共收录 32 个防伪油墨与特种印刷常用术语，分为防伪技术、印刷工艺、检测方式、打样与品质四组。每个条目给出一句可直接引用的定义，并链接到对应的产品页。这些术语覆盖了从「怎么选油墨」到「怎么验收印品」的完整决策链条。
这一类是防伪油墨的核心技术名词，决定了一项防伪特征「怎么看、谁来验、复制难不难」。
Security Ink · Optically Variable Ink · UV Fluorescent Ink · Dual-Band Fluorescent Ink · IR Excitation Ink · IR Absorbing Ink · Thermochromic Ink · Photochromic Ink · Phosphorescent Ink · Magnetic Ink · Scratch-off Ink · Mirror Silver Ink
Also called: 安全油墨 / 防伪印刷油墨
Security ink is a specialty ink formulated with functional materials so that it shows identifiable characteristics under specific conditions such as UV light, infrared light, temperature change or a magnetic field, used to verify the authenticity of a print. It divides into overt types anyone can check (colour shift, thermochromic) and covert or machine-readable types requiring dedicated equipment (IR excitation, IR absorption).
Also called: 光学变色油墨 / 随角变色油墨 / 光学干涉油墨
OVI is a class of security ink whose colour changes with viewing angle through multilayer thin-film interference: the hue itself switches markedly as the angle changes (gold to green, copper to green) rather than merely shifting in brightness. Because colour copiers and scanners record only a static single-angle image, an angle-dependent shift cannot be reproduced - which is why OVI has long been a core optical security feature on banknotes, cigarette packs and premium brands, usually screen printed to build sufficient film thickness.
Also called: UV 隐形油墨 / 紫外激发荧光油墨 / 荧光防伪油墨
UV fluorescent ink is a covert security ink: colourless and transparent with an invisible pattern under daylight and indoor lighting, it is excited into bright fluorescence under a UV lamp (commonly 365nm long wave). Performance is judged on excitation brightness, fluorescent hue purity and pattern edge sharpness, and is best on light, high-whiteness substrates. It is cost-effective, uses a mature process and needs only a handheld UV lamp to verify - the most widely used covert security option.
Also called: 双波长荧光油墨 / 长波短波双响应油墨
Dual-band fluorescent ink shows different fluorescence responses in the same ink layer under two UV bands, typically 365nm long wave and 254nm short wave - two security features in one ink. Its value lies in reproduction cost: a counterfeiter must match both wavelength responses accurately, far harder than single-band fluorescent ink, while the printer gains two verifiable features in one process step. 254nm short-wave UV penetrates less deeply and most ordinary fluorescent materials respond weakly there, adding a further barrier.
Also called: 红外显色油墨 / 红外上转换油墨
IR excitation ink is a high-grade security ink that is fully invisible under visible light and develops colour under infrared excitation. Compared with UV fluorescent ink it is more covert (usually imperceptible to the eye and requiring an IR source or inspection device), and its core advantage is machine readability: in-line inspection equipment can read each sheet at high speed, enabling automated authentication and quality monitoring. It is mainly used on cigarette packs, tickets, ID documents and securities.
Also called: IR 油墨 / 红外油墨
IR absorbing ink absorbs strongly in the infrared band: under IR illumination the printed area reads as a dark zone (interpreted as black by inspection equipment) while ordinary print or base paper reads bright, creating a machine-readable contrast feature. Compared with the excitation type, absorbing ink is about being recognised by equipment rather than emitting. Both demand very high batch consistency - IR response must stay stable across sheets in a batch or the equipment misreads.
Also called: 热致变色油墨 / 温度指示油墨 / 感温变色油墨
Thermochromic ink changes colour with temperature and the change is reversible. Micro-encapsulated colour-changing materials alter structure when temperature crosses a set range, appearing as a colour flip that normally completes quickly within a narrow band with a clear boundary. Its great advantage is zero-barrier verification - finger warmth, an ice pack or warm air triggers it with no equipment - so it serves both security labels and temperature indication or interactive promotion on food and beverage packaging. The switching temperature can be customised to the application.
