Chromatic Technologies (CTI) has introduced Tamper Alert, a new irreversible and heat-activated ink technology which can identify tamper evidence in labels and packaging.
The company claims that the new ink is useful for products including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, electronics and other products which are prone to theft and counterfeiting.
CTI says that its ink technology can help customers with a tight-activation window, which alerts them about tampering by turning a colorless surface into a full color within a range of 10°C.
Conventional irreversible technologies need a transition window between 30°C to 50°C. (86°F to 122°F.), which can also result in a weak activation of color and it is hard to detect at lower temperatures.
The new Tamper Alert technology comes in target activation temperatures of 50°C (122°F), 60°C (140° F), 70°C (158°F) and 80°C (176°F).
Chromatic also claims to have incorporated a ‘Turbo’ color technology that creates a strong color alert in temper evidence in blue, green, black and red colors. Presently, Tamper Alert is available only in water-based applications.
Chromatic Technologies founder and CEO Lyle Small said: “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.
“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.
“CTI receives 30 calls every year from across the world seeking improved tamper evidence technology.
“We’re constantly asked, ‘Do you have something that activates in a tighter temperature window and has stronger color?’ It was very tough chemistry to figure out, but the team finally did it.”
