Inkjet technology is the new favorite of packaging solutions

By tracking the safety of product identification, inkjet technology provides brand owners with a new product security solution.


With inkjet technology, packaging and processing companies and printing companies can immediately start work without plate making or other tedious preparations, especially for small-volume orders. Nowadays, the widely used, low-cost inkjet technology has quickly become the new favorite of processors and printers. At the same time, the improvement of inkjet inks and equipment has also made it easy for companies that have previously been restricted from applying this technology to inkjet technology. In addition, inkjet technology can print two-dimensional data codes including batch numbers and product expiration dates in batches or in individual sheets.


The application of ink jet printing is very extensive. At present, more and more end users have paid considerable attention to its application effect in brand protection. With special software, inkjet printers can print different codes on each product. This technology is relatively simple to use, without having to drastically change the form of packaging, so that the product has a traceability function. Inkjet technology is a very valuable tool for manufacturers of consumer goods who want to eliminate counterfeit and inferior products.


Trace coding using inkjet technology can be used to control product quality and internal product tracking. It can include simple continuity codes, discontinuity codes, covert codes, or machine-readable codes. These codes can be two sets of interrelated codes - called "pairing codes." Another is tracking code using inkjet technology, including radio frequency identification data tags (RFID), inkjet technology can also be used to print RFID tag antenna.


In the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as consumer electronics and automotive parts manufacturing, tracking coding technology is also very important, because these companies need not only care about the flow of products, but also need to protect the public interest and its own brand. For example, brand owners need to take measures to prevent counterfeit products from entering their product supply chain in order to prevent counterfeit medicines and malfunctioning machinery from harming customers.


Inkjet coding technology has become one of the main anti-counterfeiting technologies for packaging. In order to better protect the brand, many brand owners will also use holographic images or other anti-counterfeiting technologies in combination with tracking codes.


In today's society, counterfeit and shoddy issues are increasingly serious. According to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, fake and shoddy products have accounted for 6% to 10% of global trade volume and have swallowed nearly 250 billion U.S. dollars in profits from brand owners.


Therefore, in order to prevent counterfeiting, many brand owners have adopted various anti-counterfeiting technologies on product packaging. There are two main categories: tracking and authentication, and inkjet technology can be used to print anti-counterfeiting labels using these two types of technologies. For example, using an inkjet ink containing a taggant (a type of security particle added to the ink), the printer can print a discontinuity code with cryptographic properties. The verifiable product containing this particulate ink is authentic, and the code provides an opportunity for the consumer to examine the source of the product and the ultimate destination.


Product "tuning" is another issue that plagued the brand owners. When a product produced in a market is transferred to another market for sale, so-called "tuning" occurs. This transfer is often done at the distributor or warehouse, at the expense of the brand owner’s benefit. For example, a product that should have been sold in Turkey may be transferred to the United States because it is more expensive in the United States. In this way, distributors profit from it, but the interests of producers have been damaged.


The product "tuning" has many hazards. Due to the fact that many products that have been transferred have exceeded the shelf life, problems such as rot, damage, or improper labeling will cause great harm to consumers. In this way, the retailer’s reputation is questioned and its image is compromised; while distributors are investigated for their transfer behavior, their interests will be damaged.


Lee Metters is the manager of the pharmaceutical industry development department at Domino.

In his opinion, coding is the best way to combat counterfeiting and product "tuning." The war between counterfeiters and manufacturers is endless, and the charm of coding technology lies in that, as time passes, even if the forged forms have changed, they can still upgrade the anti-counterfeiting technology of products, and the cost is reasonable.


Kenneth Stack, president of inkjet ink manufacturer Jetrion Inc. in the United States, believes that inkjet technology is well-suited for the use of machine-readable taggant encoded particles on product packaging. Since inkjet is a non-contact printing, inkjet is an ideal technique for applying taggant particles from the manufacturing process. He suggested that if a coded system with variable security codes and product expiration dates is applied, customers should preferably replace taggant particles once a month to improve product security.


As inkjet technology becomes more and more mature and the cost is getting lower and lower, brand owners will gradually accept this technology, but the application of this technology is still not as wide as the inkjet technology suppliers expect. Printing companies are reluctant to change the currently used mature technologies (such as flexographic printing) to technologies they are not familiar with, which is a major factor hindering the application of inkjet technology. By enabling potential users to understand the compatibility of inkjet printing and traditional printing technologies, suppliers can overcome this obstacle.


In the pharmaceutical industry, tracking coding is crucial. Drug companies need to not only care about the flow of products, but also protect the public interest and their own brands.


