How to choose anti-counterfeit ink? This is the first question brand owners and packaging printers face. Different series differ in principle, verification and application. Here is a quick guide to the five main series.
1. UV Invisible Ink
Colorless in normal light, glows under 254/365nm UV. Covert, cost-effective, easy to verify — ideal for labels, tickets, IDs and tobacco/alcohol packaging. Offset, screen and flexo compatible.
2. OVI Color-Shifting Ink
Shifts color with viewing angle, visible to the naked eye without any device, extremely hard to counterfeit. Used for banknotes, passports and premium packaging.
3. Thermochromic Ink
Changes color with temperature (custom 5-80°C triggers). Combines security with fun marketing for beverage labels, seals and medicine temperature indication.
4. IR Excitation Ink
Emits visible fluorescence under IR light, invisible normally, verified only with dedicated devices — the highest covertness for IDs, banknotes and documents.
5. Photochromic Ink
Develops color under sunlight/UV and fades without light — no equipment, novel effect for tags, cosmetics and tickets.
Selection, detection, printing and ordering — answered.
On a limited budget with fast verification needed, which ink should I choose?
UV invisible ink. It is colourless under normal light, fluoresces red, yellow, green or blue under 254/365 nm UV, and can be checked with a banknote detector. Cost is moderate and it runs on offset, screen and flexo presses.
If end consumers should verify without any equipment, which ink?
OVI optically variable ink. It shifts between two colours as the viewing angle changes and is visible in ordinary daylight. Counterfeiting cost is extremely high, which is why it is used on banknotes, passports and premium spirits and tobacco packaging.
Which ink combines security with marketing interaction?
Thermochromic or photochromic ink. Thermochromic trigger temperatures can be customised from 5 to 80 °C and react to hand warmth; photochromic ink develops colour within seconds in sunlight or UV and fades back afterwards, suiting hang tags, cosmetics packaging and tickets.
For document-grade security, which ink?
IR excitation ink, or an IR plus UV combination. IR excitation ink is invisible to the naked eye and requires dedicated detection equipment, giving the highest concealment for high-security documents, banknotes and tickets.
What process and compliance factors should I also check?
Three things: whether fluorescence colour and excitation wavelength can be customised; whether the ink matches your existing process (offset, screen, flexo, gravure, inkjet); and whether it meets EN71.3 and REACH requirements.
