How Money Is Made Today
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/the-arena/2012/02/read-it-and-weep/
The BEP is one of the largest
currency printing operations in the world with facilities in Washington,
D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas. Current BEP currency production is
quite different from its beginnings in 1862, which consisted of a handful
of people separating notes with a hand-cranked machine in the basement of
the Treasury building. Technology has brought the BEP a
long way to a state-of-the-art manufacturing operation producing U.S.
paper currency. The production of this currency is not an easy or simple
task, but one that involves highly trained and skilled craftspeople,
specialized equipment, and a combination of traditional old world
printing techniques merged with sophisticated, cutting edge
technology. Overall, there are numerous, distinctive steps required
in the production process.
With the introduction of
redesigned currency, subtle background colors were added to the
redesigned notes to make them more secure and difficult to
counterfeit. The new design was applied to the $5, $10, $20, $50,
and $100 notes. Circulation of the new series began during the fall
of 2003, with the introduction of the redesigned $20 note. It
continued with the $50 note in 2004, the $10 note in 2006, and the $5
note in 2008. The new $100 note is currently in production with a
release date to be announced as soon as possible. Redesign of the
$1 and $2 notes is not planned.
The redesigned notes retain
the same size as previous notes and use similar portraits and historical
images to maintain an American look and feel. Security features
maintained in the enhanced Federal Reserve Notes include a portrait
watermark visible when held up to a light, two numeric watermarks on the
$5s, an enhanced security thread that glows under an ultraviolet light,
micro printing, improved color shifting ink that changes color when the
note is tilted, and on the newly redesigned $100 notes, a 3-D security
ribbon and enhanced, raised printing. While the percentage of
counterfeit notes in circulation remains small, advances in technology
have brought forth an increase in computer generated counterfeit
notes. United States paper currency is redesigned as a way to
protect your hard earned money by staying ahead of advancing technologies
and tech-savvy counterfeiters.
Paper and Ink
The paper and ink used in the
production of U.S. paper currency is as distinct as its design. The
paper comes to the BEP in brown paper-wrapped loads of 20,000 sheets (2
pallets of 10,000 sheets). Each of these sheets is tracked by the
BEP as it passes through the production process. And, the
total inventory of 20,000 sheets is continually reconciled to make sure
each sheet is accounted for. Currency paper is specifically made
for the BEP by Crane Paper Company. The ordinary paper that
consumers use throughout their everyday life such as newspapers, books,
cereal boxes, etc, is primarily made of wood pulp; however, United States
currency paper is composed of 75% cotton and 25% linen. This is
what gives United States currency its distinct look and feel. For
denominations of $5 and above, the security thread, and watermark are
already built into the paper when it is received.
All bills, regardless of
denomination, utilize green ink on the backs. Faces, on the other
hand, use black ink, color-shifting ink in the lower right hand corner
for the $10 denominations and higher, and metallic ink for the freedom
icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills. The $100 note's
"bell in the inkwell" freedom icon uses color-shifting
ink. These and the other inks appearing on U.S. currency are
specially formulated and blended by the BEP. Inks headed for BEP
presses also undergo continual quality testing.
Designing
FILE
- This Sept. 24, 2013 file photo shows a sheet of uncut $100 bills as they make
their way through the printing process at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The new $100 bill, with a
number of an array of high-tech features designed to thwart counterfeiters,
will finally get its coming out party on Tuesday, partial government shutdown
or not. The Federal Reserve, which has not been affected by the shutdown, will
have armored trucks rolling from its regional banks around the country headed
to banks, savings and loans and other financial institutions with the new
C-notes. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
http://finance.yahoo.com/photos/100-bills-start-circulating-tuesday-photo-183245630.html
Bank note designers at the BEP
develop the overall look, layout, and artistic details of U.S. paper
currency. The design of money starts with ideas and rough
sketches. Many concepts are drawn and considered before the
Secretary of the Treasury approves the final design.
When redesigning a note,
designers do not start with a blank slate. They know, for example,
that a $10 note will feature Alexander Hamilton on the face and the
Treasury building on the back. But which portrait of Hamilton, and
which view of the Treasury building — that is for the designers to
propose, in collaboration with the engravers.
Currency is designed with a
purpose. When redesigning a note, designers strive to convey a
dignified image that reflects the strength of the American economy;
retain familiar characteristics that identify a note as American
currency; incorporate the latest anti-counterfeiting features; and
consider how details such as outlines, tone, and shading will
"translate" when engraved and printed on an intaglio press.
