Guardian (polymer)

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Guardian is the trademark name of a polymer originally manufactured by Securency International, [1] a joint venture between the Reserve Bank of Australia and Innovia Films Ltd. The latter completed acquisition of the former's stake in 2013.

Contents

Its production involves gravity feeding a molten polymer, composed of extruded polypropylene and other polyolefins, through a four-storey chamber. This creates sheets of the substrate used as the base material by many central banks in the printing of polymer banknotes.

Production

Polypropylene is processed to create pellets. [2] These pellets are extruded from a core extruder in conjunction with polyolefin pellets from two "skin layer" extruders, and are combined into a molten polymer. [2] [3] [4] This consists of a 37.5µm thick polypropylene sheet sandwiched between two 0.1 µm polyolefin sheets, [4] [3] creating a thin film 37.7 µm thick.

The molten polymer undergoes snap cooling as it passes by gravity feeding through a brass mandrel, which imparts on the thin film many properties, including its transparency. [2] The cast tube material is then reheated and blown into a large bubble using air pressure and temperature. [2] At the base of the four-storey chamber convergence rollers collapse the tube into a flat sheet consisting of two layers of the thin film. [4] [2] This creates the base biaxially-oriented polypropylene substrate of 75.4 µm thickness, called ClarityC by Innovia Films. [3] [5]

The base substrate is slit as it exits the convergence rollers. [2] [4] Four 3-micrometre (0.00012 in) thick layers of (usually white) opacifier are applied to the substrate, two on the upper surface and two on the lower surface. [3] [4] A mask prevents the deposition of the opacifier on parts of the substrate that are intended to remain transparent. [6] These overcoat layers protect the substrate from soiling and impart on it its characteristic texture, [7] and increase the overall thickness to 87.5 µm. The resulting product is the Guardian substrate. [4]

The opacifier conversion phase involves the use of resin and solvents, creating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as by-products that are combusted in a thermal oxidizer. [5] The resulting polymer substrate then passes through a rotary printing press using chrome-plated copper cylinders. [5] After printing, the holographic security foil is incorporated into the base substrate. [5] This is then cut into sheets and transported to the banknote printing companies in wooden boxes as a secure shipment. [5] [8]

Properties

Guardian is a non-porous and non-fibrous substrate. [2] Because of this, it is "impervious to water and other liquids", and so remains clean for longer than a paper substrate. [2] It is difficult to initiate a tear on the substrate, which has higher tear initiation resistance than paper. [2]

Polymer banknotes

Guardian is used in the printing of polymer banknotes by many central banks.

It is the base material used for currencies printed by:

CountryCentral bankCurrencyBanknotes
Australia [9] Reserve Bank of Australia Australian dollar
Bangladesh [10] Bangladesh Bank Bangladeshi taka
Brunei [11] Brunei Currency and Monetary Board Brunei dollar
Canada [12] Bank of Canada Canadian dollar Frontier Series
Chile [13] Central Bank of Chile Chilean peso
Costa Rica [14] Central Bank of Costa Rica Costa Rican colón
Dominican Republic [14] Central Bank of the Dominican Republic Dominican peso
Guatemala [14] Bank of Guatemala Guatemalan quetzal
Honduras [14] Central Bank of Honduras Honduran lempira
Hong Kong [14] Hong Kong Monetary Authority Hong Kong dollar
Indonesia [15] Bank of Indonesia Indonesian rupiah
Israel [14] Bank of Israel Israeli new shekel
Malaysia [16] Bank Negara Malaysia Malaysian ringgit
Mauritania [14] Central Bank of Mauritania Mauritanian ouguiya
Mauritius [14] Bank of Mauritius Mauritian rupee
Mexico [17] Bank of Mexico Mexican peso
Mozambique [14] Bank of Mozambique Mozambican metical
Nepal [18] Nepal Rastra Bank Nepalese rupee
New Zealand [19] Reserve Bank of New Zealand New Zealand dollar
Nicaragua [14] Central Bank of Nicaragua Nicaraguan córdoba
Nigeria [14] Central Bank of Nigeria Nigerian naira
Papua New Guinea [20] Bank of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean kina
Paraguay [14] Central Bank of Paraguay Paraguayan guaraní
Romania [21] National Bank of Romania Romanian leu
Samoa [22] Central Bank of Samoa Samoan tālā
Singapore [23] Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore dollar
Thailand [24] Bank of Thailand Thai baht
United Kingdom [14] Bank of England Pound Sterling
Vanuatu [14] Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Vanuatu vatu
Vietnam [25] State Bank of Vietnam Vietnamese đồng
Zambia [26] Bank of Zambia Zambian kwacha

In 1993, the Bank of Indonesia issued a commemorative Rp  50,000 banknote and the Central Bank of Kuwait issued a د.ك1 banknote. [4] In 1998, the Bank Negara Malaysia issued a commemorative RM  50 banknote, [4] and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued a commemorative Rs200 banknote. [27] In 1999, the Northern Bank of Northern Ireland issued a commemorative £ 5 banknote, [28] and the Central Bank of the Republic of China in Taiwan issued a commemorative NT$ 50 banknote. [29] [4] In 2000, the Central Bank of Brazil issued a commemorative R$ 10 banknote [30] and the People's Bank of China issued a commemorative ¥100 banknote. [4] In 2001, the Central Bank of Solomon Islands issued a commemorative SI$2 banknote. [31] In 2009, the Bank of Mexico issued a commemorative $100 banknote. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ de Heij 2002, p. 6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Garoffolo & Sientek 2009, p. 25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hardwick & Ghioghiu 2004, p. 6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Innovia Security 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bank of Canada: Life Cycle Assessment of Canada's Polymer Bank Notes and Cotton-Paper Bank Notes 2011, p. 32.
  6. ↑ Hardwick & Ghioghiu 2004, p. 1.
  7. ↑ Hardwick & Ghioghiu 2004, p. 2.
  8. ↑ Robertson 2011.
  9. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 26.
  10. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 38.
  11. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 46.
  12. ↑ Boesveld 2011.
  13. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 54.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Innovia Security & October 2015.
  15. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 60.
  16. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 68.
  17. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 72.
  18. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 76.
  19. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 80.
  20. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 92.
  21. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 98.
  22. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 114.
  23. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 116.
  24. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 128.
  25. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 134.
  26. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 144.
  27. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 124.
  28. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 90.
  29. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 126.
  30. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 42.
  31. ↑ Eu, Chiew & Straus 2006, p. 122.

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