If you have a company involved on manufacturing a consumer product, you will have to deal with a problem that is quite common in the manufacturing industry. Despite the various technologies developed to help manufacturers protect their products from counterfeiters, experts project that by 2020 the total value of counterfeit consumer goods will reach $1.82 trillion. That’s about half a billion dollars more than 2017 value of $1.2. Goods counterfeited include everything from consumer products, equipment to even military defense goods.
The danger that counterfeiting poses are extremely serious. Counterfeit goods are inferior and put the health of the public at risk. Counterfeiting threatens the financial viability not only of the companies whose products were counterfeited but also their competitors. Counterfeits are bound to be cheap and put the original products at a disadvantage. Customers would be happy to find out that the price of favorite product has gone down, little knowing that they are buying fakes. Counterfeiting if left unchecked is a serious threat to global economy.
Authentication technologies reduce the dangers of fraud and support branding strategies at the same time. By putting anti-counterfeit features in products’ packaging, counterfeiters find it more difficult or more costly to copy a product. However, counterfeiters are known to employ highly sophisticated technology in copying and packaging fake products. Many operate whole production plants.
Presently, a global standard of anti-counterfeit identification is non-existent and anti-counterfeit efforts are mainly focused on making packaging difficult to copy through its security features. With counterfeiting expected to grow, it is obvious that manufacturers need to employ new and more effective security features.
Security features are generally composed of three levels: Level 1 (Overt), Level 2 (Covert), and Level 3 (Forensic). The combination of these levels offers a protection solution that is layered and comprehensive. The most common technologies used to integrate layered security are security printing, optical security, chemical taggants and security inks.
Covert and overt security features are integrated into layered protection. Covert technologies, because they hidden, characteristically necessitate specific equipment in order to be verified. On the other hand, overt technologies are easily visible and don’t need a detection device. To ensure that covert and overt technologies are difficult for replicated by counterfeiters, both now come with implanted hidden features.
If you are a manufacturer of plastic products, there is a very potent layered anti-counterfeiting protection available to you, one that combines holograms (OVDs) with embedded sub microns creating tamper proof security labels. The sub-micron codes may be imprinted into the products or in the OVD labels. Secure adhesive labels possess specific text which can be seen when the first layer of the labels is peeled. You can simply overlay the text with your own slogan, ad, or logo. This Plastic Product Security strategy provides the protection your products need while giving you the opportunity promotes them as well.
So you are a manufacture of plastic products and worried that somebody may copy them? You can prevent that by using the best Plastic Product Security strategy.