De La Rue and PragmatIC Printing have announced progress in prototyping printed electronic security products.

Codenamed project ‘RAIL’ (Remotely Activated Interactive Labels), the £600,000 development is supported by a grant from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board.

The two companies say they have completed prototypes of a range of concepts applicable to security printing markets, following the broad premise of a visual feature (a light or logo) that is triggered by consumer interaction.

They say the prototype requires no battery because power is harvested wirelessly from a standard RFID or NFC reader. Such readers are quickly becoming widespread, for example in contactless retail payment systems or integrated into latest generation mobile phones.

According to the two companies this approach means that labels can be extremely flexible and thin (around 50 microns), and also compatible with conventional hot lamination processes.

“PragmatIC’s unique imprint-based approach to printed electronics is not only able to deliver potentially exciting new security features, but is also a natural complement to other security printing technologies such as holographic embossing,” says Philip Cooper, head of Ideas at De La Rue.

“Working closely with De La Rue has allowed us to focus on the key functional and form factor requirements for the security printing market,” says Scott White, chief executive officer, PragmatIC printing. “We look forward to helping drive these concepts towards commercial reality.”