Attachment_E_-_Ref_Doc_2.1.5_STM300.002_LaunderingTest.pdf

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

Document #STM 300.002 Laundering Test

BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING

OFFICE OF MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

ECF QUALITY ASSURANCE DIVISION

STANDARD TEST

METHOD

STM 300.002

Rev #12

Tit le: Launder ing Test

EFFECTIVE DATE:

November 22, 2010

SUPERSEDES:

May 12, 2010 Page 1 of 6

QA Manager

<SIGNED>

Prepared By:

CC, JH, LL

I. PURPOSE

One of the most likely abuses that U.S. currency is subjected to while in circulation is accidental washing (laundering) with household clothing. The ability of U.S. currency to withstand abuse is a fundamental consideration for all materials used in manufacturing currency.

Thus, intentional laundering of U.S. currency in the laboratory at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) under controlled conditions is used to evaluate security inks, substrates, anti-counterfeit devices, etc. for their resistance to wet abrasion and hot detergent (wash-water) solution. At the end of the wash, the substrates are evaluated for physical damage and structural durability, the substrates and inks are evaluated for color changes, and the anti-counterfeit devices are evaluated for maintaining their effectiveness/functionality.

II. SCOPE

This method covers the laundering resilience to degradation for all types of currency papers approved for BEP use, in-process printed sheets, and finished currency notes.

This method consists of two-tiers of testing.

Tier 1 is designed to test for ink adhesion and overall structural durability of paper, and shall be performed on all types of currency papers.

Tier 2 is designed to test and evaluate windowed thread adhesion in currency paper. Windowed thread adhesion can be graded on sheets/notes at any stage of the printing process, in-process printed sheets and finished currency notes.

III. REFERENCES

A. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Standard Test Method STM 300.004 “Preparation of Unexamined and Examined Blank Engraved (UBE & EBE) Sheets and Federal Reserve Notes (FRN) for Durability Testing" spruillc Typewritten Text Attachment D

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

Document #STM 300.002 Laundering Test

B. “Control of Non-conforming Product” 93.00-1(4.13)

C. Production Information and Test Results Form

IV. EQUIPMENT and MATERIAL

A. Washing Machine: An off-the-shelf, top loading, automatic washing machine with spin-drying, timed wash, rinse cycles, and a washtub of about 14 gallons capacity.

B. Water Heater: for heating the tap water to 142 + 4o F (61 ± 2°C).

C. Detergent: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)

Standard Detergent No. WOB (without optical brightener) 1993. NOTE: The address and telephone number for ordering the detergent are as follows:

Address: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists

1 Davis Drive P.O. Box 12215 Research Triangle, NC 27709 Phone: (919) 549-8141

D. Analytical balance: precision to 0.1 grams.

E. Terry towels: White, 100% cotton, having dimensions of about 50 cm by 100 cm, weighing about 200 grams, and changed when they begin to show signs of wear.

F. Laundry rating scale: consisting of notes with the varying degrees of laundry degradation of assigned numerical values from 0 to 6 for $1, exhibiting various degrees of ink loss.

G. Men’s Tube Socks: White, ≥ 75% Cotton, having the tube portion of the sock cut off just below the elastic component, and changed when they begin to show signs of wear.

H. Flat Tweezers {120 mm in length, 2.25 mm tip width, 0.25 mm tip thickness} obtained from US agent, UNI-FIT Company, of Regine in Switzerland;

Address: 260E Main Street; Redwood City, CA 94063, unifit@aol.com; Product Number 2A-SA-Z; Phone: Work: (650) 363-2000, Fax: (650) 363-2051 (or equivalent).

I. Micro-Ruler, {10 mm, with Handle from Ted Pella, Inc.; P.O. BOX 492477;

Redding, CA 96049-2477; www.tedpella.com; Product Number 13635; Phone:

(800) 237-3526} (or equivalent) mailto:unifit@aol.com� http://www.tepdella.com/�

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

J. Product Information and Test Results form

K. Logbook or raw data sheet to record results

V. PROCEDURE SELECTION

A. A set is based on a sample equaling 25 notes or note-size, unprinted paper samples instead of notes; a laundering sample size for Tier 1 only consisting of one to five sample sets; or Tier 2 consisting of increments of one to three sample sets, i.e., 25, 50, or 75 notes (or note-size, unprinted paper instead of notes).

B. Tier 1 shall be selected for testing ink adhesion and overall structural durability of paper and shall be used for all types of currency papers, in-process currency, and finished currency notes. Tier 1 does not test for adhesion of the windowed thread.

C. Tier 2 shall be selected for testing and evaluating windowed thread adhesion such as that associated with NXG $100.

D. Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 can be run simultaneously, as long as the run contains no more than three sample sets.

VI. PROCEDURE: TIER 1

A. Sample Preparation - Prepare samples in accordance with STM 300.004.

Note: If both Tier 1 and Tier 2 samples are run at the same time, they should be marked so that they can be identified should the notes being tested in Tier 2 come out of the socks.

B. Laundering

1. Place 65.0 ± .50 grams of AATCC Standard Detergent No. WOB 1993 into the bottom of the washing machine.

2. Randomly layer the towels along with notes or unprinted paper cut to note size according to the following guide:

Bottom: 3 towels and 8 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size) Center: 2 towels and 8 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size) Top: 3 towels and 9 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size)

Note: A wash load consists of eight (8) towels weighing approximately 1600 grams, 65 g of detergent, about 14 gallons of water (3/4 wash tub capacity), and from one to five sample sets (when not mixed with sets of Tier 2 notes) {see sections A. and D. in the Procedure Selection (V)}.

