How Laser Technology Prevents Counterfeiting in Investment Products

Key Takeaways on Laser Technology for Counterfeiting

• Laser marking provides a permanent, high-resolution solution crucial for defending high-value assets against increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting methods.
  
• The technology allows manufacturers to incorporate both overt marks (visible to consumers) and discreet, complex features (for internal traceability and verification).
  
• Switching to laser marking eliminates consumable costs, reduces maintenance, and increases production line output compared to older methods like continuous inkjet (CIJ).

In recent years, global counterfeiting has been on the rise, with many high-value goods like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and more regularly falling victim to the trend. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has reported that the negative impact of counterfeit goods on the global economy amounts to $500 billion each year, with this South African case being a notable example.

Most alarming, however, is that counterfeiting isn’t just limited to products, as it can extend to coins and other forms of currency, creating serious issues for consumers, businesses, and governments alike. Thankfully, laser marking offers a viable solution.

Laser Marking: Permanent Security for Minted Goods

Laser marking is a key way of creating marks on products, leaving a controlled, discolored mark on a chosen part or product. Diverse industries have used laser marking for years on a wide variety of products, creating highly precise graphics, serial numbers, text, and more. Marks incorporated into products:

• Enhance the security features of currency
• Cannot be rubbed off or easily removed
• Permanently remain in place for the total useful life of the currency
• Can be styled as date codes, barcodes, batch numbers, logos, and more
• Can be incorporated into virtually any metal
• Are precise and highly repeatable
• Creates trust for end customers via traceability
  

How Laser Marking Machines Achieve Indelible Marks

While the similar process of laser engraving creates controlled and precise cavities on components, laser marking does not impact the greater structural integrity of a piece, instead leaving a slightly darker or lighter mark. The process includes:

• Selecting a high-powered laser beam for the creation of the marking, with variable laser types and systems available depending upon the materials to be marked
• Focusing the beam onto the material using a sequence of galvo mirrors and a lens, which produces heat that results in indelible marks
• Creating a permanent, precise marking that enhances a component’s security features
  
  

Overt and Discreet Strategies to Deter Forgery

Laser marking isn’t just limited to producing obvious marks that are visible to the naked eye, however. Operators working in coining, minting, and printing facilities have the ability to add either overt marks or discreet marks to specific items and areas.

• Overt marking entails creating visible and easily recognizable marks, including things like logos and symbols, which help consumers, companies, and governments to identify authentic products – in this case, coins – and inhibit counterfeiters from being able to easily reproduce the marks.
  
• Discreet marking, on the other hand, involves creating invisible 2D codes or data that are not immediately visible. This information is incredibly hard if not impossible to remove and virtually impossible to duplicate, which results in significant theft deterrence.

Discreet marking also aids in traceability, as the complex codes that can be created let governments and companies determine if an item is real or fake.