Also called: 日光变油墨 / 感光变色油墨 / 变色龙油墨
Photochromic ink (commonly called sunlight colour-change ink) is a reversible functional ink that develops colour under UV excitation: essentially colourless indoors (glass filters most UV) with the pattern hidden, developing colour quickly in direct sunlight, then fading back indoors in a repeatable cycle. Its advantage is equipment-free verification - a consumer simply takes it into sunlight. Response speed is strongly affected by UV intensity, weakening on cloudy days, behind glass or in shade, so it works best as a supplementary feature combined with others.
Also called: 夜光油墨 / 发光油墨 / 长余辉油墨
Glow ink is a phosphorescent functional ink: using phosphors such as rare-earth aluminates, it absorbs light in the light and slowly releases it as afterglow in the dark. The measure of performance is not whether it glows but afterglow duration and initial brightness, which depend on excitation intensity and duration and on film thickness. Green is the band most sensitive to dark-adapted vision and gives the best recognition in darkness, so it is standard for fire evacuation signage; white glow blends more easily into light-coloured designs.
Also called: 磁防伪油墨 / 磁性光变油墨
Magnetic ink contains magnetic pigments and divides further into magnetically readable types (such as MICR codes on cheques) and visual security types (magnetic chameleon, 3D effects). Platelet magnetic pigments can be aligned by a magnetic field during printing; as the viewing angle changes the reflection path changes, producing an angle-dependent colour shift or a dimensional pattern. Its strength often comes not from the ink alone but from the combination of magnetic ink, a dedicated field device and precise registration - which makes the reproduction barrier very high.
Also called: 遮盖油墨 / 刮开油墨 / 覆盖油墨
Scratch-off ink conceals underlying information and can be scratched away to reveal it, common on scratch cards, lottery cards, prize coupons and PIN cards. It requires a three-way balance: coverage sufficient to hide the layer below completely (opaque, no show-through), clean sheet peeling with a smooth feel, and no damage to the base print when scratched. It therefore forms a matched system with the base ink and its formula must be tuned by proofing on the actual substrate (coated paper, white card, PET) rather than selected alone.
Also called: 电镀银油墨 / 镜面油墨 / 高光金属油墨
Mirror silver ink produces a mirror-like metallic finish close to electroplating or metal foil, widely used on cigarette packs, wine boxes and cosmetics packaging. The effect depends on two things: the flatness of the ink surface and the orientation of platelet pigments - the flatter the surface, the stronger the specular reflection. Compared with hot stamping and metallising, the ink route has a shorter process chain, prints locally, overprints with conventional inks and can render gradients and fine lines, offering clear design freedom, though the high metal pigment content places demands on substrate adhesion.
同一个防伪效果，工艺路线不同，最终观感与成本差异可能很大。理解这些工艺名词有助于正确选型。
Screen Printing · Gravure Printing · Offset Printing · UV Curing · Water-based Ink · Ink Film Thickness · Adhesion · Hiding Power
Also called: 丝印 / 网印 / 孔版印刷
Screen printing squeezes ink through the mesh openings of a screen onto the substrate. Its defining characteristic is a thick ink film - usually far thicker than offset or gravure - which can carry high concentrations of functional pigments. That is why OVI, mirror silver, some fluorescent and scratch-off inks are commonly screen printed: insufficient film thickness noticeably weakens colour-shift and mirror effects. Screen printing also suits small batches, many variants and irregular substrates, though throughput is lower than web processes.
Also called: 凹印 / 照相凹版
Gravure printing fills ink into recessed cells engraved in the cylinder and transfers it to the substrate. Ink film thickness sits between offset and screen printing, with high colour saturation and rich gradation, suiting high-speed, large-volume and long-run work. Cigarette packs, banknotes and flexible food packaging use gravure heavily, so ink selection for tobacco and packaging customers generally must match gravure viscosity, drying and solvent resistance requirements.
Also called: 胶印 / 平版印刷
Offset printing transfers the image from the plate to the substrate via a blanket. With the thinnest ink film and the finest dot reproduction, it is the most widely used process in publications, commercial and packaging printing. Because the film is thin, offset cannot carry high concentrations of functional pigment, so covert fluorescent inks in an offset system usually need higher pigment loading or a switch to screen or gravure printing for better security performance.
Also called: 紫外固化 / 光固化
UV curing uses photoinitiators in the ink to trigger rapid cross-linking of monomers and oligomers under ultraviolet light, converting the film from liquid to solid in a very short time. Compared with conventional evaporation drying it cures extremely fast, uses less energy and emits little VOC, and forms a dense, highly cross-linked film - which is why mirror silver, UV inks and most high-gloss effect inks use UV-curing systems.
