Invisible ink coding in the field of industrial marking is often used for traceability or security applications that want to remain hidden from the eyes of the end consumer.
It is important to remember that this ink becomes visible under ultraviolet light, so it is very easy to carry out security checks during the production process.
Once the packer fills the container, a second marking is carried out with information such as the batch number of the soft drink or its expiration date. Data of paramount value to the final consumer, which is why it is done with standard black ink.
In this way, the internal traceability information only useful for the manufacturer is hidden, preventing the final consumer from confusing both information.
Another common use of invisible ink is in the high-end cosmetics industry. In a sector where counterfeit products are one of the main problems, invisible markings are an important defensive tool for manufacturers.
The most typical application is the marking of product packaging with security codes. This allows distribution chains (perfumeries, pharmacies…) to verify the origin and authenticity of the goods. And to the large luxury manufacturers to be able to carry out an exhaustive traceability of the route of their products.
In this case, and due to the special characteristics of the cosmetic sector, the marking is done with invisible ink to preserve the aesthetics of the product and not dirty the pack with information of no interest to the consumer.
The third common application with invisible ink is in the graphic arts sector. It is mainly used to print security codes on official documentation, tickets or promotional coupons. In this case, invisible ink is used as an anti-forgery tool and is an important additional security measure for document verification.
