How the humble self-adhesive label can counter a fake

Of the total 245 entries submitted, India contributed 19 and bagged eight awards while standing third in the country-wise awards tally. India’s performance at Finat was tribute to the 15% growth in the label segment. One of the award winning firms from India has been Hyderabad-based Pragati Pack who remained an outstanding performer among Indian companies participating in the competition with two category awards and four Highly Commended Certificates.

In addition to promoting the achievement label prints, and rewarding label converters, through its annual label competition, whose winning entries go forward for judging in the prestigious World Label Awards, Finat has been focussing on counterfeits. As a Finat spokesman said, "This means creating security labels that can help brand owners to provide authentication data for their products, and foil the perpetrators of today’s huge global business in counterfeit goods and ‘grey market’ trading."  

Today, the global sales of fake goods are estimated at $650bn per annum, making 'counterfeit’ the world’s biggest brand. As Ranesh Bajaj pointed out during a slick presentation at the LMAI conference in Goa, "This is threatening the welfare of purchasers, fake goods negatively affect customer brand loyalty and, of course, the brand owner’s profitability."

It is in this sense, the security logistics label from Schreiner Group’s ProTech division is a good case study. This label has been honoured in the 2013 World Label Awards competition.

Proclaimed winner in the technical category covering combination line print, the Schreiner security logistics label features "a complex package of overt, covert, and digital security features. It demonstrates ‘best practice’ in leading-edge layered security solutions for high-value and sensitive goods -- in this case, critical OEM automotive spare parts – and it has already found commercial success for authenticating BMW spares."  

As Avery Dennison's Anil Sharma shared with us on the eve of Labelexpo Brussels, "Labels are a carrier of security features of all kinds, since they provide an accessible substrate which may be checked for authenticity in a number of ways. With self-adhesive labels in particular, the opportunities to build covert security features into or under the label face, or in the adhesive, are diverse."

Finat awards three levels of security
According to Finat's tech experts, "The three major areas of focus are the provision of devices for visual authentication (with the naked eye, or with a scanner of some kind); secure tracking systems (creating a continuum through the supply and distribution chain); and anti-counterfeiting technologies – often bespoke -- that are difficult, or impossible, to replicate. Such devices may be overt or covert, to provide the broadest possible umbrella of protection for everything from ethical pharmaceuticals to legal documents, designer handbags, automotive parts, prepared foods and their ingredients, toys, and computer software. They can involve the use of the label substrate itself (eg with security watermarks), inks and coatings, Data Matrix codes, holography, and even chemical taggants and microtaggants -- including DNA -- which are detectable only with dedicated specialist scanners."

It is in this sense, the Schreiner ProTech security logistic label’s specification brings together a complex cocktail of such features – some of which require professional authentication, and all of which need brand owner involvement in developing and using their company’s own security labelling system. As Thomas Völcker, director, business development and marketing at Schreiner ProSecure, explains, "Security is not just a matter of technology today. It’s a matter of educating the people who have to authenticate the product."

The three things to look out for are:

1) Visible tamper evidence. This will begin with checking entry-level packaging features like security seals, which will readily provide tamper evidence without the use of any tools except the naked eye.

2) Covert features which are added to the Schreiner security logistics label via the printing process, including two- and three-dimensional demetallized holographic stripes which produce different (and identifiable) optical effects when they are viewed from different angles.  In this case, security inks deliver additional features. For example, thermochromic inks, which change colour at different temperatures, fade to show a ‘genuine’ message when the labelled pack is at body temperature.

UV luminescent inks produce a hidden text line and other marks when viewed under a black light. Additionally, a high-resolution random pattern, printed from an extra-high-resolution digital master, is printed on the label to enable authenticators to detect label copying. Anyone copying the pattern illegally will achieve less precision and technical detail in the image, since it is being copied from previous printed matter and not from the digital master. (It will in fact be slightly blurred). A simple scan with a handheld device or even a smartphone and will uncover this blurring and identify the fake. 

3) Track-and-trace functionality which provides a track-and-trace security product batch code that is added to verify the integrity of the logistics chain.  

At a time when foiling the fraudsters is a concern; especially for high-value goods such as automotive spares, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and on wines and spirits; this type of multi-layer security labels from Finat can reduce the damage for both purchasers and brand owners.