Security Layer
The place, where paper is converted into banknotes
And also into passports, promissory notes, certificates and other important documents
If to put the banknotes, produced by Perm printing factory "Goznaka" for the last year, one by one in one chain, they will be able to turn around the global six times and a half. Nobody has counted how many banknotes - Soviet, Russia and foreign- were produced for the time of Ppfg existing. But- very many. In July 2004 Perm printing factory is 40. The jubilee coincided with issuing modified Russian banknotes, which may be completely called as a business card of "Goznak" in general and Perm printing factory in particular.
On the eve of 40th anniversary of Ppfg correspondents of "Watermark" directed to Perm - to have a look at the way money is produced at Perm printing factory.
Everything is under control
As a theatre begins with a cloakroom, so enterprises of "Goznak" begin with regime service. And Perm printing factory is a proof of it. "Security consists of several ingredients- physical protection of the factory itself, arrangement of technological process due to the regime demands, selection of the staff and work with it",- tells the economic security deputy of Ppfg director Boris Dektiarenko
Of course, there is a fence. And not ordinary but, as they assure at the factory, "with some secrets". It"s impossible even to try to climb over it: being touched- the technical means of security, telewatching begin working and the guards, being awakened all days round, direct a duty exactly to the spot, where the disturbance took place. There are other "technical borders" for the case of illegal breaking into. In general protection of Perm printing factory resembles protection of the state borders very much…
By the way, the factory is guarded by the officials of specialized departmental duty of Finance Ministry. They are by the entrance gate and by the entrance of every shop. " The system is constructed in the way for every official to be situated just the place where there is a technical need. Passing cards have special codes, giving possibility for their owners to reach the exact place in exact time period",- Boris Dektiarenko explains.
All the technological process at Perm printing factory is existing under the slogan: "Inventory and control". It sounds the following way.
The factory receives paper. Before it is printed, the representatives of the printing shop together with the shop of paper preparatory count over the given party carefully. After counting the paper is supplied to the store of the printing shop. The printing team comes- before the beginning of the duty both they and the storekeeper count the paper again. After the duty having been worked-the paper is counted again. If only one paper sheet disappears ( the printing machine happens to "chew" it)- nobody leaves the shop until the missing thing is found. If it doesn"t happen to be found-the analyses of the solution, used for washing printing paint out of machines, is made. Due to the words of Boris Dektiarenko this is an exception. "In my memory there is only one-two cases of this kind. While making the analyses paper fibers were found in fact in the solution. It means the rollers of the printing machine had just ground the paper, and then the gruel was watered away together with the paint".
While manufacturing future money ( passports, special stamps etc.) are moved from one shop to another. Every moving is accompanied by the whole cycle of recounting. There are special devices, which in no time - due to corners - count the production both in sheets and cut into separate items. In the technological cycle there is also control and selective recounting prepared goods.
Possible influence of human factors is led to minimum: in the store nobody remains alone, work is run only by a group of two-three people, having collective financial responsibility.
Expense materials are controlled carefully as well-for example, different paints, used in printing.
These are not money. These are - "goods".
One of the main shops of Perm printing factory- a shop of metalligraphic and orlov"s printing. Men, working in the shop, are more than women (but at the factory in general the situation is opposite).
In the shop exactly white sheets with watery signs and protective threads are transformed into monetary semi-manufactured items: representation is plotted with the method of orlov"s printing, metalligraphic and stenciled printing, there sheets with imprints of banknotes of big value are "holed" with the method of laser microperforation, there serial numbers appeared. By the way, besides goznak enterprises, no one in Russia has right to use either orlov"s or metalligraphic and laser microperforation.
The first duty begins at 7 a.m., but they come to the shop 20 minutes before.
"I get up at 6 a.m. when I have a morning duty. Difficult? No, I"ve used to it. And live by the factory- within 5 minutes walking. Our house, by the way, belongs to goznak too- that time the factory built many houses",- tells Vladimir Shumichin, printer of metalligraphic machine of the 8th( highest) rank.
"Our shop is said to be "Goznak" face.I happened to print everything- passports, excise stamps and even postcards with metalligraphic. So much money I have printed- impossible to be counted ever. When you work , you never think they are money. We say: goods or paper",- Shumichin continues.
When a future printer comes to the factory, nobody places him just to the press surely. At first it"s necessary, as printers themselves say, " to move into the basis". For example, to become able to see different defects on the metalligraphic forms. But they are rotating with rather noticeable speed: the press productivity is 8 thousand copies per hour. For looking outside it is unbroken flashing metal and paper…
To notice quickly the things , impossible for an average person, even looking into the representation for a long, is one of the main professional skills of representatives of another very important factory profession- controllers. There is a special shop also-the shop of control. Mostly women work here and are headed by a woman too.
