LEONHARD KURZ Stiftung & Co. KG–KINEGRAM(R) VIVID

Product, Feature or Process Owner Release Date (Date made available to public)

02/04/2025

Project Description

KINEGRAM® VIVID is a high-security, motion-based security feature with KINEGRAM(R) technology that can be flexibly deployed on banknotes as an anti-counterfeiting feature that also serves as a striking design element. It combines kinematic movements in all directions with a powerful depth effect, offering variable brightness and contrast, and enabling both subtle and bold design accents to perfectly complement any composition. Created to meet the evolving needs of our customers in a fast-moving technology landscape, KINEGRAM® VIVID combines innovation in security with a revolution in aesthetics. It teams impressive motion effects with a strong impression of depth, enabling design flourishes such as the inclusion of parallax effect. It retains excellent visibility and contrast in most lighting conditions, and offers variable brightness and contrast that allow effortless integration with other visual elements, plus other options from the family of KINEGRAM(R) security features.

Improvement of the Banknote or Printing Process

In KINEGRAM® VIVID, dynamic beauty meets first-rate security. It is a major step forward in banknote security, with a ‘wow factor’ that brings people joy when handling money while supporting them in quickly and easily identifying genuine notes from fake ones. The well-defined motion that plays out as the feature is tilted is extremely difficult to replicate. Our proprietary features and the equipment used to produce them are kept secret – even within KURZ – and any attempt at imitation will visibly pale in comparison to the real thing. Not only does it offer clear advantages in security and authentication, it also brings an aesthetic advantage to banknotes, empowering designers to realise the most ambitious concepts. Points of national pride come alive with KINEGRAM® VIVID, which can render skylines and landscapes in layered parallax, or make flora and fauna ‘jump out’ at viewers. This revolutionary combination of security and stunning imagery makes notes more secure – posing an insurmountable challenge to counterfeiters – and more appealing to the eye.

Innovation and Unique aspects

KINEGRAM® VIVID’s unique advantages lie in the complexity and secrecy of its origination process, and in its extensive variety of microstructures that are unachievable in conventional holograms. These microstructures are carefully produced to fine tolerances using vector-based engineering, resulting in highly particular visual effects – customisable to an individual customer’s needs and wants – and always optimised for brightness and brilliance.

Environmental Impact

In the production of our KINEGRAM® features – and our entire product suite – we have invested in systems to repurpose production waste, optimise energy and water usage, and reintegrate unused materials. We recover unused carrier materials and reintroduce them to our production stream, and the finished elements retain recyclability whether applied to paper or polymer. We hold both ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certification (covering reduction in environmental impact and efficient energy management) and 100% of the electricity used across our German facilities comes from renewable sources. A significant contribution to this comes from extensive photovoltaic systems at our Sulzbach-Rosenburg and Fürth sites, and internationally our rooftop solar panels have doubled in recent years. We foster green spaces around facilities where possible, with the area around our Fürth site serving as a habitat for bee colonies in collaboration with a local beekeeper. The honey is distributed amongst our employees, encouraging engagement with and pride in our environmental ethos.

Image of the new feature shown on at least one issued banknote or an image of the new product

Awards | Currency Awards 2026

Category:

Best New Banknote Feature Product or Process

Status:

Nominee
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