Traditionally, bank note
designers utilized classical tools like the pencil, pen and ink, or paint
brush to take their visions from concept to the final model ready for the
engravers. Today, the modern designer has the command of a wide
array of tools including cutting edge digital technology. While the
processes have evolved over time, one important tradition remains in the
steadfast production of America's paper currency — a designer's and
engraver's exquisite attention to craft and detail.
Offset Printing Operations
A worker "jogs" a stack
of uncut currency by blowing air in between each sheet. This ensures that the
money is cut with exactness. (Photo by Andrew Evans, National Geographic
Traveler)
http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/22/fort-worth-where-the-moneys-at/
With the introduction of the
redesigned $20s in 2003, subtle background colors were added to the
currency to enhance the security. For these denominations, offset
printing is the first printing that occurs on the "blank"
paper.
Offset Plates
We believe this is an offset
printer used in the
printing of money – it’s very hard to track down some of these operations! The Printer seems to be operating in a production run of $20 Dollar notes with plates in place.
Felicity
B. Noodleman
http://thegenesisblock.com/at-this-rate-the-last-new-btc-will-be-issued-55-years-ahead-of-schedule/
Before the subtle background
colors of today's redesigned currency can be printed, the imagery must be
transferred onto offset printing plates. That is the job of
photoengravers. The photoengraver receives the master design
from the bank note designer and "steps" (duplicates) the images
over a plate layout. Then using a high-resolution film recorder,
each color separation is imaged onto a sheet of sensitive film in
negative form. A thin sheet of steel, coated with a light-sensitive
polymer, is exposed to ultraviolet light while covered by the film
negative which contains the imagery. The areas on the film that
allow light to pass onto the plate are transferred or exposed. The
unexposed areas around the images are washed away with water and soft
scrubbing brushes. This process is called "burning a
plate."
To achieve the offset color
scheme on a redesigned $20 face, for example, the photoengraver burns two
plates. One plate contains the background pattern that will be printed in
green and peach. The second plate contains the images that will be
printed in blue — an eagle and the words TWENTY USA. The
photoengraver takes great care to make sure the images are perfectly
aligned on both plates, or else the images will not line up properly when
printed on the bills. In addition to the alignment check, each
individual note on a plate is thoroughly inspected. The slightest
blemish from a dust particle or piece of lint may affect the print
quality. If it does, then a new plate is manufactured.
Offset Printing
The background colors are
printed by the BEP's Simultan presses, which are state-of-the-art,
high-speed, sheet-fed rotary offset presses. These presses are over
50 feet long and weigh over 70 tons. They are specifically designed
to print security offset designs on currency paper. Using dry
offset plates, ink from the plate is transferred to an offset
blanket. The blank sheet of paper passes in-between the face and
back blankets and simultaneously prints the complete image on the paper.
The press has eight print units, four on the face and four on the back,
with two comprehensive computer control consoles. Many of the press
settings can be controlled from these consoles and their status displayed
on the computer screens. The press is capable of printing 10,000 sheets
per hour; approximately every 500 impressions, the pressmen will pull a
sheet and carefully examine it to ensure that all the colors are
remaining consistent.
These sheets are stored for 72
hours to dry before going on to the next section, Intaglio
printing. Drying occurs in Work-In-Process security cages,
otherwise known as WIP cages. On average, the BEP inventories 2,000,000
sheets (or 100 loads) between Offset Printing Operations and the Back
Intaglio printing operation.
Intaglio Printing Operations
Intaglio, pronounced
in-tal-ee-oh, comes from an Italian word which means to cut, carve, or
engrave, indicating that intaglio images are engraved into the surface of
a plate. In the intaglio printing process, ink is applied to a
plate so that it remains only in the engraved areas. Paper is then
laid atop the plate, and the two are pressed together under great
pressure. As a result, the ink from the recessed areas is pulled
onto paper, creating a finished image. Intaglio printing is used
for the portraits, vignettes, scrollwork, numerals, and lettering that
are unique to each denomination.
Engraving
Engraving the “Die Master” used in
making the printing plates to print money.
http://maybach300c.blogspot.com/2012/08/money-modern-marvels.html
Engravers engrave a web of
fine lines and grooves into steel dies, transforming designer's models
into three-dimensional engravings. Sharp tools (commonly called
gravers) and acids are used to cut the fine lines, dots and dashes that
uniquely describe the subject the engraver is creating.
Additionally, the engraver must cut the image in reverse to how it will
actually print on a highly polished steel die.
