Some people think of dollars when they imagine a huge machine that churns out crispy green bills every second, which factory workers tie, pack and ship to American banks. But what is the process of producing US currency, and the system and organizations involved in its distribution?
Dollars Printing Materials
Printing dollars has its own characteristics of production technology. This currency is used all over the world, so its quality must fully correspond to its high status. Dollars are made of special paper, which consists of cotton and linen threads (three quarters and one quarter, respectively). The paper on which the American currency is printed has a unique color and a distinctive silk fiber that appears in ultraviolet light.
To make dollars, special paper is delivered directly to the machines using whole rolls.
In rolls, this paper can reach a length of up to eight thousand meters, while the width of the sheet is strictly fixed and is 64, 26 centimeters. However, since small deviations are allowed in the production process, the width of the rolls may deviate from the specified parameters by 2 millimeters, but not more. Otherwise, the bills will be sent for recycling.
Also, for printing dollars, a specialized black ink with magnetic properties is used (used for the front side of the bill). For the reverse side, use a green paint without magnetic properties. Thanks to this, dollars acquire uniqueness and protection against counterfeiting.
Printing process
In order to print dollars, paper for banknotes is passed through special printing presses, first of all, printing the reverse side of the banknote. The front side is printed exclusively after high temperature drying. Also, during the printing process, many special elements are applied to dollar bills, designed to protect against counterfeiters. The dollars are then dried again and sent to a machine that separates them into individual bills.
Since printing dollars is a very expensive process, the legendary two hundred dollar bill was discontinued.
Dollars are made by the US Federal Reserve System, which includes twelve reserve banks located in different states of the country. The main organization issuing American currency is the Federal Reserve Bank of the State of New York. If you wish, you can easily determine the specific place of printing of each bill - each dollar has a corresponding marking, showing the belonging of a particular reserve bank to a particular state of America.
