Heidelberg Collaborates with Leading Pharmaceuticals Packaging Manufacturer to Boost Piracy Protection

• Papierwerk Landshut Mittler produces folding carton with ten secrets
• Concealed image technology used for the first time for hidden images

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has joined forces with Papierwerk Landshut Mittler (PLM) and developed a folding carton featuring ten secrets. The folding carton was printed on a Speedmaster CD 102. PLM was able to demonstrate the options now offered for piracy protection at a recent pharmaceuticals symposium attended by over 40 pharmaceutical companies.

Using specific printing processes, embossing, changes to die cutting tools, and special colors and coatings, PLM can apply a wide range of features to a folding carton, such as microlettering, hologram embossing, and coin reactive ink. The concealed image technology (CIT) process, which has been enhanced by Heidelberg in conjunction with Saueressig Security International (SSI) and prints hidden images, is being used for the first time. With the aid of special software, specific moiré effects are produced on the cyan or magenta plate in prepress. When printed on the folding carton, they are invisible to the human eye. The hidden images only become visible when using a frequency-adapted decoder the shape and size of a check card, for example. This plastic card is an optical lens which at the correct angle and with the correct screening, makes the image visible and thereby uses the moiré effect positively. Overall, this results in a cost-effective method that can be used to produce security features and surface finishings as part of a single manufacturing process. "If the customer requires, we can deliver a level of security comparable to that of a banknote," concludes Günther Berninghaus, Managing Director and main shareholder of PLM.

Papierwerk Landshut Mittler is one of the leading packaging manufacturers in Germany and produces around 80 percent for the pharmaceuticals industry. Its 170 staff generated sales of 17.5 million Euro last year.

Growing importance of protection against brand piracy
Everything is forged nowadays, from cosmetics and luxury goods to medicines and even vehicle spare parts. In information technology alone, one in every ten software products is a forgery and this costs over 100,000 jobs. The economic damage worldwide totals 300 to 400 billion Euro each year, including 25 billion Euro in Germany alone. It is impossible to measure the personal harm to people who take counterfeit medicines. This makes the issue of piracy protection particularly important in the pharmaceuticals industry, especially if products are intended for export.

SSI and Heidelberg announced their collaboration to jointly promote protection against brand piracy at the end of last year. The first stage consists of printing hidden images. Every customer can be allocated their own individual screen. It is also possible to superimpose several different screens in a hidden image to enhance security. The next phase will offer embossed hidden images, which are embossed onto pre-printed materials such as paper, card, and plastic using an embossing cylinder. The result is visible embossing which carries invisible information that can in turn be made visible by means of an appropriate decoder. Combining printed and embossed security elements increases brand protection many times over.

Three motifs with the Box "Secrets 2", produced on the Speedmaster CD 102.

Motif 1:
Folding carton with secrets: Hidden images - inline security solution from Heidelberg and SSI.

Motif 2:
Folding box with pen to detect fluorescent imprint.
 
Motif 3:
A decoder makes the hidden images visible.

Further information for journalists:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Communications
Hilde Weisser
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 66
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail: hilde.weisser@heidelberg.com