Orlov Ivan Ivanovich (1861–1928) was an inventor, a native of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate, who created the technology of multicolor "Orlov printing," used to protect banknotes and securities against counterfeiting.[2]
Origins and Education
He was born in the selo (a larger village) of Meledino in Nizhny Novgorod Governorate. His father died early, and his mother left to find work in Nizhny Novgorod, so the boy and his two sisters were raised by their grandmothers; in especially hard times the children went around the neighboring villages begging for alms.[2] His talent for drawing and his technical ingenuity were noticed: on the recommendation of the owner of one of Nizhny Novgorod's establishments, Ivan enrolled on a scholarship at the Kulibin Trade School, from which he graduated with honors. The school's superintendent introduced him to the merchant I. Vlasov, who agreed to finance his further studies at the Stroganov School of Art in Moscow.
The Invention of Orlov Printing
In 1885 a Moscow newspaper published an article about the spread of counterfeit banknotes and called on specialists to take up the improvement of their protection. Orlov developed a project for woven banknotes with designs and patterns and sent it to the Minister of Finance, N. Bunge. After personal negotiations at the Expedition for the Production of State Papers, he was taken into service and moved with his wife to Saint Petersburg.[2]
At the Expedition, Orlov developed a rotary printing press for multicolor printing that could apply smoothly blending colors in a single pass — an effect that is practically impossible to reproduce by handicraft methods. The press came to be called the "Orlov press" and was exhibited at international exhibitions in Chicago, Paris, and Prague, where it won awards and diplomas. A report on the invention was approved by Emperor Alexander III, who ordered that Orlov be given a prize of 7,000 gold rubles and granted the title of Personal Honorary Citizen (later renamed Hereditary Honorary Citizen).[2] The President of France awarded the inventor the Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honor.
The Orlov method was later used to print Soviet chervonets banknotes and other securities; Orlov also developed an intaglio printing technology in the form of engraving and took part in the work of Goznak.[2]
Ideas for the International Protection of Securities
In his notes, Orlov proposed the creation of international bodies — prototypes of a World Patent Committee and a World Union of Inventors — to coordinate the protection of securities against counterfeiting at the interstate level.[2]
Sources
- clustersecurity.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Inventors. Ivan Orlov
- historynetwork.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Inventors. Ivan Orlov