# US 5,735,547 A · Anti-photographic/photocopy imaging process and product made by same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,735,547 A - Document ID: US5735547A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/778,916 - Filed: 1997-01-03 - Granted: 1998-04-07 - Earliest claimed: 1992-10-01 - Inventors: Fredric T. Morelle; Ralph C. Wicker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5735547A ## CPC - G03G 21/043: {by using an original which is not reproducible or only reproducible with a different appearence, e.g. originals with a photochromic layer or a colour background} - B42D 25/29: Securities; Bank notes - G03G 2215/00299: Confidential, e.g. secret documents - Y10S 283/902: Anti-photocopy - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY - B42D: BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract Several techniques to acquire a counterfeit proof security document. The invention includes improvements for use with non-replicable image line frequency techniques, as well as stand-along printing techniques, that exhibit electro-optical copy and photographic copy frustration characteristics such as experiences with use of color-graduated (tonally graded) substrates, blooming or flaring print patterns, pixel differentiation of discrete indicia and combinations of these with certain printing ink (or) varnish under/overcoat. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for making an image-bearing document non-counterfeitable with respect to a copier which employs an electro-optical scanning and sampling copy protocol comprising: identifying the blind or non-sampled zones in said copy protocol; preparing a document substrate; and placing indicia which comprise at least one image onto said document substrate so as to fall into areas that are not sampled by said copy protocol when said image-bearing document is copied by said copier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein said placing is characterized by printing said indicia of said at least one image to uniformly misregister with sampling zones of said protocol of said copier thus effecting non-copyability of a portion of said at least one image by said copier. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 wherein said printing to uniformly misregister is further characterized by selecting a frequency of said protocol and effecting said printing onto said document substrate at, near or at an integral factor of a recurring rate of said sampling zones and to register with blind or non-copy zones of said protocol. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3 wherein said preparing further comprises providing said substrate with a tonally graded hue. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 wherein said hue comprises a portion of the color spectrum from white to yellow. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 wherein said providing comprises printing with a varnish. ### Claim 7 A method for making a document, bearing a pattern of image-defining indicia and which is counterfeit-proof by an electro-optical copier having a scanning-sampling copy protocol, said protocol defined by sampling zone repetition with blind zones therebetween, said method comprising identifying said blind zones by ascertaining a sampling zone pattern and thereby the blind zones disposed between samples thereof and printing on a suitable substrate indicia of at least one image so that said indicia fall within said blind zones of said copier copy protocol, effecting upon copying by the copier, a distortion/decimation of said image in color or feature. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7 wherein said printing further comprises placing said indicia as uniformly recurring lineations. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8 wherein said uniformly recurring is a frequency or integral factor thereof being used by said copier in said scanning-sampling protocol. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 wherein said method for making further comprises a step of selecting a tonally graded substrate. ### Claim 11 A copier non-counterfeitable document comprising a substrate bearing thereon at least one image that is composed of lineate indicia which appear at lineation frequencies characteristic of a scanning-sampling copy protocol of said copier to effect registry with predetermined and positionally identified blind or non-copy zones of said copy protocol when said document is copied by said copier and thereby result in a copy which is ommissive and distorted in said image. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The document of claim 11 wherein said indicia have a thickness ranging from about d/3 to about d/10 where d is at least one of said spatial frequencies. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The document of claim 11 further comprising said at least one image bearing therein indicia having reflective densities of about 0.01-0.10.