Review of some UV lights
Overview
This is a test of seven different UV lights (two are tested both with and without UV protection glasses). 17 sides of banknotes are tested with all UV light configurations (which are ten each including normal non-UV light).
The Contestants
The lights are "coded" with an abbreviation above and in all the tests below. They are as follows:
- 3in1 - This is a cheap 3xAAA light with 10 5mm white LEDs, 5 5mm UV LEDs and one red laser module.
- Pen - This is a UV marker + LED that was a present from DX (Read: Wrong item received).
- 380 TW - This is the Manfont Taiwan 380nm P60 drop-in in a Solarforce L2 host. Powered by an 18650 cell.
- TK - This is the Tank007 TK-566 365nm 1W AA light.
- AA-S1 - The UniqueFire AA-S1 with OSRAM GDP-emitter. Used to illuminate the subjects without UV-light.
- T5 - This is a traditional blacklight with a BLB-T5/4W tube (BLB = Blacklight Blue, should be around 365nm). Powered by 4xAA.
- Magn - This is a 8 LED + UV Magnifying glass, powered by 3xAAA.
- X60 - This is a "60X Mini Microscope" powered by LR43-cells that has both UV and white LED light.
Some tests were performed with UV protection glasses (actually they are ski goggles with UV400 protection...). The 380nm P60 drop-in (380 TW) and the 3-in-1 3xAAA light is tested both without the UV glasses and with them (the glasses covering the camera), those are marked as "380 TW-G" and "3in1-G" (G for glasses).
Results
First is the 500 CZK:
Conclusion: Works good with most lights, at least when using glasses.
Next up is the CNY 100:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all tested UV sources. This is how to do it so that everyone with a $1 keychain light can use the UV test. All Chinese banknotes have this feature, down to the 1 CNY note.
Next up, the 20 EUR, both front and back sides:
Then the back:
Conclusion: Only the TK-566 365nm creates the right fluorescence. The T5 tube should also be 365nm but it's probably a combination of beeing too weak and emitting too much visible light that makes it fail. This is an example of how to not do it if it should be available to common people (even with the TK-566 you don't see squat in a normally lit room).
On to the 10 MYR,
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with most UV sources.
Next, the 5 USD note:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with most UV sources (but not much to look at). Different US notes have different colors on the UV thread so you must know which note has which color to make a proper indentification (it's quite popular to bleach a 5 dollar note and print a 100 dollar note on the same paper).
Next, the 10 HKD polymer note:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all UV sources. This is a polymer (plastic) note.
Next, the 1000 SEK note:
And the back:
Conclusion: The ship on the front of the note lights up with most UV sources (except when the near-UV light gives too much glare), but the back of the note only shows in 365nm (or close to that).
Next, the paper version of the 10 SGD note:
Conclusion: (Quite) good fluorescence with all UV sources. This is a paper note.
And the newer 10 SGD polymer note:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all UV sources. This is a polymer (plastic) note.
On to the 50 SEK note:
Conclusion: Only the TK-566 makes the note chart glow red (the T5 tube actually does it too but it's very faint and not easily seen). The back of the note has a similar 365nm-visible "box" as the 1000 SEK note (all Swedish notes has one except the 20 SEK).
Next the 20 HKD note printed by HSBC:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all UV sources (notice the UV barcode).
On to the 20 HKD note as printed by Bank of China:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all UV sources (it has a UV barcode, but it's not the same as the other 20 HKD note).
And the third type of 20 HKD note, issued by Standard Chartered Bank:
Conclusion: Good fluorescence with all UV sources (it has a UV barcode, different from the other 20 HKD notes). The fish is looking cool...
Next, the 1000 JPY note:
Conclusion: Not that much fluorescence, but it can be seen with the TK-566 (and somewhat with the T5 tube). Contrary to the 20 EUR it can be checked in daylight with the TK-566, if you hold the light just by the red mark you can see it glow in yellow (just not that bright).
And last but not least, the 20 MOP note from Banco Nacional Ultramarino:
Conclusion: Very good fluorescence with all UV sources. Nice pattern and very bright, this is a winner in most fluorescence.
As requested, here is a comparison of the TK-566 versus the T5 light using glasses:
Some concluding remarks
- In the US and most of Asia any simple cheap UV light, like a $1 keychain light, is enough to check banknotes.
- High-powered UV lights in 380nm and higher are hard to use because of all the glare from the near-UV light. Use yellow UV protection glasses or use a less intense light (giving less glare).
- The BLB-T5 tube light is very cheap and is almost as usable as the TK-566 (but gives more visual light). Most fluorescent materials react in the same way to the 566 and the T5 with only a few exceptions.
- The 365nm range is not ideal for everything (even though it is the best for all of the above banknotes). On some ID-cards, passports and visas some features only show up with 380nm or higher (thus not showing up with the TK-566 365nm or with the T5 tube).
- Best fluorescence banknote winner: Banco Nacional Ultramarino 20 MOP note.
- Best looking banknote winner: Standard Chartered Bank 20 HKD.
- Best performance UV light: Tank007 TK-566 365nm 1W
- Best price/performance UV light: BLB-T5/4W tube light.
Bonus pictures
Here are some more pictures of banknotes that I found interesting for some reason or just looks good.
First the UV features of the 5 USD versus the 20 USD,
The 100 CZK and the 200 CZK notes:
and the 100 SEK and 500 SEK,
Here are the backsides of all the current Chinese banknotes:
I think these are pretty cool, both the UV features and the normal printed images (the frontsides all have Mao Zedong on them exactly like the 100 yuan front in the original test. The UV features of the fronts are also the same as on the 100 yuan note). The UV feature of the 20 yuan note is a bit strange compared to the other notes, but I tried three different ones and they all look like this.
Here is another Chinese banknote, an older 1 yuan note that is still in circulation:
The front is prettier than on the Mao note if you ask me... There is no UV effect on the back of the note (which depicts the Great Wall of China).
