Holography was invented in 1962 by Dr. Gabor. For a number of years, Holography was used only for research purposes and it wasn’t until the early 1980’s that Holography found a `commercial use’.

This was pioneered mainly by Dr. Steve McGrew who found an economical way to `Emboss’ Holograms.

Holography is the science of generating 3D images with changing colours on to a two dimensional surface through the use of Laser/Electron Beam technology.

Holograms display all the seven colours of light which change when viewed from different angles.

A Holographic image (also known as Master) is created using a Laser or Electron Beam. This Holographic image is an interference pattern of light.

The Holographic image on the Master is transferred to a carrier film such as Polyester, BOPP etc.

The carrier film is then converted to self-adhesive Hologram Labels/Foils etc.

Hologram labels can be supplied in a large no. of sizes as per the customers’ requirements.

The smallest size that is recommended is 8 mm x 8mm or 8 mm Round. The largest size that can be supplied is 6 “ x 6 “.

Here there is no gap between the Holograms in a sheet. This increases the no. of Ups in the panel thereby reducing the price of the Hologram.

In this case, there is a gap between the Holograms (approx. 2mm). This decreases the no. of Ups in the panel thereby increasing the price of the Hologram.

The sheet & roll form supplies are for manual application only whereas the spool form is machine application/online strip application/hot stamping foil Holograms.

Holograms can be affixed on the packaging either manually or through an `automatic Hologram applicator’ machine.

In the automatic application, the `automatic Hologram applicator’ machine is purchased by the customer and is either installed online on the production line or it can be installed off line as a separate process.

As with any other self-adhesive labels, Holograms will not stick properly on an `oily’ or `powdery’ surface. The surface must be wiped clean before affixing the Holograms.

Hologram labels will also not adhere well to an uneven surface. An uneven surface could adversely affect the `tamper proof’ characteristics as well as the visibility of the Hologram.

Once a Hologram label is affixed on the substrate, the adhesive needs a `curing time’ to react and bond with the surface of application. This improves the `tamper proof’ characteristics of the Hologram. It is advised that a curing time of atleast 2-3 hours is given before trying to peel off the Hologram.

Holograms should be stored in a clean, dry area at room temperature at the customers’ premises. Extended exposure to extreme temperatures could adversely affect the `tamper proof’ characteristics of the Hologram.

The design of the artwork will depend on the type of the Hologram and thus include / exclude certain features.

The 1st step of manufacturing a Hologram / Holographic product is creation os the `Mother Master’ through the process of `Origination’. This is similar to having a `printing plate’ made but the process is totally different.

There are 2 basic ways to create a Mother Master : 1) through a LASER and; 2) through an ELECTRON BEAM.

The Laser is used to create all types of Masters ( or Holographic images ) except for the EBEAM type of Hologram.

A laser beam is passed through the `camera ready’ artworks (transparencies) with the help of optics & lenses. The resultant image is then recorded simultaneously on a `photosensitive or photoresist’ glass plate.

The basic characteristics of a Hologram are that it has `depth’ & all the `rainbow colours’. This is achieved by :

Depth : The artworks for the `foreground’ & the `background’ ( depth ) are placed at different positions. The laser beam is then `split’ into 2 or more beams and the individual beams pass through the different artworks. The beams then converge on the photoresist glass plate thereby causing an `interference pattern’ on the plate. Since the beams are converging from different positions and are being recorded on the same plat, this creates an effect of `parallax’ thereby creating the depth.

Rainbow Colours : Since the split laser beams pass through optics & lenses, they further get broken up into the different colours of light i.e. VIBGYOR. This effect is also called the `prism effect’. The different colours can be controlled through `filters’. However, all the rainbow colours will be present in the Hologram albeit in different densities. Hence, the colours that are seen in a Hologram are colours of light and absolutely no inks are used in the manufacture of Holograms.

The different features in a Hologram are achieved through modifications in the mastering process explained above, while keeping the basic process the same.

Subsequently, the Glass master ( being fragile ) is then put through a process of `silvering’ and the resultant product is a `Nickel Plate’ called the `Mother Master’.

In Dotmatrix type of Masters, the artworks are fed into a computer and a Dotmatrix MACHINE fires a laser beam directly onto the photoresist glass plate. The laser beam individually `etches’ the artwork onto this plate thus creating the Holographic image.

The `Mother Master’ can be either made as per the customers’ approved artwork containing the brand name / logo etc. or it can be made as a `Design pattern’ generated by the computer. Such type of Masters are used to produce `General Pattern’ Holograms.

Electroforming is a process in which we can replicate/ reproduce `Mother Masters’ to create `Mandarels & Shims’ with the help of Ni. Sulphamate plating solution.

The basic purpose is that since creating a `Mother Master’ is an expensive process, `electroforming’ is used to create multiple copies of the `Mother Master’ which makes the life of the Master virtually unlimited.