Engravers do not work on a
whole note design at once. They engrave separate parts of the
design on separate dies. Some engravers specialize in portraits and
vignettes, others in letters and script.
Siderography
In simplest terms, siderography
is the means by which multiple images of the hand-engraved die are
transferred to a printing plate.
In siderography, individually
engraved elements such as the portrait, border, counters and text are
first combined like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to form one complete face
(or back) of a note using a transfer press. Siderographers use this
machine to exert as much as 4 tons per square inch to transfer the
original work to a master die. Later, individual plastic molds are made
from the master die and are assembled into one plate containing 32 exact
duplicates of the master die. Plate makers will then process this plate
to create the metal printing plates that go on the presses.
After the dies are assembled
and reproduced on plates, engravers cut in additional items, such as
series, quadrant numbers, and signatures into the plates using a
pantograph machine. A pantograph copies the die engraving onto the
plate. As one part of the machine traces the original engraving
another part engraves the image onto the new plate.
The original engraved dies are
stored and can be used again and again as needed. For example, the Lincoln
portrait on the Series 1928 $5 note was originally engraved in 1869, but
can still be used to make new dies today.
Intaglio Plate Making
Test Plate
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v14n10.html
The plastic master plates are
transferred from siderography and used by plate makers to create hundreds
of identical printing plates — identical because they are all based
on the same master.
Electroplating is how this is
done. The plastic master, which is called the "basso", is
sprayed with silver nitrate to act as an electrical conductor. The plate
is then placed into a tank filled with a nickel salt solution, and an
electric current is generated. Nickel ions leave the solution and deposit
themselves on the electrically charged surface of the master. After about
22 hours, a nickel plate, called an "alto" has literally grown.
The alto is separated from the plastic master, trimmed, and inspected by
the engravers. The plate contains the mirror image of the master in
all its intricate detail and is an exact replica of the original engraved
die.
Even this plate is not the one
destined for the printing press. The actual printing plate comes from a
later generation of plates grown from the alto plates in the
electroplating baths. That final printing plate is coated with a thin
layer of chrome to make it hard and slick. It contains the Intaglio image
in recessed grooves only 2/1000 (0.002) of an inch deep — but that
is deep enough to hold ink for intaglio printing.
From engraver to plate maker,
every BEP employee involved in the steps leading to the Intaglio press checks
and re-checks his or her work for any sort of flaw, no matter how small.
Dents, seams, or scratches in the die or plate will hold ink and create a
printed mark, so defects during these preparatory stages would leave a
blemish on every note printed from that die or plate.
Even the thickness of the
printing plate is scrutinized; the margin of error is only +/- 0.0003
(three ten-thousandths) of an inch. That's 1/10th the thickness of a
human hair.
Back Intaglio Printing
The
inked-up nickel plates on an intaglio printer.
http://www.esquire.com/features/benjamin-hundred-dollar-bill-0913-6
High-speed, sheet-fed rotary
I-10 Intaglio printing presses are used to print the green engraving on
the back of U.S. currency. Blank currency sheets for the $1s and
$2s or the offset printed sheets for redesigned currency are fed into
these presses and printed at a rate of 10,000 sheets per
hour. Four 32-subject engraved plates are mounted on the
press then covered with ink. A wiper removes the excess ink from
the surface of the plate, leaving ink in the recessed image area of the
plate. Paper is applied directly to the plate and under tremendous
pressure (approximately 20,000 lbs. per sq. inch), the paper is forced
into the engraved plate, thereby removing the ink and printing the
image.
Currently, the BEP is
implementing the latest Intaglio printing technology called the Super
Orlof Intaglio (SOI) press which could help the BEP move from a
32-subject production process to a 50-subject environment. Like the
I-10 presses in Back Intaglio, the two SOI presses print 10,000 sheets
per hour and are currently printing 32-subject sheets but have only three
printing plates instead of four. The presses are 40 feet long, 11.5
feet wide and 13.75 feet high, weighing in at just a mere 50 tons.
Most astounding is that these mammoth presses have 185,634 total parts!
In the future, because of their 50-subject printing capability, they
could increase productivity by 56% by increasing the notes printed per
hour from 320,000 to 500,000! These presses also have a better
integrated inspection system with ten times the resolution of the older
presses, have the capability of printing one additional color, and have a
more precise ink control which helps save costs by reducing ink
usage. The SOIs also feature a four-pile delivery system versus a
two-pile on the older I-10's which reduces spoilage by having less weight
(pressure) on the bottom sheets of each pile.
