Countering the counterfeiter

The problem of organized crime is becoming worse and worse. Counterfeiting is increasing as the world becomes more and more global. Speaking at PISEC 06 on “Counterfeit Business: Fighting forgery, fakes and fraud”, in Barcelona, Cesar Gelceran, of Nike, said: “In 1985 world revenue of counterfeit goods was estimated at $5 billion. In 2003 this had risen to $450 billion.” And counterfeit goods are no longer the preserve of the market stall. “We recently found an Italian chain that was mixing up the real and the fake. Sometimes the counterfeit is in the market before the launch of a Nike product!”

The enlargement of the EU had meant products come across those borders, for example, into Poland from the Far East.

When it comes to pharmaceuticals or drinks, it is not just a question of brand erosion; there are health and safety issues also. The FDA has quadrupled its counterfeit pharmaceutical investigations since 2000. And the World Health Organisation has stated that between six and 10 per cent of all medicines worldwide is counterfeit.

FractureCode, of Copenhagen, won the 2006 PISEC award for Best Practice in Product and Brand Protection with its cross-platform track and trace product, which provides item level ID and authentication.

Jeremy Plimmer, chairman of PISEC 06, commented: “What impressed the judges most was the simplicity of the process, which can deliver a multiplicity of random codes from existing print platforms without investing in personalization technology. Such codes can then be used to provide authentication and track and trace data throughout the supply chain.” Comments Richard Burhouse, marketing manager of FractureCode: “We are delighted to be recognized by our peers at PISEC for our commitment. We feel that our product offers huge benefits to brand owners.”

Commercial director Stephen Pinchen told delegates at PISEC: “The system provides a unique mark for a product - a fingerprint. More than 2.7 x 10 to the power 80 possible combinations can be achieved by the pattern of FractureCode lines positioned in the code window. The code size can be as small as 1mm².” To put this into context, the world population is 6.4 x 10 to the power 9 and 4.7 x 10 to the power of 11 servings of Coca-Cola are made per year.

Hidden by design

The code can be printed using conventional rotary gravure, flexo and letterpress, litho, intaglio and combinations of these at production speeds of 10,000/s on a variety of materials including paper PP, PET and PVC. The codes may be overt and covert. “We provide a full package in terms of the identification and tracking of products throughout their life cycle down to individual item level. But we rely on converters to put the code in place. We're always looking for new partners that can make this happen, “ Richard Burhouse told Converting Today.

Market applications include pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco and fast moving consumer goods, as well as electronics and documents. The code is claimed to be easily incorporated into different packaging materials, including shrink sleeves, labels, cartons and films and foils. It can also be part of a graphical design on a pack.

Said Pinchen: “The code is extremely secure, it cannot be copied, reproduced or manipulated and it is dumb and remains dumb. No human interaction is required. There are no codes to be managed; they do not need to be accounted for; no maintenance is required of lasers or inkjet equipment and there are no inks in the office or production area.” It can be interfaced with existing bar code or RFID systems and, because it is 'dumb', it can be independently re-used further up the supply chain. As far as database search times and storage are concerned, speeds of 32 items/s are claimed. Search times are extremely fast, says Pinchen and are completely independent of overall database size. “Data size per code is from only 24 bytes.”

Secure and tamper evident

ArjoWiggins Security, banknote and security paper manufacturer, is now investing in brand protection. Its STES (Synthetic Tamper Evident Substrate) is produced from a biaxially oriented film of expanded HDPE. If an attempt is made to remove the material the facestock is delaminated, so avoiding repositioning or re-using. Claimed to be strong, and easy to convert and print, it contains UV visible security features, providing both authentication and tamper evidence functions. It is recommended for security label applications for spare parts, pharmaceuticals, perfumes and cosmetics, alcoholic beverages and chemical drum labelling.

The company has also launched Spot Tag, a taggant mixed with ink or a standard varnish printable on any substrate. The printed spot cannot be reproduced and its authentication is possible only through a dedicated electronic reader. Reading frequencies and the taggant components are secret. The protection works on a 5 x 5mm spot. Products are protected during the printing process and most substances can be printed.