In the process, the products, which we want to reproduce, is mounted on the cathode. When we pass the current, Nickel is deposited on the product having the same structure and design of product.

This tank is operated at 40 deg. Celsius working temperature. We can vary the Ampere-hour from 0 to 200 depending upon the size and thickness of Nickel plate required.

As mentioned above the original Nickel Master will be procured from the outside vendors, the copy of which will be made by the above process by pasting/ holding the same on s/s fixture with BOPP tape/ screws.

This s/s fixture is dipped in K2Cr2O7 solution to develop a layer that helps in peeling off the plated nickel. Now after dipping is into distilled water tank, we connect this fixture to cathode of Electroforming tank. After required Amp.-hr. we remove the plate from the tank, dip it again in the same distilled water tank and peel off the required Nickel Plate.

Due to heating of the solution, water is continuously evaporated from the tank. So to make the PH constant, the distilled water from the distilled water tank is transferred to the solution as per the requirements. To keep the density of the solution constant, we go on adding same chemical composition.

Distilled Water and chemicals, which we add to make the PH constant may have some impurities. To remove these impurities, we run a dummy shim of large s/s plate on the Electroforming machine for 24 hours at 5 amp.-hrs. after each 15 days production cycle.

Embossing is the process in which the holographic effect of the Nickel Shim is transferred on the Polyester film with the help of heat and pressure.

In this process, the reproduced shim is cut into the desired size and mounted on the main embossing roller with the help of screws.

The main embossing roller and two pressure rollers on the embossing machine are heated and the mettalised polyester film is passed in-between the two successive pressure roller systems. Holographic effect is automatically transferred on the film through this process.

In `Hard Embossing’, the Metallised Polyester is directly embossed as explained above. The maximum Embossing width is upto 200 mm. This is also called `Narrow Web’ production of Holograms.

In `Soft Embossing’, the transparent Polyester with a special coating is Embossed at lower temperature / pressure and then the embossed film is metallised. The maximum Embossing width is upto 2000 MM or 2 mtrs. This process is suitable for Polyester of 10 micron or lower thickness which is used in the Packaging Industry. Hence, due to the lower film thickness and the higher film width, this process is mainly used to cater to the Packaging Industry. This is also called `Wide Web’ production of Holograms.

A simple coating cum lamination machine is used by qravure printing industry can be used for lamination of Holographed metallised polyester film with silicon coated release paper.

The water based acrylic adhesive is also used in this process for gumming cum lamination purposes.

In this process, the adhesive is first coated on the Embossed polyester film with the help of knurling roller. The polyester film is then passed through the heated tunnel where water contents of the adhesive is evaporated. This coated polyester film is passed through Nip roller assembly with the silicon coated release paper to laminate the film with the release paper.

Laminated material is required to be cut in the desired sizes. The film can be cut by three different methods, which are:

In this process, a plotter machine with a cutting edge is used which works with the help of computer programming. The Laminated roll is passed through blade and mat and the blade cuts the material as per the programmed specifications, in the step of 150 mm. Subsequently, the `waste material’ is removed manually.

Here a pre-fabricated Die is mounted on the punching machine head. The Die is made according to the Size / Cutting layout of the Hologram sheets. Laminated roll is cut into sheet size of approx. 6 “ x 6 “ by manual process. This pre-cut sheet is then placed between Die and plated thereon. Pressure of die is then applied on the sheet to cut the sheet in the desired size of the Holograms. Subsequently, the `waste material’ is removed manually.

In this case, the Laminated roll is directly fed on a automatic die cutting machine which has the Die mounted on it. There are `sensor marks’ on the roll which are sensed by an `optical sensor’ mounted on the machine. The basic purpose of the `optical sensor’ is to instruct the machine to cut the roll in accordance with the Die layout. Subsequently, the `waste material’ is removed automatically and the die cut roll is manually cut into sheets.

Some of the end-users of the holograms require these Holograms to be used through the machine applicator. To meet their requirements, the cut roll from the plotter or auto-die cutting machine is microslit to form the spool to suit the requirements of the party.

Before and after dipping of fixtures into Electroforming tank, the fixture is rinsed and passed through a tank of distilled water. The solution along with the fixture is passed to the distilled water. The distilled water is re-used and mixed with the solution in the Electroforming tank to make up the volume and the PH content of the Electroforming solution. Some part of the K2Cr2O7 solution and other impurities may also pass to the Electroforming tank along with the distilled water. These impurities are removed by running a dummy shim after every 15 days of the production cycle. Therefore, there is no wastage disposal in the Electroforming process.

Wastage from the Polyester film in the form of the film and laminated film are generated. However, being costly, the Polyester film is re-sold to the outside parties or can be returned to the supplier of the same. Such material is used by the parties for producing glitter powder, which is used for decorative use.