Visible Inks
Developed by Nanografi, our Visible Inks series stands out for its vibrant color quality and outstanding fade resistance. Designed to appear bright and clear under normal lighting conditions, these inks also offer a fluorescent glow under UV light—delivering both everyday visibility and concealed security. This dual functionality allows easy verification in standard light and more comprehensive authentication under ultraviolet illumination. The result is a striking print that blends robust anti-counterfeiting measures with user-friendly convenience. Even at high speeds in offset printing, these inks maintain consistent performance and help produce documents with sharp, long-lasting colors. Thanks to seamless integration with hidden security elements like microprinting, they provide a multi-layered defense against counterfeiting. This way, you can achieve a visually impressive look without compromising on security.
What Are Visible Inks?
Visible inks are security printing inks that can be seen with the naked eye under normal daylight, in contrast to invisible or covert inks that only respond under a specific light source. In a security document they carry the printed design — the background, guilloche patterns, text and imagery that make a genuine document recognisable at a glance.
In the Nanografi portfolio, visible inks form the overt layer of a multi-layer security design. They are formulated for offset printing and combine everyday colour visibility with a fluorescent response under UV light, so a single printed element can be checked both in daylight and under a UV lamp.
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Applications
Paper Documents
Ideal for both standard and high-value printed materials, offering clear visibility in normal light and added security under UV.
Currency (Banknotes)
Provides vibrant, detailed prints under regular lighting while fluorescent elements under UV guard against counterfeiting.
Passports
Integrates overt and covert security features into official travel documents, enabling reliable authentication under various lighting conditions.
Visas
Delivers high-quality, richly colored printing for border control, complemented by UV fluorescence to enhance forgery detection.
How Visible Security Inks Work
Visible security inks work on two levels within the same printed area:
Daylight visibility: the pigment system produces a vibrant, clearly defined colour under normal lighting conditions.
UV response: under ultraviolet illumination the same printed area shows a fluorescent glow, adding a covert check to an overt element.
Print stability: the formulation holds colour fidelity at high offset print speeds and resists fading over the life of the document.
Layer integration: visible inks are printed alongside covert features such as microprinting, giving a multi-layered defence within one design.
Printing Considerations
Printing method: formulated for offset printing and stable at high press speeds.
Substrate: paper-based documents. For plastic and polymer substrates, see UV curing security offset inks.
Design integration: visible inks are combined with UV and IR security inks in the same printed document.
Colour selection: colour profiles can be customised so security features are designed into the artwork rather than added on top of it.
Why Nanografi
Nanografi was founded in METU Technopolis and operates as a subsidiary of Ahlatcı Holding, with international operations across more than 100 countries.
Nanografi Inks develops formulations through a defined process: assessment of requirements and application scope, formulation design according to substrate and curing behaviour, testing and validation under application-specific conditions, and production with continuing technical support.
The security ink portfolio covers two main systems: conventional inks for paper-based materials and UV curing inks for plastic and polymer substrates. Both can carry IR, invisible, visible and thermochromic components.
Frequently Asked Questions
Visible security inks are printing inks that are visible to the naked eye in daylight and carry the printed design of a security document. Nanografi visible inks also fluoresce under UV light, so the same element supports both overt and covert verification.
Invisible inks are not visible in daylight and only respond under a specific light source such as UV or IR. Visible inks are seen in normal light and carry the design, while additionally offering a UV response.
Yes. Nanografi visible inks show a fluorescent glow under ultraviolet illumination, which adds a second-level check to an element that is already part of the visible design.
They are used in paper documents, banknotes, passports and visas, where a clear printed design has to be combined with authentication features.
Yes. They are normally printed together with UV, IR and other functional inks within the same document to build a layered security design.
They are formulated for offset printing and are designed to maintain performance at high print speeds.
Related Applications
Nanografi visible inks are used across the following security printing applications:
Not sure which security ink suits your substrate and printing system? Talk to our technical team, or explore the full offset security ink portfolio.