Jogger
Sheets that were printed from
the Back Intaglio process require 72 hours to dry and cure. During this
drying process, the sheets bond and stick together. Therefore the sheets
must be separated and neatly jogged before they can be printed on the
Face Intaglio press. To do this the BEP employs automated joggers
shaped much like the letter "C." Support personnel
retrieve the load and place it into the jogger. The load is turned
on its side and, through the combination of vibration and forced air, the
sheets are separated. The process takes approximately 10
minutes. Once jogged, the load is moved to the designated Face
Intaglio press.
To recap, the subtle
background colors are printed first using Offset print technology, then
the green engraving on the back is printed second using the Intaglio
printing process. The third printing operation is the Face Intaglio
printing process.
Face Intaglio Printing
...awaiting
serial numbers and seals. After this it's money...
http://www.esquire.com/features/benjamin-hundred-dollar-bill-0913-6
Once again, Intaglio presses
like those used to print the Back Intaglio engraving are used to print
the faces of the bills. While the same printing process
applies, one difference is how the ink is applied to the engraving.
Special cut-out ink rollers transfer the different inks to a specific
portion of the engraving, thus allowing three distinct colors to be
printed on the face of the note; the black for the border, portrait
engraving, and signatures of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Treasurer
of the United States; the color-shifting ink in the lower right hand
corner for the $10 denominations and higher; and the metallic ink for the
freedom icons on redesigned $10, $20, and $50 bills or color shifting ink
on the redesigned $100 notes' freedom icons. Bills printed in Fort
Worth, Texas, will also have a small "FW" printed in black
ink. The loads of these freshly printed sheets will still require
72 hours to dry and cure before they can continue to the next operation.
Mechanical Examination
Throughout the printing
processes, minor printing imperfections may have occurred, either through
printing or the handling process. In order to ensure only the
highest quality sheets proceed to the numbering operation, the face and
back of the sheets are thoroughly examined using state-of-the-art
computer technology.
UOCIS
The Upgraded Offline Currency
Inspection System, otherwise known as UOCIS, integrates computers,
cameras, and sophisticated software to completely analyze an untrimmed
printed sheet. By examining untrimmed sheets, the BEP is better
able to monitor color registration and ink density.
Nota-Sav
Nota-Sav is the BEP's
examining equipment utilized to examine the $1 product line. Since
those bills have neither a security thread nor a watermark, Nota-Sav does
not need the technical sophistication of UOCIS. Using
electronic examination "eyes" to inspect the sheets, these
inspection systems provide the automated means to process the $1 bills as
they move forward on a transport.
COPE
COPE-Pak presses in this
section utilize the letter press printing process which is the third and
final type of printing utilized by the BEP for paper currency. The
acronym COPE-Pak stands for Currency Overprinting Processing Equipment
and Packaging. These presses were custom designed specifically for
the BEP and are the most automated equipment of their kind in the
world. This press takes a 16-subject printed and examined sheet of
currency and adds the two serial numbers, the black universal Federal Reserve
seal, the green Department of the Treasury seal, and the corresponding
Federal Reserve identification numbers.
Serial numbers on the
redesigned currency differ slightly from those on the old currency.
The new serial numbers consist of two prefix letters, eight numerals, and
a one-letter suffix. The first letter of the prefix designates the
series (for example, Series 1996 is designated by the letter A, and
Series 1999 is designated by the letter B). The second letter of
the prefix designates the Federal Reserve Bank to which the note was
issued. The serial numbers are overprinted in sequential order and remain
in order until the 16-subject sheets are cut.
In addition, a universal
Federal Reserve seal replaces individual seals for each Federal Reserve
Bank. On the other hand, $1 and $2 dollar notes have not been
redesigned. Those notes still maintain the specific black Federal
Reserve Bank seal. Finally, the green Department of the Treasury
seal is printed on all denominations.
The Treasury seal, the
universal Federal Reserve seal, and the 12 Federal Bank seals are
manufactured by a team of sculpture engravers, siderographers, and plate
makers. Traditionally, the Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank seals
were hand engraved and duplicated in a similar fashion as the currency
master die. The siderographer used the transfer press to make many
copies from one master die. Today, technologies are emerging in
this process and seals are now being manufactured using an Electronic
Discharge Machine (EDM). In this process, the engraver has prepared
a digital file and sends it to a plate maker where the images are
"burned" into the individual surface pieces using an electric
current. When each piece is completed, the engraver inspects it prior
to releasing it for print production.