Another product from the company, Tag spheres, are microspheres incorporated inside the paper. Invisible to the naked eye, and under UV or IR, only a specially designed reader can detect them. They are also compatible with other security features, explained ArjoWiggins.

Newcomer to the market of security features is bimetal foil, a combination of two metals (copper, aluminium or gold) with fine and precise demetallization. The company also offers board materials containing security features embedded in the pulp. Securepack provides safe and secure packaging that allows the customer to choose the level of security (level 1: visible to the naked eye, level 2: visible under UV lamp or level 3: detectable only through a dedicated reader). Securepack can be coated one side, two-sides, or is iridescent. As the properties of the secure board are the same as untreated material, no modifications are needed in the printing and converting processes.

InkSure Technologies, specialist in covert machine readable security innovation, received the PISEC 06 award for the Development of Authenticity Products category. The company's new Triple Play combines overt and covert security features by using a customized graphic that appears or disappears depending on the viewing angle, a colour changing feature, and InkSure's covert machine readable authentication technology. These three features in combination provide multiple levels of security: overt (highly visible), covert, and forensic through InkSure's specially formulated machine-readable taggants.

Jamie Assaf, general manager for InkSure stated: "We are very delighted that PISEC recognized our new Triple Play. This product addresses multiple brand protection requirements: easy to recognize, excellent aesthetics, and virtually impossible to duplicate."

Electronic pedigree

Stora Enso and Ingenia Technology are co-operating to offer secure brand protection using Stora Enso's PackAgent software for authentication and management of item information, and the Laser Surface Authentication (LSA) system from UK based Ingenia Technology for identification of products. PackAgent is software designed for real-time tracking, tracing and authentication of products throughout the supply chain, and is compatible with various identification technologies. Laser Surface Authentication is a breakthrough technology for rapidly analyzing the surface of any item and reading its special digital serial code. This code, which has been described as being like a fingerprint or DNA sequence, can be used to identify the item unambiguously, claim the companies.

"The PackAgent software is designed to be flexible and independent from any technology. It complies with EPC (Electronic Product Code) standards, but we are also able to integrate non standard ideas or a combination of both," said Ingrid Rokahr, manager of smart packaging at Stora Enso. “The co-operation with Ingenia means that the proprietary LSA technology can also be used for identification.

This provides our customers with a highly secure way to authenticate their products,. Since the LSA code is naturally occurring it cannot be reproduced and therefore provides very secure protection against counterfeiting and fraud.

Mounir Barakat, ceo of Ingenia Technology, said: "The beauty of this offering is that we do not expect either component to affect production processes or, critically, the speed of the production line. There are no attachments involved or alterations to the packaging required.

“Counterfeiting is increasingly well organized and the equipment used is sometimes comparable to or better than many legitimate reprographic plants,” states John Brown, chairman of Light Impressions International. “Threatening the revenues, profitability and credibility of bona-fide manufacturers and putting at risk the stability and efficiency of financial institutions and others - the counterfeiter knows no international borders and operates in every market. “The struggle to thwart counterfeiting is in many respects analogous to a long running war or even a game of chess. To avoid checkmate each side evolves strategies and implements offensive and defensive moves. Simply providing a hologram that sparkles and shines is no longer a guarantee that the product won't be copied.“

Light Impressions has developed new fabrication techniques. At the same time it has introduced the Polaris imaging concept, designed to thwart the counterfeiter of holograms, yet still provide the high-tech look and brilliance associated with conventional holograms. Polaris technology is only being made available to security hologram manufacturers who have been vetted and can demonstrate an impeccable record of honesty and in-house security; and those companies who have the high precision embossing capabilities necessary for integrating Polaris in with a conventional hologram.

It can be incorporated into holographic images during the origination stage, and therefore is claimed to work well even on rough surfaces. The combination of Polaris and a hologram is claimed to be easily verified in point source lighting and diffuse lighting. It cannot be copied, duplicated or even simulated, adds the company.

The images are zero order diffractive devices that produce bright, colourful images when illuminated by diffuse lighting and viewed through a polarizing filter. They can be applied in all the same ways as conventional holograms, as overlaminates, transfer foils, hot stamp foils, packaging materials and labels. If a semi transparent look is required they can be demetallized.