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

Document #STM 300.002 Laundering Test

3. Set the washing machine for the regular cotton wash cycle {agitation and rinsing in hot water at 142 + 4oF (61 ± 2oC) and turn the machine on}.

4. Remove notes and lay on bench top at the end of the cycle and allow to air dry.

5. Dry towels in the automatic dryer.

C. Currency Sample Evaluation

1. Evaluate ink loss from the face and back of laundered notes using the $1 laundry rating scale, compare each note to the reference notes on the rating scale and determine the closest match. For notes other than $1 denominations, the $1 standard scale is used based on a reasonable best comparison of the intaglio printed portion of the notes.

2. Rate laundered notes that lie between adjacent reference notes with the mean of these reference notes.

3. Evaluate applicable security features (i.e., OVI, IMP, etc.) based on the denomination. Note: Tier 1 test is not used to evaluate Windowed Thread Adhesion.

4. Record the individual laundry ratings, sample size (if other than 25 notes) and the mean rating for each test load.

5. Record observations other than ink loss such as color changes, disintegration of the sample, etc., as compared to untested specimen.

6. The evaluation criteria are indicated on the Production Information and

Test Results form.

VII. PROCEDURE: TIER 2

A. Sample Preparation

1. Prepare currency in accordance with STM 300.004. Note: Mark notes if both tier 1 and tier 2 are being run at the same time.

2. Fold each note in half widthwise, having the face side facing inward.

3. Place one folded note in one sock pocket, so that the note is laying flat at the bottom (toe) of the sock.

B. Laundering

1. Place 65.0 ± 0.5 grams of AATCC Standard Detergent No. WOB 1993 into the bottom of the washing machine.

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

2. Randomly layer the towels along with socks containing notes or unprinted paper cut to note size according to the following guide:

Bottom: 3 towels along with 8 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size) in socks Center: 2 towels along with 8 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size) in socks Top: 3 towels along with 9 notes (or unprinted paper cut to note size) in socks

Note: A wash load consists of eight (8) towels weighing approximately 1600 grams, 65 grams of detergent, about 14 gallons of water (3/4 wash tub capacity), and from one to three sample sets in socks (Tier 2 only or when mixed with sets of Tier 1 notes) as described sections A. and D. in Section V.

3. Set the washing machine for the regular cotton wash cycle (agitation and rinsing in hot water) at 142 ± 4°F (61 ± 2ºC) and turn the machine on.

4. Remove the towels and then the socks containing the notes or unprinted paper cut to note size from the washing machine. Then remove the sample set(s) from out of the socks and lay them/it on the bench top to air dry. Some notes or unprinted paper may have come out of the socks during the wash cycle. Remove these notes or unprinted paper from the washer also to air dry - Note: Personnel at WCF QA will not be able to air dry samples on the bench top for 12 hours due to security; thus they will have to dry the samples overnight in a safe or in the vented hood.

6. Dry towels and empty socks in automatic dryer.

C. Currency Sample Evaluation

1. Evaluate windowed thread bonding to paper after a minimum drying time of

12 hours. Use the flat tweezers to probe for lifting and peeling. If lifting has occurred, use the micro ruler, measure the maximum amount of windowed thread peeling off of the paper along both sides of the entire length of the windowed thread. The maximum amount of windowed thread peeling is measured at any point in the cross direction along the entire length of the exposed portions of the windowed thread. Note: If the windowed thread is peeled on both sides of a cross directional point, the peel amount will be the sum of both measurements.

2. Record the maximum individual measurements of windowed thread peeling in the Laundry Data log book (Tier 2), along with sample size (if other than 25 notes), and product information.

Information in printed paper copies of this document and any document referred to herein is valid only for 24 hours of the print date.

3. The evaluation criteria are indicated on the Production Information and Test

Results Form. Note: If a failure occurs in the original sample of the 25 notes, a retest using 50 notes will be conducted in accordance to procedure

VII.

VIII. CALCULATIONS (Tier 1 only)

Currency Samples

Average Laundry Rating = Sum of the laundry ratings ÷ Total Number of Notes

Per test load, calculate the mean laundry rating for the Face, Back and applicable features separately

IX. REPORTING of RESULTS

A. Prepare one report for each load tested.

B. Report the mean laundry rating for the Face, Back and applicable features separately.

C. Note and report any color change to the ink and the substrate as well as any high level features.

D. Report windowed thread adhesion as a pass or a fail.

1. A passing score allows up to 3 mm of the windowed thread to peel from the paper.

2. A failing score exists if any of the 25 notes in an initial sample set and any of the 50 notes in a retest sample set peel more than 3 mm from the paper. The COTR will be notified if there is a failing score.

Note: The report should annotate the initial and retest results.

Rev. # Purpose of Rev. Eff. Date

1 Introduction of Type IV currency paper, temperature change for water 3/10/03 2 Correction to agree with actual practice re: measuring temperature 6/4/03 3 Change STM number to remove date suffix 1/11/05 4 Update procedure with new references 9/30/05

Organizational name changes; Annotated Thread Film Testing is not applicable for FRN and UBE Testing

9/13/06

6 Obsolete detergent No. 124 with its replacement detergent No. WOB1993 4/19/07 7 Addition of Tier 2 Laundry Test, removal of Thread Film Testing sections 5/2/08 8 Changing Tier 2 procedure for retest and adding specialized tweezers as a probing tool 12/16/08 9 Clarity of the source of tweezer and correction of the retest procedure 2/3/09

10 Updated dimensions of the tweezers 2/26/09

Update to use only $1 rating scale and to change the accuracy of detergent’s weight from ± 0.1 to ± 0.5

5/12/10

12 To include Tier procedure for NXG $100 11/22/10

dtstamp: 05/02/2014 8:43 am