Hidden Secrets Against Piracy Edit
Intellectual Attacks on Counterfeiting

Nowadays every interesting and lucrative product is forged, from cosmetics and luxury goods to medicines and even vehicle spare parts. In information technology alone, one in every ten software products is a forgery. The economic damage worldwide is estimated at 300 to 400 billion Euro each year. It is impossible to measure the personal harm to people who take counterfeit medicines. This makes the issue of piracy protection particularly important in the pharmaceuticals industry. Pharmaceutical counterfeiting is perhaps the most insidious form of piracy.

A collaboration between the famous printing press manufacturer Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and German converter Papierwerk Landshut Mittler (PLM) resulted in a folding carton featuring ten secrets. Printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 sheet fed offset press, the carton unites various printing and die cutting processes, hologram embossing, special colours and coatings, micro lettering and reactive inks.

The concealed image technology (CIT), which has been enhanced by Heidelberg in conjunction with Saueressig Security International (SSI) and results in hidden printed images, uses special software for producing specific moiré effects on the cyan or magenta plate in pre-press. When printed on the folding carton, they are invisible to the human eye. The hidden images only become visible when using a frequency-adapted decoder the shape and size of a credit card. The plastic card is an optical lens which positioned at the right angle visualizes the hidden images, using the moiré effect positively.
Overall, this results in a cost-effective method that can be used to produce security features and surface finishing as part of a single manufacturing process increasing brand protection by a combination of printed and embossed security elements.

Photographs courtesy: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.