expected the 2011 Frontier series to become the dominant banknotes in circulation by late 2015 or early 2016, with at least 70% of older $20 banknotes removed from circulation within 18 months of issuing the polymer $20 banknotes. By November 2013, about 700 million banknotes of the $20, $50, and $100 denominations had been released into circulation. The Bank of Canada printed 580 million polymer banknotes in 2012 and 675 million in 2013. The operating costs for the 2013 second-quarter of the Bank of Canada increased 23% from the previous year, nearly half of which was a result of printing the polymer banknotes. During the introduction of the $5 and $10 banknotes, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated that counterfeiting of the polymer $20, $50 and $100 banknotes that had been previously released was dramatically lower than that of previous series. By late 2013, the counterfeit ratio had been reduced to below 40 PPM, and about 5% of retailers still refused to accept $100 banknotes for payment. The Bank of Canada expected the 2011 Frontier series to last about eight years. It issued polymer banknotes into circulation in exchange for paper banknotes of earlier series which were then removed from circulation. Because of the increased lifespan of the Frontier banknotes compared to earlier banknote series, the Bank of Canada expected to replace smaller volumes of worn and damaged banknotes than it did in previous years. When removed from circulation, the polymer banknotes are recycled instead of being destroyed like the paper-based banknotes of previous series. By early November 2012, at least 315 banknotes had to be replaced because of damage. As a result of decreased demand for banknote printing services, BA International closed its Ottawa printing operation in 2012 and sold it to Canadian Bank Note Company for $10.2million in 2013. In March 2012, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind issued a press release lauding the "touch, sight and electronic signal features" of the polymer banknotes. The Bank of Canada patented a machine-readable feature created by its researchers during development of the Frontier series. It was first used in the Frontier series and adapted for commercial production by one of the development partners. The communications and information company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, which developed the robotic systems deployed to space by the Canadian Space Agency which appear on the $5 banknote, sent some members of the