SUSI Flip™
Koenig & Bauer AG (Switzerland)
Type
Machine Readable Pattern (MR-UV) — printed offset security feature delivering a daylight-to-UV image transformation, achieved through precise simultaneous-offset registration of two same-coloured plates carrying different UV-fluorescent tints.
Overview
SUSI Flip™ is an advanced UV-fluorescent security feature developed by Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBA-NotaSys) that exploits the line-perfect same-side registration achievable on the company's Super Simultan IV simultaneous offset press. Under daylight, the feature appears as a single-coloured design; under UV illumination, it "flips" into a completely different three-coloured design. The effect is produced using just two offset plates of identical daylight colour but loaded with different UV-fluorescent tints — the juxtaposition of fine line work between the two plates creates the impression of a third colour under UV. KBA-NotaSys positions SUSI Flip™ as a Level 2 feature that is straightforward for the public to recognise yet, due to its dependency on simultaneous-offset registration accuracy unobtainable on commercial presses, virtually impossible to reproduce with off-the-shelf equipment. The feature won the 2020 IACA Best New Currency Feature Technical Award following its world-first deployment on the Solomon Islands $5 polymer note.
Technology & Effects
The feature relies on the precise registration capability of the Super Simultan IV simultaneous offset press, which prints both sides of a sheet in a single pass with line-perfect colour-to-colour alignment that cannot be achieved on commercial offset equipment. Two offset plates are used, both carrying the same visible daylight colour but each formulated with a different UV-fluorescent tint. Under daylight, the inks blend into a single-colour image; under UV light, the two distinct fluorescent tints reveal themselves separately, and the way the fine-line patterns from the two plates interleave produces the optical impression of a third colour at the intersections — yielding a three-colour fluorescent image from only two physical inks. The feature is described by KBA-NotaSys as compatible with all banknote substrates and offering complete freedom of design and placement on the note. Effect type: MR-UV.
Form Factors & Application
SUSI Flip™ is a printed offset feature applied during the standard offset printing stage, requiring no specialised inks beyond UV-fluorescent formulations and no additional finishing steps. The hard requirement is access to a Super Simultan IV (or equivalent simultaneous-offset press) capable of delivering the line-perfect registration the feature depends on. The feature works on both paper and polymer substrates and can be sized, positioned and shaped freely within the banknote design. KBA-NotaSys describes it as cost-effective relative to other advanced UV features because the security comes from registration precision and ink combination rather than from specialised consumables.
Security Levels
- Level 1 (public): A single-colour daylight image transforms into a three-colour fluorescent design under standard 365 nm UV illumination. The transformation is striking, easy to recognise, and easy for the public to understand.
- Level 2 (cash handler): KBA-NotaSys explicitly classifies SUSI Flip™ as a Level 2 feature. The dependency on simultaneous-offset registration precision provides the underlying counterfeit resistance — the effect cannot be replicated on commercial offset equipment, and any attempt to reproduce it on standard presses fails to achieve the line-perfect interleaving that creates the third-colour impression.
Notable Deployments
- Solomon Islands $5 (polymer) — issued 2 May 2019 by the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands on UN World Tuna Day; printed by Note Printing Australia (NPA) on polymer substrate. World's first circulating banknote to feature SUSI Flip™. The design extends the note's sustainable fishing theme into the SUSI Flip™ feature, and the note also incorporates double-sided embossed tactile marks on opposite corners for accessibility.
- Name
- SUSI Flip™
- Category
- Security Feature
- Effect Types
- Machine readable UV UV
- Company
- Product Page
- View on Supplier Site
- Linked Features
- 1 security feature