If you could jump into the typical counterfeiter's mind for a moment, what would be one of the cheapest and easiest ways to counterfeit a package? Perhaps you'd start with the labels, or maybe the paperboard itself? If the specific package in question has basic graphics and colors, it's likely to be very easy to duplicate. For those of you printing the packaging and labels for your customers, it's something you need to consider. Simple is not always good. It may be time to step it up a notch, and talk to your customers about increasing the complexity of their colors and graphics, or simply trying some of the latest technologies available in labelstock and paperboard brand security. The idea is to make your customer's package more difficult to duplicate without being detected.

AGI/Klearfold, NY, a MeadWestvaco Packaging Resource, introduced Durafold™ Security Packaging back in February 2002. This new theft-resistant packaging option is designed to help consumer-product companies reduce the incidence of pilferage in retail environments.

Durafold is a sealed-end style folding carton manufactured using a proprietary polypropylene-based synthetic paperboard, which provides greater tear-resistance and stronger seals than traditional folding-carton substrates, reports co. The increased durability of Durafold cartons prevents products from being removed from its packaging in the store, making it harder for thieves to defeat electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags or conceal pilfered merchandise.

"As major retailers increasingly turn to consumer product marketers for anti-theft solutions, packaging is being called upon to play an ever-greater role," says Steve Onufrey, AGI/Klearfold vice president of sales and marketing. "Durafold is not only an effective deterrent against pilferage, it helps increase retail sales by delivering high-impact graphics and allowing open merchandising."

International Paper, Memphis, TN, announced a new product for pharmaceutical companies seeking greater pilfer- and child-resistance in their blister card packaging with a "tear-proof" paperboard option—Everest® Safe-Pak.

New Everest Safe-Pak is a patent-pending, extrusion-coated paperboard with protective properties for pilfer- and child-resistance. Abuse testing has shown this board to have nearly 10 times the tear resistance of Everest® Seal-Pak, reports International Paper. At the same time, the new board is engineered to seal to all blister materials typically used in the industry, including PVC, PVdC, PETG, and Aclair. This board is available in 12- to 18-point calipers.

"Everest Safe-Pak is designed to offer superior printability, runnability and processability," reports Anna Thomas, brand manager of International Paper Bleached Board Business. "It will provide increased throughput during converting and packaging operations. It has a reduced tackiness that inhibits the board from sticking to printing and converting equipment, and it requires a shorter dwell time with lower heat than competitive fold-over heat-seal boards. The latter advantage can be particularly significant for blister packaging of heat-sensitive pharmaceuticals," says Thomas.

Appleton Security Products of Appleton, WI, announced in May of 2003 the development of its line of thermal-transfer label security papers — TechMark® Taggants and Read/Write Threads. This new product line offers supply chain management the opportunity to authenticate barcodes and print on-demand security labels.

Both grades of thermal-transfer stock are qualified by Zebra Technologies for use in its line of Zebra® brand thermal-transfer printers. The security label line is available through Appleton-certified secure label and packaging converters.

"On-demand barcode labels have been widely adopted as a cost-effective and efficient way to identify products and streamline the global supply chain," says Joe Pleshek, brand protection market manager at Appleton. "But criminals who counterfeit, pirate and divert products are keenly aware of this and go to great lengths to replicate bar-code labels as a way to get their fraudulent goods into the marketplace. By adding the TechMark taggants and read/write threads to the thermal transfer label stock, manufacturers and supply chain managers now have a cost-effective security solution that can be seamlessly integrated to thwart these fraudulent efforts."

The TechMark R/W threads are embedded into thermal transfer label material and carry a secure, encrypted code. A hand-held reader to uniquely authenticate and track a company's product down to the individual product level can read this code. Coded data is added to the thread by a proprietary process using structured magnetics. Information encoded in this process cannot be erased, altered or duplicated. The thread cannot be removed without destroying the label.

Appleton also introduced AssurMark® Security Label Substrate for pressure-sensitive label applications on September 24, 2003. This new label stock is said to combine highly destructible face stock with non-reproducible covert security fibers. AssurMark labels also cannot be removed without showing visible damage. The security fibers, which are part of the paper itself (just like TechMark), simplify authentication because they are invisible under ordinary light, but visible under UV light.

"Today's labels are required to carry much more information than just a name and a price," says Pleshek. "The stakes are much higher now, which is why re-marking fraud is a growing problem at all levels of the supply chain. Criminals are increasingly replacing product labels with counterfeit or altered copies in schemes to backdate expired product, overstate potency or pharmaceuticals, pass off counterfeit goods, misrepresent product or model designations and inflate pricing."

Although RFID will be mentioned in next month's brand security packaging article, it's important to touch on it now as well because RFID is essentially incorporated into labels and becomes part of the end result. In November 2003, Appleton began beta-testing its SmartStrate® labelstock, which is reportedly the first substrate specifically engineered for RFID "smart" labels. This new product is said to overcome microchip-inlay failures associated with mechanical damage and electrostatic discharge, as well as issues related to printing on an uneven label facestock. The beta tests by RFID-label end users will conclude by the end of January.

The material that underwent testing is a thermal-transfer labelstock that features special coatings that dissipate static electricity. Common electrostatic discharges are capable of corrupting information stored on an RFID chip, or even render the chip non-readable.

SmartStrate uses a proprietary cushioning material that protects the inlay (chip, antenna and lead) against any physical damage. In addition to providing mechanical protection, the cushioning layer of SmartStrate provides a uniform surface for printing of both human-readable information and error-free bar codes. This makes it possible to print over the entire label surface, says Appleton.