When you think of invisible ink, you may picture your childhood where you once wrote messages in lemon juice, but more than likely, you’ve encountered invisible ink in a number of commercial settings without knowing it.
Invisible security inks in official printing are much more high-tech than you may think of. And as a matter of fact, invisible ink has become one of the most important security precautions that you as a business owner can take.
Most of these inks are fluorescent, meaning that they are invisible to the naked eye, but they appear to glow under UV or black light. In August of 2003, HP announced the addition of invisible ink to its leading security solution package for the Indigo line of digital printing presses. Based on HPs Electroink technology, the new invisible security ink increases protection of consumer products on a wide variety of printed materials ranging from pressure-sensitive labels, shrink sleeve labels and film, and other printed paper and plastic documents. The special UV ink can only be seen under an ultraviolet light which causes it to fluoresce. These inks are now supplied in two fluorescing colors, yellow and blue.
How Does Invisible Ink Printing Improve Security?
Invisible ink printing’s main purpose is to stop product counterfeiting. Common invisible elements when printed can be:
- Barcodes
- Serial numbers
- QR codes
- Brand symbols
- Anti-counterfeit marks
- Combinations of the above
“Forgery and counterfeiting are becoming increasingly important to government and business professionals,” said Rafi Maor, HP vice president and general manager, Indigo Division. “By combining variable data printing technology with HP’s superior-quality invisible ink, digital printing can help take security to a new level.”
Businesses can enhance their secure printed materials when they combine the UV security ink with other premier security features that are already available on digital Indigo presses such as: alphanumeric codes or serial numbers, QR codes or bar codes optimized to contain any unique data, micro-text printed at a resolution and line screen so small that it appears as only a line to the naked eye, and digital watermarks, a personalized machine readable feature that can be added to enhance security and links to database information.
At Traco Packaging, we can print UV security inks using multiple HP Indigo 6900 Digital Presses, delivering uncompromising image quality and product security. Traco Packaging’s HP Indigo 6900 Digital Presses bring you the advantages of on-demand, variable-data printing to your PS labels and shrink sleeve label needs whether you need ten to thousands to millions. If you think that security printing could aid in loss prevention for your business, contact us now to discuss your options or request a quote now to secure your printed PS labels or shrink sleeve labels.