Microprinting is text or a pattern printed so small that it looks like a plain line or a dotted border to the naked eye. Under a 10x magnifier you can see that it is text, and at 15x you can read it. Security printers use it on passports, ID cards, banknotes, cheques and certificates because a copier, scanner or office printer cannot reproduce it: in a copy the characters break up into dots or merge into a blurred line.
This guide explains what microprinting and nano-print are, where to find them, how to inspect them, and what a reproduction looks like. Microprinting is one of several printed features on a document; how it fits in with the others is covered in passport security features: what to check and how.
What microprinting is, and what nano-print adds
Microprinting is lettering or a repeated text line at a size well below normal reading size. It is produced with printing processes that can hold very fine detail, such as offset and intaglio for paper documents, or by laser engraving inside a polycarbonate card. The text is often the name of the issuing state, the document type or a repeated word.
Nano-print goes further: detail so fine that a handheld magnifier is no longer enough and a microscope is needed to see the structure. Nano-print is mostly a second or third-line feature, checked with a digital microscope at a desk or in a laboratory.
The value of both for document security is the same. They demand printing equipment that holds detail far beyond what a copier, scanner or inkjet printer can resolve, so a reproduction loses the detail even when the rest of the page looks convincing.
Where microprinting appears on documents
- Passports and ID cards: in lines and borders on the data page, around or across the portrait area, in the background design, and on the visa pages.
- Banknotes: as tiny text within the design, often in places that look like a line or an ornament.
- Cheques: frequently as the signature line, which looks like a solid line and turns out to be repeated text.
- Certificates and other security documents: in borders, frames and background patterns.
Where the microprint sits on a specific document, and what it says, differs per document type and version. A reference of the genuine document is the only reliable way to know what to expect.
How to inspect microprinting
- Locate the microprint. Use the reference to find the areas where microprint should be: lines, borders and parts of the background.
- Detect it at 10x. With a 10x magnifier, confirm that the line is made up of characters and not of dots or a solid stroke.
- Read it at 15x. At 15x the characters should be legible. Check the text against the reference, character by character where it matters.
- Look at the edges. Genuine microprint has sharp, continuous edges with even line thickness. Look for breaks, blurring, fuzzy outlines or a dot structure.
- Change the light. White light from above shows the print; oblique light helps when the microprint is part of a raised intaglio print or a laser-engraved area.
- Record what you see. If something looks wrong, note where and what, and refer the document. See recording a finding.
Which magnification to use for each step is explained in 10x vs 15x vs 30x magnification.
What reproduced microprinting looks like
A reproduction rarely fails at first sight; it fails under magnification. Common signs:
- Dots instead of lines. An inkjet or laser printer builds characters from dots, which become visible under magnification as a pixelated or speckled edge, sometimes with stray dots around the characters.
- A blurred line. When the characters are too small for the printer, they merge into an illegible line.
- Broken or uneven characters. Missing parts of letters, uneven line thickness or incorrect spacing.
- Wrong text or font. A forger who rebuilds microprint from a low-resolution source may get the text or the font wrong.
Normal wear also affects microprint: a document that has been in a pocket for years may show worn or slightly damaged areas. Wear is gradual and follows folds and edges; a reproduction is uniformly wrong across the whole area. When in doubt, compare with a genuine reference of the same age, and look at the other features before drawing a conclusion.
Microprinting in combination with other features
Microprint is rarely used on its own. It is integrated in guilloche and rainbow background printing, combined with UV-fluorescent inks, and placed across the edge of the portrait so that a replaced photo breaks the line. That last combination is one of the most useful checks at first line: follow the microprint line over the portrait edge and see whether it continues without a break.
Lighting matters for all of these. How white, oblique, transmitted, UV and infrared light each contribute is described in different light sources for identity document authentication.
Tools for inspecting microprinting
A 10x magnifier with its own light is enough to detect microprint, and a 15x magnifier to read it. The handheld magnifiers range covers both levels, including Dexeq’s own 15x Magnifier DXQ with white, oblique and UV light. For nano-print and for recording what you see, a digital microscope from the microscopes range shows the print structure on screen and captures images for the file.
Frequently asked questions
Microprinting is text or a pattern printed so small that it looks like a line or a dotted border to the naked eye. Under a 10x magnifier you see that it is text, and at 15x you can read it.
Copiers, scanners and office printers cannot resolve detail that fine. In a reproduction the characters break up into dots or merge into a blurred line, even when the rest of the page looks convincing.
10x to detect it and 15x to read it. For nano-print and for recording the print structure, use a digital microscope.
Nano-print is finer still: a handheld magnifier is no longer enough and a microscope is needed to see its structure. It is mostly checked at second or third line.
