I have been in the document printing and mail arena for about 30 years. I understood the need for codes on documents to control the finishing process. To this day, I'm asked (mostly by the marketing folks) why they have to have these ugly codes on their documents. My standard answer is that if you want to make sure the documents are assembled correctly, you'll need these codes. Not only that, if you put enough information about the mail recipient in the code, it can be even more useful for things like tracking, proof of mailing and market follow-up. Over the years, codes have become smaller and smaller. Even so, marketing and product line managers still don't want to see them.
The History
During a user conference at Gunther International, a few customers asked if the company could use its inc.jet printers to print invisible codes. HP was present at the conference and was willing to see if the Specialty Printing Group at HP was interested.
In early 2000 with the help of HP, Videk and inc.jet, an invisible ink was designed for the HP 45 series inkjet pens. The goal was to use this ink to produce invisible codes on documents. The main reason behind this was to produce a more aesthetically pleasing document that also contained the code needed to control the finishing systems. The other perceived benefit was document security. The next step was to convince the laser print vendors to add this printing function into their laser printers.
Xerox (XSIS) was the first company to place the HP-style printer inside a DP 180. One of the drawbacks to its approach was that you had to buy a new printer. This was not offered as an upgrade. About two years later, Videk introduced an invisible standalone printer for the Océ and IBM continuous forms printers. This device was placed behind the printer, and instead of the laser printing the code in black, this device took the information from the print stream and printed the code with invisible ink. The Videk IPS (InViziCode Print System) took data from the Type II printer interface, and it then converted the ASCII text into a 2D Data Matrix code.
The code was printed on the document and then read to ensure that the right code was printed on the right document.
Now, the finishing equipment needed to be outfitted with invisible readers. In the overall scheme of things, this was the easiest part. This technology was demonstrated at numerous trade shows for a number of years. It was always the "Wow" of the shows, but no one was willing to be the first on the block to purchase it.
In order for companies to use this technology, some changes were needed. There was a cost to go along with the changes. They needed to invest in printing the code on the document, reading the code on their finishing system and, of course, the cost of the ink itself. The cost for the printer to print the code was around $100,000 per print line. Then you would need to add invisible readers on each finishing line at about $25,000. The last cost was for the ink itself. If you were going to use a 2D code, the cost per code was 1/20 of a cent. Over time, it was apparent that companies were not willing to spend the dollars needed for invisible codes. Even with the added security benefits, they didn't feel it was cost justified or that they could pass the costs onto their customers. However, this cost will come down in the not-too-distant future because there are more companies offering invisible solutions. In Fact, the Indigo printer from HP now offers invisible printing inside the box.
The Future: Document Security
I believe that the time for renewed interest in invisible codes on documents has come. For one thing, the cost is bound to come down in the not-too-distant future because there are more companies offering invisible solutions. One example is the Indigo printer from HP, which now offers invisible printing inside the box.
As with any product, if there is a need, someone will buy it. Rather than focusing on enhancing the look of the document, the aim likely will be document security. The higher the value of the document, the better the chances we will see (or not see) invisible codes used. Every bank in the world has a black light somewhere in the building. It would be very easy to print invisible information on laser-generated checks; that way, the tellers could be 100% sure they are cashing a good check. Banks could even take it a step further and print the amount of the check in invisible ink so the teller could compare that with the visual black amount. If they didn't match, that means someone changed the amount after printing. In today's world, document security is no longer a frill. It is an essential. Anyone who has dealt with HIPPA or Sarbanes-Oxley knows what I'm talking about.
We used to say that invisible ink was a solution looking for a problem. Clearly, those problems now exist. Now I'd say the time for invisible code technology has arrived.
Contact William H. Gunther III at 585-419-7009, wgunther@rochester.rr.com or WHG3.com.
