Application of ink in anti-fake packaging

Ink technology is a major aspect of the application of printing technology in anti-counterfeit packaging. The application of ink technology to anti-counterfeit packaging is accomplished by changing the ink formulation or by adding special sensitive materials, such as photosensitive materials, heat-sensitive materials, magnetic materials, etc., to ordinary inks. The use of imitation is not easy, so it has anti-counterfeiting effect.

There are many factors that need to be considered in order to make the ink technology reasonably applicable to anti-counterfeit packaging and achieve an ideal anti-counterfeit effect, including the choice of printing methods, the selection of printing machines, the processing and processing of substrates, the use of ink base materials, and the cost of printing. The company's technology and management level, etc., are limited in length. Here we discuss the security ink technology itself. For other content, please refer to the relevant professional information.

First, anti-counterfeiting package commonly used ink

1. Packaging requirements for printing inks

In general, substrates for different materials require different printing inks. The materials used in the packaging are ever-changing, and there are a variety of printing inks suitable for different packaging. However, some basic features are all that ink must have.

(1) Basic requirements for packaging printing inks

1 The liquidity is good. The ink with good fluidity is easy to transport when used, it is easy to transfer and does not block the print head.
2 The ink should be able to dry quickly after it is printed on the substrate. The adhesiveness is good and it is not easy to rub off. This ensures the print is clean and tidy.

3 The colors of the printed products must be correct, do not fade or change.

(2) Special requirements for packaging for printing inks

1Color diversification. The purpose of merchandise packaging and decorating is quite a part for promotion. Therefore, the diversification of printing colors and colorful colors are the basic requirements for packaging printing inks. Appropriate printing inks can be used to print beautifully decorated packaging in order to attract consumers to the commodity. Purchase interest.

The packaging and printing products are beautifully decorated, and most of the pigments used are organic compounds. Such pigments are bright, but the durability is generally not ideal. The printed products are left for a long time and often fade, making the packaged goods look a little bit Old sense, so in the choice of packaging for color inks, pay special attention to those who should not fade the pigment, in order to ensure the packaging and decoration of the lasting and bright.

2 special process requirements. Different processes have different requirements for printing inks. For Indian iron printing inks, if the printed packaging does not require high-temperature retort sterilization, then there is no need to consider the problem of high temperature resistance of the ink. General common inks can meet the process requirements, otherwise high temperature resistant cooking inks must be used to prevent In the process of food sterilization, the ink fades and some chemical reactions and physical changes occur, which affects the decorating effect of the commodity packaging.

3 special hygiene requirements. Hygienic requirements for printing inks are also an important aspect. For example, when printing plastic films for food packaging, the permeability of the printing ink should be taken into consideration so as not to cause food contamination.

4 special drying requirements. Different materials have different ink drying properties. Like ceramics, tinplates, plastic films and other materials, due to the smooth surface smooth, ordinary ink is not easy to stick, you need to use fast-drying inks, such as UV drying ink, pulsed radiation drying ink.

There are many factors that affect the use of ink. It is unrealistic to consider many factors. Therefore, only the major factors are taken into consideration. A reasonable selection of pigments, binders, and additives can be used to formulate a basically qualified printing ink.

2. Anti-counterfeit packaging commonly used ink

The printing ink for anti-counterfeiting packaging refers to the printing ink of the anti-counterfeit packaging formed by adding appropriate amount of special substances in the preparation of the printing ink in order to make the products printed by the packaging have certain anti-counterfeit capabilities.

(1) Thermal ink. Also known as temperature-sensitive ink, its pigment can change color according to the change of temperature, and show different colors at different temperatures. There are many types of pigments that can exhibit thermochromic discoloration. Commonly used pigments include crystal structure change type, thermal decomposition type, and crystal transfer type.

Currently, there are many types of thermal printing inks on the market, which can basically meet the requirements of thermal discoloration. However, the difference between different types is larger, for example, the liquid crystal type ink has better color shifting accuracy, the metal chromium salt type ink has stronger light fastness, the printing ink of fuel type has bright colors, and the packaging and decorating effect is good.
The key to packaging and printing heat-sensitive ink is how to let consumers identify the authenticity. Enterprises can form their own anti-counterfeiting secrets according to different recipes, but they should clearly understand to what color they are exposed to at what temperature. For example, an enterprise uses a thermal printing ink on the trademark of wine. After the trademark is heated, it can display the “Excellent” word mark and it is printed with the “Heat is Excellent” prompt. However, this kind of prompting does not provide much help for the consumer to distinguish between authenticity and falsehood. Instead, it gives counterfeiters the idea of ​​counterfeiting, because there are so many heat-sensitive inks that can achieve the effect of “excellent heat,” and it is easy to copy fakes. The secret of the manufacturer's security is insignificant. If companies choose a reasonable formula, suggesting what color the warm charge appears, then counterfeiters will have a hard time grasping the secrets of Western languages. Consumers will also be able to easily identify the authenticity of the goods and really make the packaging printing thermal inks anti-counterfeit. effect.

(2) Magnetic ink. The magnetic ink used is a magnetic material. Commonly used are ferric oxide and triiron tetraoxide. The former is brown and the latter is black. The residual magnetic properties of the two are relatively high. The binder is generally an alkyd resin, and other pigments can also be added to the magnetic ink to obtain various colors of ink.

Magnetic ink was first used primarily for printing codes on credit cards. With the development and development of computer and computer reading scanning systems, various kinds of magnetic cards came into being, from meal ticket magnetic cards used by college students to shareholders' cards on the stock market, from various kinds of shopping cards to post and telecommunications systems of postal and telecommunications systems. The use of magnetic ink provides a broad field. Because the magnetic card has the characteristics of convenient carrying and quick settlement, it will be used more widely.