Also called: 水基油墨 / 环保油墨
Water-based ink uses water as the main dispersion medium, with markedly lower VOC content than solvent-based ink, low odour, a friendlier profile for operators and better compliance with the environmental expectations for kids products, toys and indoor items. Water-based systems perform better on absorbent stocks (paper, card) and need surface treatment or a dedicated formula on non-absorbent plastics to ensure adhesion and drying. At the same specification, water-based glow products are usually slightly lower in brightness than solvent-based systems.
Also called: 膜厚 / 墨膜厚度
Ink film thickness is the thickness of the ink layer after printing and a key process parameter for functional inks. For colour-shift, mirror silver, glow and fluorescent inks, insufficient thickness directly weakens the effect (weaker shift, greyer mirror, duller fluorescence, shorter afterglow), while excessive thickness can reduce adhesion, impair drying and cause ink piling. The final result for such inks must therefore be confirmed from an actual printed proof rather than judged from a colour chart.
Also called: 附着牢度 / 结合牢度
Adhesion is the bond strength between the ink film and the substrate (or between ink layers), a fundamental measure of practical usability. Poor adhesion shows up as tape-test failure, cracking at folded edges, ink loss during die cutting or rubbing off. Substrate type (absorbent such as paper versus non-absorbent such as PET or glass), surface treatment and film thickness all affect adhesion, so applications on non-absorbent substrates must be validated by proofing on the actual material rather than reusing a paper formula.
Also called: 遮盖率 / 不透明度
Hiding power is the ability of the ink film to mask the substrate colour and underlying pattern, measured as opacity. It is a core specification for scratch-off inks, solid black printing and barcode machine-readable areas: incomplete coverage lets the layer below show through - failed security on scratch cards, failed equipment reading on barcodes. Hiding power relates to pigment concentration, film thickness and dispersion state, and for large solid areas the right ink volume and mesh should be fixed by proofing.
防伪特征必须「可被验证」才有意义。这一组术语说明每种特征靠什么被发现、由谁验证。
Long-Wave UV (365nm) · Short-Wave UV (254nm) · Angle-Dependent Colour Shift · Machine-Readable Feature · Overt & Covert Security · Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Also called: UVA / 365nm 紫外 / 长波紫外灯
365nm falls in the long-wave UV (UVA) band and is the most commonly used excitation and inspection wavelength in security printing: handheld banknote detectors and most commercial UV inspection devices operate at 365nm. It has the lowest barrier and widest availability, so the first security layer of a UV fluorescent ink is normally designed as a 365nm response. Long-wave UV penetrates more deeply and is less sensitive to surface condition than short wave, making it ideal for public and counter-level rapid verification.
Also called: UVC 紫外 / 254nm 紫外 / 短波紫外灯
254nm falls in the short-wave UV band with shallow penetration and greater sensitivity to surface condition, and most ordinary fluorescent materials respond weakly or not at all there. Because the barrier is higher, a 254nm response is often used as a second security layer: dual-band fluorescent ink requires the same ink layer to respond differently at 365nm and 254nm, so a counterfeiter must match both bands, sharply raising difficulty and cost. Short-wave UV carries a risk of harm to skin and eyes, so inspection should use dedicated equipment with a protective shield.
Also called: 随角异色 / 光变效应 / 倾斜变色
Angle-dependent colour shift means the printed colour changes as the viewing angle changes - the core characteristic of OVI and magnetic chameleon inks. It is achieved in two main ways: multilayer thin-film interference, where the pigment itself shifts with angle, and oriented platelet pigments, where the reflection path changes with angle. The distinction from ordinary metallic pigments is that those mainly change in reflected brightness, whereas an angle-dependent shift changes the hue itself - which is why it resists photocopying and scanning.
Also called: 机读特征 / 仪器识别特征 / 自动化识别
A machine-readable feature requires dedicated inspection equipment rather than the human eye to be identified, typical examples being IR absorption, IR excitation and magnetic encoding. Its value lies in on-line inspection: high-speed sheet-by-sheet authentication and quality monitoring at efficiency and consistency far beyond the human eye, with covertness far above overt features and therefore a higher security grade. The cost is the need for matching equipment and stable batch quality control - a high-investment, high-barrier security route.
