PECSEC development for Giesecke & Devrient

Giesecke & Devrient has developed a passport data page material that it claims is extremely flexible and longlasting, making it suitable as an alternative to polycarbonate.

The material, known as PECSEC, was unveiled at this year’s INTERGRAF conference in Greece.

A process of hot lamination is used to combine polycarbonate and flexible PETG plastic, making a material that meets the ISO 10373 standard for identity documents. “Testing has proved PECSEC to be more robust than data pages currently in use and purely made of polycarbonate,” says Bernd Kümmerle, head of sales and marketing at Giesecke & Devrient.

The data page is assembled from several different layers, which are then melted together and can be personalised using laser engraving techniques.

According to Giesecke & Devrient: “The laser-engravable material can carry well-established security features already on the market as well as new methods for protecting passports. For example, laser engraving can be used to apply individual information that can be easily verified when viewed from the proper angle even without the aid of special equipment.”

The company reports that the Republic of Macedonia has opted for PECSEC data pages in its ePassport documents. Around 1.5 million electronic passport documents, each with a PECSEC data page, will be supplied over the next few years.