13. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the luminescence brightness of the printing ink is at least 100%, preferably at least 150%, of the reference brightness of a green luminescent printing ink with a ZnS:Cu standard security pigment with 10 wt % pigmentation and the same pressure level.

14. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the phosphorescent substance of the capsule luminescent pigments is present in the printing ink in a concentration that allows machine testing of the luminescence of the luminescent printing ink in a bank note processing machine.

15. Luminescent printing ink according to at least one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the phosphorescence intensity of the printing ink is at least 100%, preferably at least 120%, of the reference phosphorescence intensity of a green luminescent printing ink with a ZnS:Cu standard safety pigment with 10% by weight. % pigmentation and the same pressure.

16. A method for producing a luminescent printing ink for security printing according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein

El) the fluorescent substance is introduced into the core of the first capsule luminescent pigments and the phosphorescent substance is introduced into the core of the second capsule luminescent pigments, the capsule luminescent pigments each having a core and a shell encapsulating the core and the materials of the core and shell of the capsule -luminescent pigments are chosen so that the luminescences of the first and second capsule luminescent pigments have the same chemical stability, and

17. A method for producing a luminescent printing ink for security printing according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein

E2) the fluorescent substance and the phosphorescent substance are introduced together into the core of third capsule luminescent pigments which have a core and a shell encapsulating the core, and

18. An object, in particular a document of value, security paper or a security element, with a printed luminescence feature, comprising at least one luminescent printing ink according to one of claims 1 to 14.

19. A method of making an article according to claim 17, in which a luminescent feature is printed on the article using at least one luminescent ink according to any one of claims 1 to 14.