Stratus foils Pin code thieves

Stratus Packaging has developed a new way to protect pin codes, such as those sent by banks for use with bank cards. The usual method involves silver inks printed over the pin number which the customer needs to scratch off to display the code. This can be circumvented in various ways, such as heating the scratch-off inks to make the number visible.
But with the IXcode label, one of the laminate components acts like a stretchable ‘tongue’, which is then covered by tiny particles of black ink. By stretching the tongue, the customer can make the pin number appear as the tiny ink particles are dispersed and disappear. The stretchable material, however, will not shrink back to its original state, and cannot be replaced, so its easy to see if the code has been tampered with.
The complex laminate involved extensive testing of different materials, adhesives, and inks and more than 100 hours of proving trials.
‘One of our specialities at Stratus Packaging is in creating practical, effective labelling solutions within the security and traceability segment – which include tamper-evident seals, RFID labels, and the use of security inks’, comments Isidore Leiser, CEO of Stratus Packaging. He explains: ‘We developed the original IX-code concept and designs for a customer partner, and today we produce them under exclusive mandate for the same partner, who is the owner of the patent.’
The system won a prize for innovation in the FINAT International Label Competition.


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