Also called: 一线防伪与二线防伪 / 可见防伪与隐性防伪
Security features are usually divided into levels by who can verify them. Overt (first-line) features can be checked by any consumer with no tool - OVI shifting with angle, thermochromic ink reacting to a finger - giving zero verification barrier and reaching mass end users. Covert (second/third-line) features require dedicated equipment, expertise or a database check - IR features, magnetic encoding, DNA markers. Practical schemes normally combine both: overt for rapid public recognition, covert for definitive regulatory or forensic determination.
Also called: 信号噪声比 / 特征对比度
In security inspection, signal-to-noise ratio is the degree of signal difference between the feature area and the background (base paper, other printed areas) under the detection conditions. The higher the ratio, the more stable the equipment reading and the lower the false-read rate - the basis for viable automated authentication. IR security inks depend on it especially: IR response must stay within an acceptable range between sheets in a batch and between batches, otherwise equipment misreads - which is why IR ink is common in banknotes and documents and must be paired with strict quality control.
这一组是采购与验收环节最常用的名词——了解它们能显著减少沟通成本与试错成本。
Printed Proof · Proofing · Minimum Order Quantity · Solvent Rub Resistance · Lightfastness · Lamination
Also called: 实物样张 / 打样样张 / 印刷样品
A printed proof is a physical sample printed with the actual ink on the customer specified (or a close) substrate, used to confirm final appearance, hue and process feasibility. Compared with a colour chart, a proof truthfully reflects how film thickness, substrate absorption and process conditions affect the result - so for colour-shift, mirror silver, glow and fluorescent inks whose effect depends heavily on process, a proof is the only reliable reference. Comparison proofs on different substrates and effect options can be supplied on request (we provide free printed proofs, not free ink samples).
Also called: 试样 / 试印 / 小样试制
Proofing is producing a small quantity of printed material under actual process conditions before volume production, to validate the effect and process fit. For functional security inks it is not optional: substrate type, film thickness, drying conditions and downstream steps (lamination, hot stamping, laminating, die cutting) all affect the outcome, and ink parameters alone cannot predict it. A sound proofing flow is: the customer provides substrate type, printing method, downstream process and target effect; the supplier adjusts the formula and produces a verifiable physical proof; both sides confirm before volume production.
Also called: 最小订购量 / 起订数量
MOQ is the smallest quantity a supplier accepts in a single order, usually measured by weight (kilograms per can). For security ink, MOQ relates directly to how customised the formula is: standard colours have a lower MOQ, while formulas tuned to a customer substrate and process - magnetic chameleon for glass, thermochromic ink with a specific switching point - involve dedicated batching and colour matching and therefore a higher MOQ. Clarifying MOQ and lead time up front reduces trial-and-error cost and inventory pressure.
Also called: 耐磨擦性 / 耐乙醇擦拭 / 耐化学性
Solvent rub resistance is the ability of the ink film to withstand repeated rubbing with solvents (commonly ethanol, acetone) without losing colour or gloss - an important measure of cross-link density and curing degree. It matters especially for prints that are sanitised, cleaned or further processed: packaging wiped with alcohol, or prints that will be laminated. Insufficient resistance shows as colour loss, whitening or gloss reduction. UV-curing systems, with their high cross-link density, generally perform well here.
Also called: 耐光性 / 耐候性 / 抗褪色等级
Lightfastness is the ability of a print pigment to resist fading under light, usually graded against a standard scale (such as the blue wool scale), with a higher grade meaning better resistance. It matters especially for tickets, packaging and outdoor signage, which circulate for long periods or are exposed to light; insufficient lightfastness causes visible fading. Pigment choice balances vividness against weather resistance - inorganic pigments resist well but are limited in saturation, while organic pigments are vivid but relatively weaker in lightfastness.
Also called: 复合 / 覆膜压合 / 热压复合
Lamination bonds the printed layer to an overlay material (such as PVC or PET sheet) under high temperature and pressure, and is the core step in card and ID document production. For the ink it stacks several stresses at once - heat, pressure and interaction with the contacting material - which can cause colour shift, flow, blistering, flaking or migration into the contact layer. Heat and lamination resistance for card inks must therefore be validated under the customer actual lamination parameters and contact materials; an ink heat rating alone does not predict post-lamination performance.
Selection, detection, printing and ordering — answered.
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