When they were first introduced more than 30 years ago, holograms were a cutting-edge physical security technology with a very high cost of entry to be manufactured; they appeared on credit cards, identity cards (like passports and driver’s licenses), banknotes, pharmaceutical packaging, and much more.
In recent years, however, the inherent characteristics of holograms and the inexpensive means of mass production in Southeast Asia, combined with the increasing sophistication of illicit actors in the global marketplace, have left holograms vulnerable to counterfeiting and eroded their effectiveness as a security and brand protection tool. Today, counterfeit holograms can be cheaply mass-produced and, because holograms don’t include intuitive security features, it can be extremely difficult to differentiate a legitimate hologram from a fake version that provides a false positive (“it’s a hologram, so it must be real”).
“Holograms served their purpose at one time as a security tool, but no longer,” writes Avi Chaudhuri in Securing Industry. “They can however be very beautiful and offer the kind of visual appeal to a package that creates undeniable marketing sparkle. Any effort to extend their use beyond that into the product security realm would represent willful misuse, given what we now know about the futility of holograms, and therefore be an arguable abdication of corporate responsibility toward consumer safety.”
At the same time, physical security solutions remain vitally important to protecting public safety and ensuring consumer confidence in the face of rapidly expanding global counterfeiting of secure documents and regulated goods. So, the question facing brand owners and governments is this: in the context of more sophisticated, widespread counterfeiting, what solutions exist to provide physical, identifiable security for products that have historically leveraged now-outdated hologram technology?
That’s where innovative color-shifting hot stamp technology comes in.
SICPA’s innovative solution enables the hot stamp process – already a widespread capability among security printers – to effectively incorporate proprietary, color-shifting ink and embed overt, covert, and forensic security features, which creates physical security solutions that are both counterfeit-resistant and more intuitive for consumers. Whereas, traditionally, holograms carried high costs associated with image origination, long lead times to produce, and high volume minimum purchase quantity, SICPA’s solution utilizes a common base material and allows for greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
The key components of physical security features produced through the innovative use of hot stamp processes:
Intuitive color shift. In his recent article, Chaudhuri writes, “A hologram is a passive entity that requires mere visual inspection and a qualitative decision on authenticity. This is fundamentally not an authentication process but rather a best guess that the product is original [made even more complicated by the fact that counterfeit holograms are difficult to distinguish from authentic ones] … Brand owners are therefore turning to technologies that provide an actual binary result — yes or no in terms of authenticity — and turning away from the qualitative offerings in the passive category.”
Using color-shifting ink provides for a physical security feature that is not only visually attractive and useful as a branding tool – similar to holograms – but that provides more intuitive, unambiguous authentication for consumers by creating an instantly recognizable color shift (a binary result) when viewed at different angles.
Seamless integration. The ability to produce counterfeit-resistant, clear security features through the hot stamp process also carries enormous benefits for businesses and brand owners. Whereas, previously, color shift could only be achieved by screen printing, this innovative solution allows hot stamp printers to seamlessly incorporate color shift security into their printing process. The use of proprietary dye also eliminates origination fees associated with other security products, significantly reduces the lead times needed to implement security features on new products, and allows customers more flexibility to individualize orders based on production need.
Embedded security features. In addition to incorporating color-shifting ink that allows for quick, visual authentication, SICPA’s solution also allows for producers to embed unique micro taggants (physical markers) into the layers of ink that are stamped directly onto the product. This introduces a new layer of covert security by enabling business, brand owners, or regulators to examine the product under magnification and reliably assess its authenticity based on the presence (or absence) of the unique micro-particles.
Collectively, the next generation security features enabled by SICPA’s innovative hot stamp solution represent the cutting edge of physical security solutions – providing reliable product protection, resisting the efforts of counterfeiters, and building confidence for consumers.