Reference
Every feature we can build into a label, what it does, and how somebody checks it. Read it before you specify and you will order a label that does a job, not one that looks secure.
Specify at least one overt feature and one covert feature. The overt layer reassures your customer at the shelf. The covert layer is what you point at when a distributor, a customs officer or a marketplace investigator needs proof. A label with only overt features looks good and settles nothing; a label with only covert features protects you but does nothing for the buyer holding the box.
Then add a serial number. It is inexpensive, and it converts an authentication question into a traceability one, which is usually the question you need answered.
Level 1 · Overt
Visible to a customer in a shop with no equipment and no training. This is the layer that builds confidence at the point of sale.
A single-layer image with no apparent depth. The simplest and cheapest holographic effect, and the one most stock film uses.
How it's checked Tilt it. The image shifts colour across the spectrum but stays flat.
When to use it Volume applications where the point is that a feature exists at all, and budget matters more than sophistication.
Several flat layers set at different visual depths, so elements appear to sit in front of or behind one another.
How it's checked Move it side to side. Foreground elements shift against the background, parallax you can see without knowing what to look for.
When to use it The default choice for brand authentication. Noticeably harder to imitate than 2D, at modest extra cost.
A photographic-quality image reproduced holographically in approximately natural colour, rather than rainbow diffraction.
How it's checked The image reads as a picture, not as a colour-shifting pattern.
When to use it Premium packaging where the seal is also a design element. Expensive to originate, and it needs the right source image.
The image is built from thousands of individually angled diffraction dots, each throwing light in a different direction.
How it's checked Rotate it. Elements animate: rings expand, shapes spin, text switches.
When to use it Movement attracts attention and is difficult to fake convincingly. A strong pairing with a static 2D/3D layer.
Two or more images occupying the same area, each visible only from a particular viewing angle.
How it's checked Tilt through the angle and one image replaces another.
When to use it Fast field verification. A distributor can be told "tilt it and the logo becomes a tick" in one sentence.
Dense interlocking curves of the kind used on banknotes and share certificates, embossed into the holographic layer.
How it's checked Fine continuous lines that stay crisp under magnification and break up badly when photocopied.
When to use it Signals security-printing craft, and defeats casual reproduction by scanning.
Selected regions of the metal layer are chemically removed, leaving precisely registered transparent windows.
How it's checked Hold it to the light. Shapes or text are see-through, in exact register with the image.
When to use it Hard to imitate because it demands registration accuracy cheap operations cannot hold. Also lets underlying printing show through.
Level 2 · Covert
Invisible unless you know it is there. This is the layer that resolves disputes with distributors, customs and marketplaces.
Text embossed small enough to read as a plain line at normal viewing distance.
How it's checked A 10× loupe. The line resolves into legible words.
When to use it Cheap to add and useful. Reproduce the label by scanning and the micro-text becomes an unreadable smear, which is the tell.
The same idea an order of magnitude smaller, beyond the reach of ordinary origination equipment.
How it's checked High-power magnification, typically 100× or more.
When to use it When you need a feature a competent copyist cannot reproduce even knowing it is there.
An image encoded into the diffraction structure that is invisible until viewed through a decoder film or a laser.
How it's checked Lay the decoder over it and hidden text or a symbol appears.
When to use it The classic Level 2 feature. Give decoders to your distributors and customs contacts. This is the layer that settles arguments.
Hidden information encoded in the diffraction pattern, projected as an image when a laser pointer is shone through it.
How it's checked A cheap laser pointer and a wall. The projected image appears.
When to use it Verification anywhere, with equipment that costs almost nothing. Practical for field inspection teams.
An overprinted ink that changes colour at body temperature and returns when it cools.
How it's checked Press a thumb on it, or breathe on it. The colour shifts, then comes back.
When to use it The easiest covert feature to teach. No decoder, no loupe, no laser. Anyone can be told "press it and the red turns clear" over the phone.
A unique sequential or randomised number printed on each individual label.
How it's checked Read it and look it up against your own records.
When to use it The single most useful addition for most brands. It turns "is this genuine" into "where was this unit supposed to be", which is how leaks in distribution get found.
Tamper evidence
A separate axis from authentication. These answer "has this been opened", not "is this genuine". Most orders eventually want both.
A deliberately weak coating that splits in a set pattern when the label is peeled, leaving VOID across the surface beneath.
How it's checked Look at the packaging. If it says VOID, the seal has been lifted.
When to use it Warranty seals, carton seals, anything where "has this been opened" matters more than "is this genuine".
The same mechanism with a hexagonal field instead of text, so the label fragments irregularly on removal.
How it's checked The label tears into a honeycomb pattern and cannot be reassembled.
When to use it When you want tamper evidence without the word VOID on your packaging for cosmetic reasons.
Total transfer leaves the whole pattern on the substrate. Partial transfer splits it, so evidence stays on both the surface and the removed label.
How it's checked Either way, removal is irreversible and obvious.
When to use it Partial transfer is better when you may need to inspect the removed label as evidence later.
Digital
Links the physical label to a record you control. Useful, but only as strong as the physical feature it is printed on.
A printed code, usually paired with a serial, that resolves to a verification page showing whether that number is valid and how often it has been checked.
How it's checked Any phone camera.
When to use it The only feature on this page an end customer can use unaided. Note that a QR code alone protects nothing. It is copyable. It works because it is tied to a serial on a label that is not.
A concealed single-use code under a scratch layer, revealed by the buyer and checked once against a central record.
How it's checked Scratch, then submit the code by web, SMS or phone.
When to use it Long established in Chinese domestic anti-counterfeiting as 电码防伪, and equally workable for export. The scratch layer makes it obvious if a code was harvested before sale, and a second lookup on the same code flags a copy.
Level 3 · Forensic
Forensic features are evidential rather than practical: material composition, layer structure and controlled origination records that can be produced in a legal proceeding. They are specified case by case, usually alongside legal advice about what you will need to prove.
If someone is selling you a standard "Level 3 package" off a price list, be sceptical. Ask what would be produced in court, and by whom.
We produce excise and regulatory stamps, but banknotes and passports are a different tier: they require Intergraf or CWA 14641 accreditation, which we do not hold. If that is your requirement, we will tell you on the first email.
Describe what is being copied and how it reaches your customer. We will suggest a combination, including when a cheaper one would do the same job. Quoted within 12 business hours.