Author: Lucy

A team in South Dakota have created invisible printing for security barcodes.

Stanley May, a professor at the University of South Dakota, and a team that includes Jon Kellar, from that institution’s School of Mines and Technology, have combined the use of an invisible ink and a special printing process in order to make invisible QR codes that can be used to identify counterfeit goods.

The barcodes can be seen only when they are viewed under an infrared light.

The research team from the college found a way to add QR codes that cannot be seen by the unassisted eye, to various types of surfaces including paper. This suggests that they could be added to items that are commonly forged, such as official documents, paper currency, and even designer products.

These QR codes could make it much more challenging for counterfeits to be convincingly made.

May and his team have been working over the last few years to create a clear ink solvent, and have now applied nano-particle technology to this accomplishment in order to create the ink that can be seen only when displayed under infrared. The most recent effort involved using this ink in a way that would make it printable. This included the involvement of William Cross, in addition to Kellar.

Through the use of a special aerosol lab printer, the research team was able to apply invisible, basic shapes and letters to various surfaces. The idea to print QR codes came from Jeevan Meruga, a graduate student who had been working with Kellar. He thought up the concept and successfully tested it with the printer before presenting it to Kellar, who said that he wasn’t sure what it was at first. However, he explained that “I quickly figured out what it was and how important this could be.”

The team is now working to perfect the printing of the invisible QR codes so that they can be used in anti-counterfeiting operations. It has been suggested that it could be applied to items such as currency, or identification such as passports or drivers licenses. This would make forgeries much harder to accomplish.

Spreading the word over smartphones is becoming a required form of promotion for films.

One of the new required elements of the release of a new blockbuster film has now become a mobile marketing strategy, which must be established before the film actually opens in theaters.

This can involve any number of smartphone friendly elements, from a site to engaging apps.

The latest example of this new movie release requirement is the mobile marketing effort that was put together by Fox Digital Entertainment, in partnership with WPP Digital company POSSIBLE. They worked together to bring fans a DIE HARD smartphone and tablet game that has debuted in time for the film.

This mobile marketing game availability is designed both for Android and iOS based devices.

The new game is based on “A Good Day To Die Hard”, the feature film that is the latest in the Die Hard series and that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The film stars Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney, but the game brings together both first person shooter and endless runner style genres. It has, in essence, created an entirely new format of game, which is being labeled the “endless shooter”.

The app is retailing for a competitive game price on Amazon’s marketplace as well as on iOS, at $0.99. However, the Android version is available for free at Google Play. This makes it not only a unique game that will draw attention – likely both in its free and paid forms – due to its unique nature, but will also help to provide effective mobile marketing promotion for the film to which it is associated.

According to the POSSIBLE managing director, Los Angeles, Andrew Solmssen, “The DIE HARD franchise is one of the most recognizable entertainment properties in the world and we are honored to bring the latest installment to life in the form of the new DIE HARD app.” He went on to add that “Our number one mandate in developing the app was to create an awesome standalone gaming experience.”

As a growing number of blockbuster films release apps and mobile marketing elements to their overall advertising strategies, it is becoming increasingly clear that smartphones and tablets are indispensable in the promotions efforts of these movies.