In South Africa, document fraud costs millions and erodes trust in credentials, certificates and transactional printing. 

At Lebone Litho, we use innovative anti-counterfeit print features to help prevent fraud in credentials, certificates, and transactional printing. We protect academic qualifications, government IDs and financial documents with military-grade precision. Through our leadership in security printing, we guarantee that every high-value asset remains authentic and auditable.

What are Three Types of Counterfeiting? 

We guard against three primary attack vectors targeting academic certificates, professional licenses, and transactional forms. Understanding these methods is the first step in defeating them:

1. Complete Counterfeits: Fraudsters use desktop publishing software to create near-perfect replicas by mimicking holograms and watermarks.
2. Altered Genuine Documents: Criminals take a legitimate certificate and modify details like names, dates, or scores using chemicals or digital editing.
3. Cut-and-Paste Assembly: Forgery involves combining elements from multiple real documents, such as mixing a genuine background with fake signatures or photos.

Lebone Litho’s PrintSecure-accredited processes ensure every document we produce is engineered to resist all three attack vectors.

What Are The Security Features To Prevent Counterfeiting?

Ink innovations applied via precision Heidelberg Speedmaster presses create multiple layers of defence:

• UV-fluorescent inks are invisible to the naked eye and glow vividly under UV blacklight for inspector verification.
• Optically variable ink shifts colour dramatically when tilted, making the document impossible to replicate with a standard photocopier.
• Chemical-reactive inks are designed to bleed or discolour when exposed to solvents, making scanner reproduction impossible.

Scanner-Proof Design Features

Our in-house reproduction team uses intricate patterns that prevent digital touchups:

• Microprinting: Text printed at 0.1mm that appears as a solid line but reveals legible text under magnification 
• Guilloché patterns: Complex, curved-line designs that create moiré interference when photocopied/scanned.
• Security threads: Metallic or polymer strips embedded within the paper, visible only at specific angles.

These anti-counterfeit print features make cut-and-paste document assembly obvious, protecting certificates, licenses and transactional printing from digital replication.

How Can You Identify Counterfeit Items? 

Visual trust marks provide instant verification as the first line of defence. At our specialised printing company, anti-counterfeit features empower end-users to spot any suspicious signs, no special tools needed:

• Static or flat 3D hologram movement: Genuine laser-generated holograms shift and sparkle when tilted. 
• Missing watermarks: A clear watermark must be visible when the document is held up to the light. 
• Poor paper quality: Real security-grade paper feels crisp, with a consistent texture, not thin, flimsy, or uneven.
• Peeling foils: Branded security patches or foils should be fully integrated and not peel at the edges.
• Suspiciously low price: Legitimate certificates/licenses demand premium pricing, where unrealistic discounts may lead to counterfeits. 
• Ink bleeding or blurring: Chemical-reactive inks & microprinting on hybrid documents bleed and blur after tampering attempts. 
• Scanner distortion: Photocopies of Guilloché patterns & security threads appear distorted or blurry instead of crisp and clear.

These red flags enable immediate authenticity checks across the supply chain, from exam administrators to government officials, protecting credentials without requiring complex verification equipment.

How Does Serialisation Guarantee Authenticity?

Serialisation bridges physical print and digital verification. Each document produced at Lebone Litho receives unbreakable digital DNA:

• Laser-etched serial numbers: Unique numbers are etched during platemaking, impossible to replicate consistently.
• Encrypted QR codes: Scan instantly to secure databases confirming authenticity worldwide.
• RFID chips (Level 4): Contactless verification for highest-security applications.

Automated Scanner Logging

As sheets move through our in-house bindery, automated scanners log every stage, ensuring the PrintSecure/ISO 14298 chain remains unbroken until the project is sealed in tamper-evident packaging.

Protect your high-value documents from fraud. Contact us today for battle-tested security printing solutions.