Patent ID: 7242796

Claim:
A method for discriminating the genuineness of a certified paper having at least one security mark including a non-electroluminescent ink and an electroluminescent ink, comprising the steps of: scanning at least a portion of the security mark; exposing at least a portion of the security mark to an alternating electric field; detecting a first light from the electroluminescent ink in an environment of the alternating electric field with a first light detecting means configured to produce a first output value waveform corresponding to the intensity of light detected from the electroluminescent ink as the security mark is scanned; detecting a second reflected light from the non-electroluminescent ink with a second light detecting means configured to produce a second output value waveform corresponding to the intensity of the light detected from the non-electroluminescent ink as the security mark is scanned; detecting the first and the second light from the same position of the certified paper with an optically splitting means, comparing the first and second output value waveforms to a respective first and second reference waveform of a genuine paper to determine the genuineness of the certified paper.