Magnetic ink is used for anti-counterfeiting packaging. It is mainly printed on a certain part of the package with magnetic ink and can be detected by special means to form a secret anti-counterfeit.

Various types of magnetic cards are subject to friction in the reading system during scanning and reading, and must be stored under the effect of the electric field of the read-only system. Therefore, it is required that sufficient ink layer thickness and density be achieved during printing.

(3) Fluorescent inks and phosphorescent inks. The fluorescent ink is made of a fluorescent material dissolved in the corresponding resin. Fluorescent pigments are generally coarser particles, and the types of binders are also more. Different binders will produce different fluorescence. When using fluorescent inks, it should be ensured that it has sufficient concentration, and the ink layer on the prints should be thicker. In order to ensure a satisfactory fluorescence effect.

Prints printed with fluorescent inks are brightly coloured and have a good decorating effect. They emit sparkling fluorescence under the influence of visible light and ultraviolet light.

The anti-counterfeiting packaging fluorescent inks have the best anti-counterfeiting effect. Different formulas can get different fluorescence effects, and it is generally difficult to realistically counterfeit. The formula is in the hands of the enterprise itself, thus forming a security secret. Fluorescent inks have poor lightfastness and have poor results for outdoor prints.

Phosphorescent inks are characterized by the ability to absorb light that hits them and emit them at a certain wavelength within a certain period of time. Its pigment is zinc sulfide, and the binder is usually a neutral transparent material such as cyclohexanone resin. Mainly used for printing advertisements, signs, etc. Blending phosphorescent inks with fluorescent inks can result in better anti-counterfeit packaging.

(4) security ink. Anti-counterfeiting ink, also known as insurance ink and security ink, is the earliest special ink used in the field of anti-counterfeiting. It is mainly designed to deal with criminals who use faded spirits to alter bills. It is used to print invoices and shading of all securities. When shading spirits and other chemicals are encountered, these shadings disappear or change color. To find traces of alteration.

The mechanism of anti-counterfeit ink fade has two main aspects. The first is the use of faded pigments, such as some basic dyes, and the other is the use of contact materials that can change color when exposed to discoloration or some other chemical substances. Biphenol and so on. Both methods can get satisfactory results. The addition of fluorescent materials to security inks will have better anti-counterfeit packaging.

(5) Spray ink. Inkjet printing ink, suitable for spraying metal, plastic, glass and other materials. The pigments used for spraying inks are water-soluble dyes, and the binders are mainly polyester, polyether, chlorinated polyolefin and so on.

Inkjet printing is used more and more widely in anti-counterfeiting packaging. Because of its fast printing speed and good quality, it has been extensively equipped on the production line for printing dates and other labels. In early inkjet printers, due to the unstable quality of spray ink used, the nozzles were often blocked and the production was stopped. Now it has basically been solved. Therefore, it is required that the viscosity of the sprayed ink should be appropriate and the fluidity should be good so as not to clog the nozzle.

Improve the formulation of spray ink, add appropriate amount of fluorescent materials, magnetic materials, heat-sensitive materials, etc., will make the anti-counterfeiting effect of spray ink better.

Second, the application of security ink

There are many kinds of security inks. With the development of science and technology, new anti-counterfeiting inks are emerging. Generally speaking, we have studied more about the characteristics of security inks, but the application of security inks has not been discussed enough, resulting in the use of The packaging of security inks also cannot achieve the results of effective anti-counterfeiting. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the application of anti-counterfeiting ink, so that the anti-counterfeiting ink can really play the role of packaging anti-counterfeiting.

1. The use of security ink online

At present, the use of anti-counterfeit inks is mostly in the form of trademarks. After the printing company submits the trademark to the packaging company, the packaging company attaches it to the packaging container. The disadvantage of this kind of procedure is that the company does not know the specific formula of anti-counterfeiting ink, that is, the secret of the anti-counterfeiting, and gives up the initiative of anti-counterfeit goods. The formula of the trademark and its ink easily flows into the hands of criminals.

The method to overcome the above disadvantages is the online use of security ink. Enterprises can arrange printing machinery directly on the packaging line. Anti-counterfeiting inks can be deployed by themselves (general enterprises can do it). According to different dates, different products can use different formulations, so that the safety of ink formulations can be guaranteed. There is also the disadvantage of ink formulations flowing into the hands of others.

Online use of ink is in fact the company has mastered the formula of ink, so as to achieve the purpose of anti-counterfeiting. In fact, in all anti-counterfeiting methods, secret prevention is the most reliable one. Many of the world's largest companies rely on secret prevention and security to keep their own brands, such as Coca-Cola Company, Jianlibao Company, etc., without exception.

2. Composite use of security ink

Over time, every type of anti-counterfeit ink will lose its novelty and confidentiality, but as long as we use it properly, it will extend its useful life. It is a good idea to use anti-counterfeiting ink in combination.

There are mainly two methods for the composite use of anti-counterfeiting inks. One is the use of two or more anti-counterfeit inks in combination, combining the respective characteristics of the two inks to form a new anti-counterfeiting ink; the other is to use characters or patterns with two One or two or more security inks are printed. For example, if you print a barcode-like pattern, you can use magnetic anti-counterfeiting ink to print pattern strips, and use thermal ink to print pattern voids. Obviously, this is to increase the technical content of the ink, if it can be compounded. Methods used online, you will receive better anti-counterfeiting effect.

In summary, the application of ink technology in anti-counterfeit packaging is becoming more and more widespread. Only by continuous development and application, scientifically combining ink technology with packaging design and processing, and continuously innovating, will be able to better use the ink. The anti-counterfeiting effect.

(Zhuzhou Institute of Technology Yang Fuxin Wu Qilong)