NEWS: Cool and hot inks reduce product tampering and counterfeiting

13-11-2018

The BlindSpotz™ technology of Chromatic Technologies Inc (CTI) is helping stop product tampering by inventing the first dual-indicator to detect product tampering from heat and freezing, according to the company. The use of extreme temperatures (especially sub-zero temperatures) to circumvent traditional security measures on packaging has increased substantially among criminals in recent years, with no effective deterrent until now, it claims.

Currently most tamper indicators only reveal heat tampering (such as using a heat gun to melt glue on packaging tape). BlindSpotz™ ‘Tamper Freeze’ and ‘Tamper Heat’ inks show colour and messaging when thieves use heat or cold to tamper with packages.

These ‘Tamper Heat and Tamper Freeze’ ink technologies are designed to protect documents, seals, tape, labels or various packaging substrates.  ‘Tamper Freeze’ inks turn from clear to blue when exposed to temperatures below -10° C while  ‘Tamper Heat’ turns from grey to orange (or grey to pink) if exposed to heat greater than 65° C.

The long-time industry standard has been a ‘high-heat’ tamper indicator that changes colour, but now there’s a tool to fight those who use cold spray, freezing or liquid nitrogen to pull apart a money or document bag, remove and replace an expired label, or bypass security tape–treated, high-heat irreversible inks.

According to CTI founder Lyle Small, “Criminals have figured out that the way to get around high-heat tampering indicators is to ‘go cold’ by exposing packaging to very low temperatures. This can “delaminate” many adhesives without activating a tamper-heat indicator. “The BlindSpotz™ ‘Tamper Heat and Tamper Freeze’ inks eliminate both threats.”

Additionally, the ‘Tamper Heat’ ink offers multiple advantages compared to existing high-heat tamper evident inks because they maintain colour if exposed to very high temperatures (greater than 100° C for instance), the technology activates within a 5° C window, it can be printed with adhesives and over-print varnishes will last much longer on the shelf than existing “heat irreversible” systems, in both wet and printed states, says CTI.

The ‘Tamper Heat-Freeze’ ink is available in UV Flexo and Water-based inks systems

 

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