Plastic money calls time on years of heritage

Plans announced by the Bank of England on December 18, to introduce plastic banknotes, will bring an end to Britain's century long heritage of cotton paper notes, says Stephen Egerton of KJB Print UK. 2016 will see the £5 Winston Churchill note printed on polymer, with the £10 Jane Austin note following a year later. The culmination of three years of research, the new notes offer increased cleanliness and security as well as longer life and a reduced carbon footprint, although it's texture and cost has raised concerns among the public.  

Despite being the UK's first widespread use of polymer, the technology itself is not new. Polymer banknotes are already well established in countries including Australia, Canada, Brunei, Brazil, New Zealand and Romania.

Originally developed in 1967, the technology has advanced significantly. Surface adhesion, vibrant ink bonding, paper thickness and durability are all characteristics that have made polymer a forerunner in paper currency replacements.

Proponents of the technology praise the durability of polymer banknotes. They are water and tear resistant, making them easier to clean, thus reducing the transfer of bacterial contamination from one person to the next. The Bank of England's thorough testing has shown that although machine washable, they will melt if ironed or microwaved.

Lasting three to four times longer than the current paper notes, polymer notes need replacing less often, reducing their carbon footprint in the long term.

The increased difficulty in counterfeiting was a major reason behind the Bank of England's decision. Security features include a see through plastic window on the note, embossed lettering and the use of unique layered inks requiring multiple machines to manufacture.

However, the new notes have not been received well, everywhere. Critics say that not only does the texture make the notes difficult to count and fold, but that unnecessary infrastructure costs will be incurred as well as changes being required to many ATM machines due to the ten percent smaller size of the notes.

An alternative has been proposed, which offers an even longer lifespan whilst retaining the durability, cleanliness and security measures of polymer. Ecolast, a new product supplied by KJB Print UK, is a highly engineered printable media made of bright white polyester. Optimised for all banknote security, the smooth matt surface enables vibrancy and high levels of ink bonding.

"Ecolast would offer durability in excess of the three to four times advantage over paper quoted for polymer," said Stephen Egerton, commercial director at KJB. "I would envisage a seven to ten times improvement over the basic life expectancy of paper. This has significant cost benefits, as Ecolast is cheaper to manufacture than polymer notes. Rather than make notes smaller, Ecolast’s thickness can be varied to differentiate note denominations.

"Ecolast is a specialised product that is already used within many sectors, due to its durability and its waterproof and tear resistant properties and ability to cleanse/sterilise. Bank Notes, are an ideal application,” he concluded.

Stephen Egerton is available for media interviews on the subject of the introduction of plastic bank notes – if you would like to discuss the subject with him, contact Zafar Jamati on 01785 225416.