CIT’s new Tamper Alert will reveal evidence of tampering and counterfeiting by heat-activation.
Chromatic Technologies Inc. has unveiled Tamper Alert, a new heat-activated ink technology that can identify evidence of tampering in labels and packaging targeted for counterfeiting.
“CTI receives 30 calls every year from across the world seeking improved tamper evidence technology,” said Lyle Small, the founder and CEO of the Colorado-based company. “We’re constantly asked, ‘Do you have something that activates in a tighter temperature window and has stronger colour?’ It was very tough chemistry to figure out, but the team finally did it.”
The technology is a breakthrough for tamper-evidence, and will assist, amongst others, the electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and food industries. The alert transitions from colourless to full colour within a range of 10°C, whereas traditional technologies require a transition window between 30° and 50°C (86° F. to 122° F.), which CTI say “results in weak colour activation and detection at lower temperatures.”
“For much of our 24-year-history, CTI has produced inks that change ‘back and forth’ based on temperature or sunlight. This was demonstrated in our ink used recently for the U.S. Postal Service 2017 solar eclipse stamp,” Small explained. “Now, we’ve perfected an ink that goes only one-way. It’s irreversible and it’s used to show a product that has been tampered with, or has undergone temperature changes that impact the product’s quality.”
The new Tamper Alert technology is available in target activation temperatures of 50° C. (122° F.), 60° C. (140° F.), 70° C. (158° F.) and 80° C. (176° F.). It is currently only available in water-based applications.