Firstly semi-manufactured items are seen-sheets with future banknotes (stamps and etc.). The daily standart is 2,5 thousand sheets. If just to divide an working day into this index we"ll have spending 10 seconds per a sheet. On every sheet there are at least 28 banknote imprints (if we speak about 1000-ruble banknotes; 50-ruble ones are located on the sheet in the number of 35), looking both from the facial and back sides.
If a controller finds a defect, this imprint is "cancelled"- marked with a pencil line in a special place. Later, after the sheet"s cutting into separate items, they, before being packed, will be provided to the special machine, able to separate banknotes of high quality from "cancelled" ones( after that the defected copy will be liquidated).
But the machine is under control also. After the banknotes to have been counted and packed, two bundles are taken out of every party( 1000 banknotes each) -for selective sorting.
Svetlana Kopilova, a controller of prepared production, tells: "My task is to check up if there is a defect. The standart amount is within 20 thousand copies per duty. And every item should be observed both from facial and back sides. If I find a defect, I inform to the authority, and the party braked. The work is certain to be intensive. At the beginning of my working at the factory, nothing was received. Moreover I had to cry sometimes- the standart wasn"t obtained, " the fan" wasn"t made in a correct way. But I"ve moved into. Now I have no problems with standart indicators: I"ve got certain automation of movements, know already where and what to look at. And the quality of the production keeps improving by years".
Quality plus traditions
As for the way of preparing banknote range for modification "Watermark" asked the director of Perm printing factory Ivan KOLOSOV to tell about.
- Modificated banknotes have got new protective signs. It means new technologies, new equipment. Was it difficult?
- I can"t say everything was fine absolutely. But we didn"t have great problems. The work was started from some basis.
For example, one of new protective signs -MVC effect-was patented by "Goznak", and many experimental works with this element were carried out just at our factory. So our printers were good acquainted with this protective sign.
We began mastering another new protective sign- laser microperforation- last year, when Perm printing factory had got the first microperf-a machine for the operation execution . There were some difficulties there- it was not traditional printing equipment. But at the end of the year we produced an advertising banknote with microperforation. Now we have two microperfs working.
And still - how long has the preparatory period lasted?
There is no proper answer for the question in fact. Perfection of the elements, having been included into modified banknotes, was carried out as experimental work till the certain time. So, when the decision of banknote range modification was made, we were mostly ready for it. It was not the situation when an order is received by a doer, who doesn"t know how to start working with it.
Though, of course, one deal is producing some copies of advertising banknotes, another one is
Arranging mass production. All the more so because banknote paper has been changed in the process of modification- it should have been considered.
The deadlines were tight, but there was no apprehension at all for us not to be able to meet them.Our factory, like other "Goznak" enterprises, had to face the necessity to launch urgent-and technically complex as well- order not once.
- What else, except banknote range modification, was the jubilee year for Perm printing factory marked by?
- First of all by serious technical reequipping the factory. I"ve already told about equipment for laser microperforation-it helps to supply qualitatively new level of protection of different goods. Recently a machine for placing silk-stenciled printing was launched. From the last acquisitions I"d like to stress upon the machine of rolled printing also, using which it"s possible to obtain fully ready goods for one girder. Present time we are printing regional trade-marks for alcoholic goods on it.
I"ll set apart the work over creating technology of production of identification documents on the basis of poly-layer plastic specially. Hope that by the end of the year we"ll have become able to offer the consumers this ID-cards. The goods are in great demands, but in Russia till now there were no manufactures , able to fulfill similar orders in a serious way, providing safe protection of plastic documents. We intend to occupy this niche. It means not only potential state order( I think identity cards on plastic basis will appear in Russia earlier or later), but projects for separate corporations also.
- Not long ago Perm printing factory, like all "Goznak" enterprises, was living under conditions of guarantee state order. Today you have to have competition for many orders with other manufacturers of protective goods both domestic and foreign. Have you succeeded in adapting for new circumstances?
I can"t say the situation has changed recently. Even in 1990s the management of the factory undertook certain actions for getting commercial orders. And gradually the number of such orders is increasing.
What can we offer? Firstly, protective printing production itself. For example, now we together with Association of representatives of promissory note market drew up an equal promissory form with very serious protective level. We are sure protection of promissory notes should be accepted very responsibly because it means par of millions and tens of millions rubles. Another major project is connected with plastic production. Now we are bad presented in the market of phone cards. Due to the previous year results our goods occupied about 35% of the market sector. In our plans we rely on GSM-card production ( it is about to start), on production of identity documents and bank plastic.
The second direction is everything, connecting with preprinting production, form goods and special paints issuing, including export of paints.
Finally we try to work harder with regions, for example, by participating in competitions for production of regional special stamps. Now we are printing these stamps for Perm, Kursk regions and for Bashkortostan.
But, nevertheless how actively we work in the market of commercial orders, the main target of the factory is meeting the needs of the country in protective printing goods.
Nadezda Vetrova
