HSP Latin America Builds Back Better

After two years of COVID inflicted disruptions, Reconnaissance International was able to restart the acclaimed series of High Security Printing Conferences with a fiesta feel in Mexico City (14-16 March) with seminars, presentations, key notes, an exhibition and prizes … lots of prizes!

One can never quite be sure how a conference will ‘go’, particularly when it is nearly three years since the last HSP Latin America. But with over 300 delegates from 140 organisations and 40 countries (a record number for the event), it appears that people were keen to meet and had a lot to say.  The conference was sold out and had a welcome and refreshing buzz and business to it.

The conference started with four seminars – on sustainability in the cash cycle, digitising identity, digital security printing and tax stamp developments in the region.

For the sustainability seminar, we heard from and about suppliers across the entire cash cycle, alongside familiar names such as CCL Secure, Hunkeler, Landqart and Oberthur, we also heard from the Royal Mint at the start through to Prosegur and Cash InfraPro talking about cash management.  The central banks of Costa Rica and Mexico spoke and then took part in a panel discussion about the role of central banks in sustainability, with Mexico laying out a highly structured long term programme of activity.

‘Digitizing Identity: Benefits and Risks Highlighted by the Current Regulatory Landscape’, presented by Onfido, brought together specialists from different fields to brainstorm problems and present their proposed solutions.

The seminar on the design and production of security documents through digital printing generated significant interest both in terms of attendance and participation.  Presentations from HP, Jura, Komori, Luminescence Sun Chemical and Orell Füssli gave hard information about production and security options, and this led into a robust discussion.  The consensus appeared to be acceptance that digital printing is coming, but ambiguity about in what form.

The final seminar, led by Francisco Mandiola on behalf of ITSA (the International Tax Stamp Association), was on the topic of Best Practices for Tracking and Tracing Excise Products, with a particular emphasis on excise program developments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Focus on Latin America

In the opening session Alejandro Alegre and Alberto Torfer gave overviews of the cash cycle and cash production in Mexico during the pandemic respectively.  These set the scene and also tied in nicely to the visit to the Banka’s new print works in Guadalajara later in the week.

On the ID side, Omar Lares from Inteum took delegates through the new Mexican passport, while Francisco Javier Perez Munoz of Hubox described the printed biometric digital security in the new Mexican photo-voting card, issued by the INE ((Instituto Nacional Electoral).

Following the first session, the programme then split into two tracks – one covering currency and the other ID and secure documents.

In the Currency track, the sessions covered regional currency developments, design and production, substrates and features, sustainability and securing currency and payments.

In the concurrent ID track, meanwhile the corresponding sessions covered border controls, digital credentials, mobile identity, substrates and features, and verification, fraud and examination,

In total, there were 47 presentations to choose from, which was – again – a record for the event.