The challenges to the traditional security market have never been greater nor in a period of greater diversity and flux. The impact of the internet, mobile phone and the SOHO printer have changed not only the way security documents are printed and examined but also the relationship between the user and the issuer. So while some security documents have been devalued by these changes; the levels of security, complexity and functionality of others have increased significantly. The incorporation of chips, RFID and displays draws the secure document into the world of printed electronics. Both worlds are being transformed by digital printing and are increasingly technically demanding on the substrate.