Optical nanotechnologies company IQ Structures (Rez, Czech Republic) has won two of five prizes in the Excellence in Holography Awards 2018 by IHMA (International Hologram Manufacturers Association). The hologram "beetle and the flower" with a combination of visual effects was one of them. Holograms on gramophone records was the second one.
The hologram "beetle and the flower", the winner of THE BEST ORIGINATION award, is based on advanced graphical design backed by unique visual effects that integrate distinctive 3D objects, emerging features, small animations, and changing bright colors. The hologram was manufactured with an electron beam, using mathematic algorithms developed by IQ Structures' experts.
Holograms for vinyl that change gramophone records into luxury items won BEST APPLIED DECORATIVE/PACKAGING PRODUCT. It confirmed that technologies developed by IQ Structures can produce holograms from almost any material and integrate them into nearly any item, including packaging products.
Martin Jotov, executive director of IQ Structures, said, "I would like to express thanks to my colleagues from our origination centre and from research units that were instrumental in the development of our unique visual effects. Our origination excellence is now broadly appreciated in the market, and our capacities are used even by companies you wouldn't expect. This year awards confirm that we create elements beautiful, user-friendly and advanced. It is essential not just for user experience but mainly for security reasons."
Winners of IHMA's Excellence in Holography Awards are selected each year by an expert jury. Usually, there are six categories, but this year only five winners were awarded. IQ Structures has been successful in this competition in the past, winning commending awards of "INNOVATION IN HOLOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY" in 2017.
IQ Structures has manufactured its holograms for more than 30 years. The industry is now stratified from simple technologies and effects vulnerable toward imitation to sophisticated security elements. IQ Structures' origination center focuses on the most advanced technologies, connecting designers and technology experts. IQ Structures owns several patents and operates a manufacturing unit with a capacity to protect more than 100 million polycarbonate ID cards a year. It has been awarded several international prizes for excellence and scientific innovation.
SOURCE: IQ Structures; http://www.iqstructures.com/index.html
Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)
Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.