After the Metropolitan Transport Corporation of Chennai (MTC), a government-owned transport corporation in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, found that its bus passes were being counterfeited, Sree Lakshmi Vilasam Press (SLVP), one of the largest printers of bus passes in India, developed a solution using PPG TESLIN® that helped curb document fraud.
Summary
- The Metropolitan Transport Corporation of Chennai (MTC), a government-owned transport corporation in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, exposed a significant counterfeiting rate among the approximately 1.5 million (15 lakh) passes it was issuing annually.
- The State Transport Corporation (STC) of Tamil Nadu and all the STC’s across India asked their printing supplier, Sree Lakshmi Vilasam Press (SLVP), one of the largest printers of bus passes in India, to develop a bus pass solution that would maintain key document design elements and help curb document fraud.
- SLVP successfully employed Teslin substrate as a valuable alternative to the incumbent paper material. It delivered on making the pass more difficult to alter and replicate and easier to authenticate. Teslin substrate could be partially laminated and written on with a pen. It also provided increased document durability and customer design appeal.
- SLVP provided the STC of Tamil Nadu with this first-in-India solution that enabled the corporation to recover prior revenue losses due to counterfeiting and preserve its existing bus pass issuance model and infrastructure.
Challenge
Buses are a popular mode of transportation in cities across India, and frequent travelers of all types are accustomed to obtaining convenient monthly passes. In the city of Chennai alone, commuters purchase approximately 1.5 million (15 lakh) bus passes every year.
The State Transport Corporation (STC) of Tamil Nadu is a government-owned transport corporation in the state/province of Tamil Nadu, India. It services an area of 3,929 square kilometers (more than 1,500 square miles) with a fleet of more than 3,500 buses.
To produce its bus passes and tickets, the STC of Tamil Nadu works with Sree Lakshmi Vilasam Press (SLVP), a trusted, industry-leading printing company located at Sattur, in Tamil Nadu. The company was formed in 1941, expressly to cater to bus companies’ printing needs prior to Indian independence from British rule. Since then, SLVP has become the preferred printer for most Indian State Government Bus Transport Corporations because of its long history and industry expertise in printing bus tickets and passes. Today, SLVP prints more than 10 million (1 crore) bus passes and ticket books for the government transport corporation in Tamil Nadu and numerous other states, totaling about half of all bus passes issued in India.
“PPG’s TESLIN substrate has proven to be a high-performing, high-value solution that enables a diverse range of security and design features required by our top transport customers. Our Teslin substrate bus pass solution has alleviated our customers’ counterfeiting issue and associated revenue loss. Holders also appreciate that their Teslin substrate bus pass is water-resistant, durable and that it won’t fade, delaminate or tear during a month of rigorous use.”
K. MURUGAN
Managing Director, Sree Lakshmi Vilasam Press (SLVP)
In Chennai, SLVP historically addressed the STC of Tamil Nadu’s requirements for the city’s bus passes by printing them on standard 120-gsm art paper, which is then partially laminated with 125-micron film. The design employed basic security features and allowed issuing authorities to write on a portion of the documents with a pen to customize each pass. The STC of Tamil Nadu desired a durable pass that would be water- and tear-resistant since its customers would be using the document for a month.
The STC of Tamil Nadu’s security authorities began detecting counterfeit passes during routine document checks in the field. After closer investigation, the STC estimated that up to 10 percent of the passes were fraudulent in any given month. The STC and SLVP recognized that the counterfeit passes could be relatively easy to create. The paper stock was readily available and accessible to forgers, who could easily replicate basic security features.
To address the forgery of passes before the issue became more widespread, the STC asked SLVP for alternatives to accommodate improved security without sacrificing critical material properties. The new pass design would still need to be water-, scuff- and tear-resistant, easy to print and laminate, and marked using any type of pen.
Solution
Initially, SLVP assessed various plastic substrates as possible material alternatives because they could offer water- and tear-resistance. These substrates, however, did not prove to be a viable solution. Offset printed inks were not effectively adhering to the surface and marking with a pen was not working well. The plastic substrates also fell short of the STC’s desired performance characteristics for durability and lamination bond strength.
In its investigation, SLVP recalled examples of durable government identification cards used elsewhere in India. The ID cards also employed a range of security features and allowed edgeless and seamless protective over-lamination. The cards were constructed using PPG TESLIN® substrate as their printed core, a material that possesses all the performance attributes required for the STC’s ideal bus passes.
On the non-laminated portions of the pass, Teslin substrate offers a distinctive look and feel different from paper and traditional plastics. It also provides outstanding durability, exceptional ease in printing, and superior lamination bond strength. Using almost any type of pen, officials could write directly on the Teslin substrate passes to mark them permanently.
The unique properties of Teslin substrate ensure that print inks and toners bind effectively with the material itself, allowing for remarkable clarity and color brilliance in typography and graphics. The material enables powerful mechanical bonds that are up to 10 times more resistant than other synthetic substrates. This, in turn, enables tamper-evident, edgeless lamination that yields more aesthetically pleasing bus passes that can withstand daily use without tearing or degrading.
The pass design using Teslin substrate also integrates enhanced security measures, including a hologram, other proprietary security features, and different color and design modifications for each month’s passes.
Results
With Teslin substrate, SLVP provided the STC an enhanced bus pass solution that met all design requirements and mitigated counterfeit document issues. Because the new passes are more difficult to replicate yet easy to authenticate, they have significantly curbed document fraud.
The new bus passes were so successful at reducing fraud in Chennai that by 2019, all State Government Bus Transport Corporations across Tamil Nadu adopted the new solution featuring Teslin substrate. Additional state transport authorities served by SLVP are also considering a switch in materials and design to repeat the success seen in Tamil Nadu.
By bringing the Teslin substrate solution to the STC of Tamil Nadu and other State Government Bus Transport Corporations, SLVP has realized a 100 percent increase in its revenue. Recognizing Teslin substrate’s inherent durability, printability, and security properties, the company also recommends it as a solution for customers’ other secure document printing needs, including diplomas, certificates, and identification cards.
About PPG Teslin Substrate Secure Document Solutions
Customers worldwide trust the distinctive, high-performing properties of Teslin substrate for their secure, high-use documents, such as bus passes and identification cards.
Teslin substrate delivers:
- Superior document durability and printability
- Exceptional mechanical bonding with inks and over-laminates
- Compatibility with all types of conventional and digital printing technologies
- Excellent write-ability and stamp-ability
- Crisp, vibrant, and colorful reproduction of photos, graphics, and text
- A range of options for embedded, printed, and additive security elements and features
Contact us to request a sample and put Teslin substrate to work for your secure document needs.
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Discover why governments and institutions around the world trust PPG TESLIN substrate to increase the durability and security of credentials and other critical documents.
