For a hundred years, PWPW’s products have been a constant element in the lives of Poles. With each year, the number of worldwide users is constantly growing. The printing plant manufactures security prints such as bank notes, passports, visas, postage stamps, excise tax bands as well as digital tachographs, ID cards and IT systems for ID document management. As the sole supplier of security prints for the Polish state, PWPW is one of the cornerstones of Polish security.

– The Polish Security Printing Works, supervised by the Minister of Interior and Administration, plays a key role in the security system of the Republic of Poland. Most countries worldwide do not have their own state manufacturers of security prints and IT systems connected with the security of operations of national systems. Therefore, high-class solutions created at the PWPW are sold to foreign governments and their central banks – Maciej Biernat explains.

Over the years, the PWPW offered solely products in physical form. However, faced with the challenges brought by the digital revolution, it is already preparing to meet new needs of customers in respect of efficient and convenient solutions for electronic and biometric identification. Such products will allow not only for the improvement of work of offices or performance of regulatory obligations by financial institutions but, most of all, they will make lives of Poles easier, allowing them to handle a number of official matters electronically, from their own homes.

***

To mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Polish Security Printing Works, Poczta Polska (the Polish Post) issued today a special collectible stamp. The stamp is unique among those that have been issued by the PWPW and by Poczta Polska. In the most exceptional way, it serves the purpose of both a promotional bank note and a traditional postage stamp. As a bank note, it has a rich graphic design and a number of security markings. Agnieszka Próchniak is the stamp’s author and Przemysław Krajewski is the author of the engraving with the image of Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The image of Paderewski was printed with the use of the steel engraving technique. The stamp block includes also an element made of a relief with a bolded line in the offset print, fragments printed with special OVI® ink, an offset guilloche, a multi-tone image with ink layers of varying thickness, security line structures in the steel engraving and a special raster background. Additionally, the stamp includes positive and negative microtexts, made with letters of varying size with the use of offset printing and steel engraving techniques.

***

The Polish Security Printing Works was established on 25 January 1919, following a decision of the Council of Ministers of the reborn Polish state, presided by PM Ignacy Jan Paderewski. In its early years, the plant operated under the name Państwowe Zakłady Graficzne (State Graphic Works), until 10 July 1926 which also marked the establishment of a joint-stock company. That same year saw the commencement of the construction of a new seat for the company. The works were completed in 1929. This building has been the seat of the company ever since.

Contact Details

PWPW S.A. Press Office
e-mail: pr@pwpw.pl

Photo credit: Rafał Jaworski PWPW S.A.