The BEP can print around 8,000 sheets per hour. High-speed rotary printing presses are used to create currency. The plates are then pressed into the special blended paper with about 20 tons of pressure. To produce $1 bills, ink is spread on the printing plates and then wiped off, so that ink only remains in the grooves of the plates. To preserve the master dies for future use, a process called 'siderography' is used to transfer the images on the dies to printing plates. BEP specifications require this blended paper to have special red and blue fibers woven throughout.īefore the paper can be used to print new bills, the image of the bills to be printed must first be engraved onto soft steel plates by hand in a process called 'intaglio.' These plates are called 'master dies.' Unlike traditional paper made of wood pulp, the paper used for currency is made of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen. currency is printed on special paper made by Crane Paper Company. To prevent counterfeiting, the complex process of printing currency involves more than 65 steps. The currency production process involves highly trained workers, special equipment and a unique combination of traditional old-world printing techniques combined with cutting-edge technology. A newer facility in Fort Worth, Texas, opened in 1991 to meet increased demand for currency. The Washington, D.C., site opened in 1914. The BEP began in 1862, when only six people created money by hand in the basement of the Treasury building. Today, we're going to focus on paper currency, like the $1 bill.

Mint produces coins, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) produces paper currency. Department of the Treasury are responsible for making the coins and bills that fill our wallets and piggy banks. We're sure you've heard the phrase “money doesn't grow on trees!' Unfortunately, that's true.

Steel ocean game currency