The security hologram trade body kept its glossary after rebranding

IOTA, formerly the IHMA, still defines volume holograms and zero order devices for members, as its site read on 16 September 2026.

Site publication

September 18, 2026

What the organisation documents, as retrieved

The organisation's own history page states it was "established in 1993 as the International Hologram Manufacturers Association," and that in 2024 it "underwent a significant expansion and rebranding to become the International Optical Technologies Association," widening its scope from hologram makers to optical security suppliers generally. The same page describes it as "a not-for-profit membership organisation registered in the UK," representing "the world's leading suppliers of optical security technologies," and running a Security Image Register for members' holographic and optically variable designs. Its current home page confirms the same IOTA branding and membership footing in shorter form. Because this is a live organisational site rather than a dated publication, what follows describes it as it read on 16 September 2026, not as a fixed historical record.

How the glossary separates real optics from stagecraft

The glossary itself defines a volume hologram, "otherwise known as a Bragg diffraction hologram," as recorded in material thicker than the light's wavelength, and a "Zero Order Device" as built from sub-wavelength gratings below 400 nanometres that can be produced by embossing. Both are genuine recorded diffraction structures. The same glossary then defines "Holopresence" as "real-time transmitted realistic images that appear solid to the viewer and that the viewer can interact with," but demotes a "Holographic Avatar" to "pre-recorded images that are played back as a projection under controlled lighting and audience conditions," and a "Holoportal" to nothing more than "a constructed box or theatre rigging." That hierarchy is a security industry drawing its own line between an optical hologram and a staged illusion sold under a similar name — exactly the distinction this site's editorial policy insists on.

What the glossary does not settle

No page opened for this entry defines the bare word "hologram" as a standalone headword; the concept only appears inside compound terms built for authentication professionals, not display designers. The 2024 widening of scope beyond holography also means future glossary editions could dilute hologram-specific precision as more unrelated optical technologies are folded in, an editorial risk worth flagging rather than assuming away. The domain's own redirect, from the old ihma.org address to iot-association.org, is itself a small dated trace of the rebrand rather than proof of when every internal definition was last revised.

• Does any current page define plain "hologram" as a headword, rather than only in compounds like Zero Order Device?
• How does IOTA's widened remit change which technologies count as a member's core specialism?
• Would a specific vendor's marketed "holographic" product meet IOTA's own Holopresence definition, or only its Holographic Avatar one?

A trade body's glossary is strong evidence of how the security-print industry itself sorts real holograms from look-alike effects, and weak evidence of anything beyond that industry's own current membership and scope.

Sources & reading trail

Confirms the organisation's rebrand from IHMA to IOTA and its stated purpose in authenticating optical security technologies.

Source published: Not established · Retrieved: 16 September 2026

Defines volume hologram, Zero Order Device, holopresence, holographic avatar and holoportal, separating true optical holograms from staged illusions.

Source published: Not established · Retrieved: 16 September 2026

Dates the organisation's 1993 founding as the IHMA and its 2024 rebrand and widened remit.

Source published: Not established · Retrieved: 16 September 2026

Primary documents establish the record; the mechanism reading and the demo questions are Presence Atlas editorial analysis. This retrospective draft does not imply the site published on the event date.

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Published September 18, 2026, not on the date of the event described.