As sheets pass through the
COPE process, they are inspected by the COPE Vision Inspection System
(CVIS). Prior to this new technology, an examiner would
hand-inspect approximately 6% of the finished work whereas today we are
inspecting 100%. CVIS alerts the COPE pressmen to sheets whose COPE
attributes are potentially not up to standardized specifications,
checking them using grayscale technology for position of the COPE
features and correctness of the serial numbers, prefixes, suffixes, and
bank numbers. CVIS uses red lighting, providing optimal lighting
for inspection by minimizing the Intaglio printing so that the equipment
can key in on only the sheets' COPE attributes. The computer
compares the scan of the sheets against a database containing captured
images and numeric qualities and, in 200 milliseconds, decides whether or
not to accept or reject the sheet. That's faster than the blink of
a human eye (300-400 milliseconds)! If a sheet is identified as being
defective by the system, the pressmen will then pull the sheet in order
to make a final determination as to whether or not it should continue
through the process. If they agree that in fact the sheet is
defective, they will replace it with a star sheet. In design, the
star sheets containing 16 star notes are exactly like the sheets they
replace; however, a "star" appears after the serial number in
place of the suffix letter on each of the notes.
The currency sheets are then
gathered into piles of 100. The pile continues down the transport
where it passes through two sharp guillotine cutters. The first cut
is made horizontally, leaving the notes in pairs. The second cut is
made vertically, and for the first time you see individual notes. A
denomination paper band is wrapped around each group of 100 notes to form
a strap. Ten straps of 100 notes (totaling 1,000 notes) are then
banded together and machine counted before they are shrink-wrapped,
forming a bundle. Four shrink-wrapped bundles are collated
together, identified with a bar code label then shrink-wrapped again to
create a brick of 4,000 notes.
In 2008, an ergonomic piece of
equipment called a palletizer was added to each one of the COPE-Pak
presses to eliminate the repetitive, rotating motion performed by an
employee as they placed the bricks onto skids. As the bricks enter the
palletizer, they are flipped over and the barcodes are scanned for
information. An air-powered arm picks up the bricks from the
transport using vacuum suction in addition to forks and grippers.
The palletizer will stack 160 bricks to complete two skids and then place
a lid over them. It will then advance the full skids forward, where
they will be secured and stored for the next operation. As full
skids are advanced and removed, the palletizer will continue grabbing
empty skids, placing them into position to start receiving more bricks.
COPE
|
Total Number of Bills
|
100 bills equal 1
strap
|
100 bills
|
10 straps equal 1 bundle
|
1,000 bills
|
4 bundles equal 1
brick
|
4,000 bills
|
Packaging Operations and
Federal Reserve Vault
Packaging Operations is the fifth and final stage of the currency
production process before the currency is shipped to our customers, the
Federal Reserve Banks. Bricks of currency are printed with a unique
numbering sequence. Packaging operations aligns the completed skids
from COPE operations and collates four bricks of currency into the proper
numbering sequence for the final packaging.
Scanners read the COPE-Pak bar
code on the first bundle of the first of four bricks that will become a
"Cash-Pack." The four bricks are then shrink-wrapped
using a heavy, color-coded shrink film, which is then heated to about
450°F, to create a Cash-Pack, consisting of four 4,000 note bricks or
16,000 notes. The machine then verifies proper sequencing, applies
a new label, and then stacks 40 of them on a skid. Like COPE operations,
Packaging operations also utilizes an ergonomic palletizer. This
palletizer is also powered by air and uses vacuum suction in addition to
forks and grippers to pick up each Cash-Pack. It can store up to
two full skids (80 Cash-Packs) at a time before they must be removed from
the machine by a forklift.
This equipment eliminates the
physical labor and rotating motion previously performed by an employee
who would stack the completed Cash-Packs onto the pallets. Prior to
ergonomic improvements such as the palletizer, the employee was required
to stack approximately 7,400 pounds (or 3.7 tons) per day. This tool
greatly helps to prevent injuries and employee fatigue and has proven to
be another successful ergonomic improvement at the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing.
The completed loads will be
transferred and securely stored in the Federal Reserve Vault for future
pickup and distribution by the Federal Reserve Bank.
Federal Reserve
Vault and Packaging
|
Total Number of
Bills
|
4 bricks (from COPE)
equal 1 cash-pack
|
16,000 bills
|
40 cash-packs equal 1
skid
|
640,000 bills*
|
*The value of the skid is
640,000 multiplied by the denomination contained, (e.g. 640,000 bills x
$10 = $6,400,000.
|
