G&A packs foil the counterfeiters

G&A Healthcare Packaging, of Sittingbourne in the UK, is leading the way in effective anticounterfeiting measures with the introduction of its Security Foil. The company, together with its parent, the Teich Group, is now actively marketing the product, which is said to offer considerable flexibility across a wide number of applications without affecting the line speed of the packaging process.

During the manufacturing process the surface of standard packaging gauge aluminium is enhanced with images, text, logos, brand names or graphic designs. The final optical appearance is similar to a watermark, with a unique 'mirror finish' created by high precision laser technology which changes the surface roughness of the foil to within a nanometre range, avoiding the need for any additional substrates.

The changes to the surface do not damage the foil and are well within the normal tolerances typically expected of the foil gauge. This leaves the physical properties of the final foil structure unimpaired, while machineability and production line efficiency are completely unaffected.

While conventionally printed anticounterfeit images on foil can be removed, the visual effect created by the Teich technical process is non-removable and the precision of the manufacturing is such that covert micro-features are also possible within the design. The simplicity of the concept enables Security Foil to be used for a wide range of potential applications beyond anticounterfeiting - for example branding images on blister foils or as a feature within sachet material.