High-Tech Election Aid
A holographic security label is employed in Peruvian voter registration card.
By Mary Reinholz, Associate Editor -- graphic arts online, 12/1/2000
This past spring's South American elections created a lucrative business opportunity for two U.S.-based graphic arts suppliers, both of whom say they may benefit again from the comings and goings of politicians now that new elections are slated for Peru.
In late 1999, Guy Kiraly, plant manager at CCL Label, Memphis, Tenn., received a fax with an offer from Lima, Peru-based print broker Carlos Chiabra, general manager of Policiel del Peru, S.A. Chiabra told Kiraly that his printing, exporting, and importing company wanted to compete in the bidding process for the immense job of mass-producing at least 16 million voter registration cards for the 2000 elections.
Job challenges
The challenge was that Chiabra needed tamper-proof labels: they had to be sequentially numbered, and fitted with a secure hologram ensuring that the latter would "self-destruct" if someone tried to take off the label. Further, the labels would have to be produced and shipped quickly should Chiabra's firm win the print bid from the Peruvian National Election Process Office.
"When Chiabra faxed us the specs to see if we could do the job, we initially were concerned about the image coming off," says Kiraly.
The actual hologram was created for the label by Crown Roll Leaf, Inc., a Paterson, N.J.-based manufacturer of hot stamping foils, diffraction gratings, and holograms. Vincent Sementilli, creative/operations director for Crown Roll Leaf Holo-Grafx, said that he produced the composite in about 10 days.
"Usually it takes us two or three days, but this job was more complex because the client required different levels of security," explains Sementilli. "Once we created the mock-up, we had to get a series of approvals." The finished product, he says, combined 2D-3D holographic techniques with high-resolution pixel images, a hidden image, and microtext.
Self-destruct mechanism
According to Crown Roll Leaf product security manager James Kipp, the hidden image consisted of a "diamond destruct" feature, which dismantles in a unique way so as to make it impossible for counterfeiters to remove the label from a voter registration card and reapply it to a forged card.
When Peruvian government officials at the National Election Process Office saw the mock-up, they gave Chiabra and his company the nod to proceed with the big printing job.
"We were awarded the contract over five other companies, including Thomas De La Rue-one of the biggest, and one that had local representation," reports Chiabra, noting that he had contacted CCL Label, which has 190 presses, because he knew the company could subcontract with a supplier specializing in "sensitive stickers."
Proprietary process used
Crown Roll Leaf shipped the holographic film to CCL for sequential printing and diecutting. To handle the sequential printing, CCL's Kiraly says he developed a proprietary computerized heat-transfer process utilizing a Sato barcode printer. The diecutting then was handled on an Arsoma UV flexographic press.
"We had five different printing machines going," recalls Kiraly. "We produced the voter registration label in three weeks and got it to them in March, on time for the May elections."
One more time?
Ironically, a similar job could be in the works early in 2001 due to the November 20 departure of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori amid charges of corruption and ballot irregularities after he won re-election for a third five-year term.
Should Chiabra once again win the job of printing a new batch of voter cards for Peru's April 8, 2001 election to replace Fujimori, he expects to again involve CCL and Crown Roll Leaf. In turn, the suppliers are eager for the politically charged assignment.
"We'll do as many of these jobs as we can get," concludes CCL general manager John Pedroli. "It was a good order; we want to develop that market. It's strictly business-the way politicians run governments is something we don't get into."