The tracking code using inkjet technology has long been used in the market. However, due to security concerns, most end-users are reluctant to disclose this information in too much. However, it can be predicted that as the problem of counterfeit and shoddy products becomes more and more serious, people are increasingly interested in the application of security codes. Although the application of inkjet codes is limited, it is believed that this technology will become a reliable technology.


At present, there are several very useful inkjet anti-counterfeit codes. The following will be a simple introduction:


Continuous or non-continuous coding


The basic principle of continuous or non-consecutive coding is that each product has a unique serial number recorded in a secure database. This code will be printed on the product, and the information in the code can only be obtained by a legitimate user through the database. Formed "product genealogy."


The product family tree is the history of the product. Each shipment of the product in the supply chain is recorded and added to the product family tree to form an electronic family tree. This system is an ideal tracking solution that tracks every transaction in the product from manufacturing to the entire supply chain and records other aspects of the product to ensure the product's true identity. Its most valuable point is that we can know that products are stored safely in a certain place and we know where products have gone so we can distinguish between genuine products and fake products. This system can provide both product tracking and security certification.


Two-dimensional data rectangle code


The two-dimensional data rectangle code is an encryptable bar code. With inkjet technology, not only can the code be printed, but the printed code is also variable. In other words, the encryption code on each product is different, and this encryption code requires a special reader to read it out. With the continuous widening of the application of two-dimensional data rectangle codes, the cost of such readers also decreases. Currently, commercial readers cost between $150 and $500.


The two-dimensional data rectangles have higher data densities than traditional barcodes and are therefore increasingly popular with businesses. In addition, they are resistant to damage and can contain partially or fully encrypted data.


Pairing code


This technology refers to the use of more than one code on a product, visible and invisible code mixed together, and the two codes are related, but not directly related. One is readable, the other is encrypted invisible two-dimensional data rectangle code.


When both codes are read correctly, the product can prove authentic.


Recently, several new ink products have appeared in the anti-counterfeit printing market. One of them is edible inks, used for product tracking by food and pharmaceutical companies. For example, pharmaceutical manufacturers can print codes directly on pills or capsules to track each pill or capsule. Newly developed inks are required to comply with the Food and Drug Administration of the United States and European food law regulations, and their structure should also be made to be suitable for ejection from ink jet printers. In this way, edible inks are compatible with standard inkjet printers and are suitable for human digestion. With inkjet printing technology, printers can read two-dimensional data rectangle codes, visible under UV light, such as plastic medicine caps.


Other anti-counterfeiting technologies


Inkjet technology is not the only technology for printing variable information. Magnetic imaging technology uses magnetic particle transfer technology and is another digital printing method suitable for continuous or discontinuous coding. In magnetic imaging technology, the magnetic imaging head on a special coating drum completes the entire imaging process. The magnetic parts of the coating layer attract the particles, and then the images are transferred from the roller to the paper.


Nipson combines magnetic printing drums with low-temperature flash curing technology. Energy is absorbed by black toner and reflected by the substrate. Magnetic imaging technology has advantages over digital printing, but since inkjet printing does not require heat, it has no obvious advantage over inkjet technology. At the same time, due to the use of toner, magnetic imaging technology is not as good as ink jet technology using labeled particles.


Lasers are another technique that can be used to print continuous or non-continuous coded and two-dimensional data rectangular codes. Using laser technology, manufacturers do not have to worry about the food or drug safety problems that arise from contamination of the print head. However, lasers are more expensive than ink jet printers and more difficult to maintain; at the same time, taggant particles cannot be used because of the use of laser marking.


SSI (SecureSymbology, Inc.) has developed a tracking system for the pharmaceutical market using inkjet or laser printing equipment, and has cooperated with CardinalHealth's pharmaceutical technology department to test this continuous coding technology. This "eTangent" system can provide drug companies with a continuous bar code labeling method that combines the EAN/UPC lot number, product expiration date and NDC code; it can use EPCs (Electronic Product Codes) to set up between the bar code and RFID for customers. Bridges, this system can use high-speed printing or ink jet or laser printing technology.


Using the eTangent system, links in the supply chain, such as pharmacists, can access database information online and scan codes using conventional EAN/UPC scanners to obtain the electronic genealogy of the product. The database contains information on the packaging of each drug shipment, such as the unit dose, cartons, trays, and containers. Whether the drug is delivered directly or repackaged, information from the manufacturing to the pharmacy can be provided. The security of the product can be further enhanced by adding covert codes, which can be printed using UV inks containing anti-counterfeit taggant particles.

Reprinted from: China Ink Web

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