18 November, 2011 - One of the driving forces behind the success of international holography over the last 30 years has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to the industry. Ian Lancaster of Reconnaissance International  has won the prestigious 'Brian Monaghan Award for Business Innovation' at the International Hologram Manufacturers Association's (IHMA) Excellence in Holography Awards 2011. 

The award is named for Brian Monaghan, an innovative and enterprising entrepreneur in holography who died tragically young, and goes to the person selected by the Board of the IHMA as an individual who has followed the tradition of business innovation established by Brian Monaghan. 

In presenting the award at the annual holography conference, Holopack•Holo-print, in Las Vegas, IHMA chairman Adam Scheer said before the industry became established, Ian Lancaster had a vision that holography would evolve from the laboratories and garages of hobbyists to a highly respected global business.

He noted that, 'since the early 1980s, Ian has worn many hats - holographer, executive director of the Museum of Holography, leader of conferences, publisher of industry newsletters, consultant and a leader on international standards bodies and more. In every role, he has touched every stakeholder in the hologram industry as one of its leading innovators, advocates and thought leaders. The global hologram industry we know today would not enjoy its recognition, prestige and trust without the tireless work and creative vision of Ian Lancaster.' 

Ian Lancaster, Managing Director of Reconnaissance International, is editor of Holography News, director of the Holo-pack•Holo-prin® conference and has served as General Secretary of the IHMA since its inception. 

The Holography Awards recognise outstanding industry achievement and are presented to organisations who have introduced the most innovative or commercially viable hologram product or technique over the year. 

Organised by the IHMA, the 19th annual Excellence in Holography Awards was attended by delegates from the worldwide holography community attending the conference. Entries were judged by the IHMA Board, which comprises representatives from member companies.

Other category winners were:

Best Origination

Czech company Optaglio stunning 3D design won the 'Best Origination' category for capturing the Globeflower or Trollius Europaeus - a native Czech species - through combining the achromatic elements (for the petals) with static and stereographic 3D images to produce an image with great depth and solidity. 

Hologram Industries, France, was also commended in the same category for its demetallised alphagram stripe on Brazil's New 100 Reais banknote.

Innovation in Holographic Technology

A new development for the production of embossed holograms in-line on printed material  won the 'Innovation in Holographic Technology' category.  HoloPrint is the first successful in-line hologram production process and was pioneered by Jan Stensborg, founder and proprietor of specialist research company Stensborg A/S, for printing press producer Nilpeter. 

The HoloPrint unit is an additional station which can be supplied with new presses or retro-fitted to existing presses. It spot-applies a UV-curing lacquer to the printed material, then immediately moulds the holographic surface-relief pattern in to this lacquer from a master mounted on to a cylinder. 

A notable aspect of the invention is that the UV light source is mounted within the moulding cylinder, and both the cylinder and the masters carrying the surface-relief pattern are UV transparent, so that curing and hardening the production hologram takes place simultaneously.

German hologram company Rako was commended in the same category for its holo-inlay in shrink sleeves, as was Optaglio, Czech Republic, for its achromatic hologram with colour shift effect.

Best Applied Security Product

Hologram Industries' Diffractive Identify Device (DID®) Patch on Philippines' new banknotes has won the 'Best Applied Security Product' .  According to the judges, the application - the first time a DID patch has been used on currency - reflects the exceptional use of a hologram to authenticate a document or product. 

The DID® is complex to produce but easy to authenticate because it shows a clear colour switch as it is rotated through 90°. This makes it ideal for security documents including banknotes which require public examination. The patch also incorporates a polarising component as a second-level security feature as well as a forensic analysis feature.  

InkSure, USA, and Demax, Bulgaria, were both commended in the same category for their car document authentication for the Bulgarian Road Infrastructure Agency. The Kavach Division of PRS Permacel, India was also commended for its West Bengal State Electricity Board meter seal.

Best Applied Decorative Product

Eye-catching packaging for the Beyoncé 'Pulse perfume collection,  created by Hazen Paper Company, Curtis Packaging and Coty Inc, picked up the 'Best Applied Decorative Product' award for a holographic-based solution which seamlessly wraps all the panels of the box to create a 3D burst effect focused on the product name. 

The hologram is partly over-printed in a radiant purple so that shafts of silver holographic light radiate from Beyoncé Pulse.  The packaging comes in eight different sizes and in a windowed boxed set which features the un-printed hologram on the back internal wall of the pack to highlight the products in front of it. 

IHMA Chairman concluded the presentation ceremony by commenting that 'the awards celebrate the very best in holographic achievement and the many remarkable innovations the industry introduces each year.

'The winners' work reflects the creativity, design excellence and quality which were the hallmarks of this year's crop of entries, reflecting how holography continues to push forward the holographic boundaries technically and commercially.' 

The full list of this year's awards and commendations for outstanding projects is available at www.ihma.org