It was never possible before to secure and identify entirely different materials in a definite way. The world of nano particles renders possible the impossible. Mona Lisa still smiles mysteriously in the way she was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, though she now has a hidden code, apparent only under black light. Pharmaceuticals are developed and produced all around the globe - and are counterfeited. Thanks to micro codes, such counterfeits can now be unmasked and traced back to their origin. In the meantime, every single original spare part that is used can identify machines without doubt. Concerning claims for damage, for example, unambiguous identification plays an important role. Even powdery or fluid materials can not only be identified, but also be traced from their origin to their use or disposal. This is all made possible by nano technology, DNA codes and microscopic colour codes.

With tiny tags into the nano-sphere

The possibilities of product safety today are based upon an insight that Richard Feynman, a famous American physicist and Nobel Prize winner, already had 50 years ago. In a speech that he gave in 1959, he showed off the possibility of saving the entire world literature content onto one three-dimensional piece of matter the size of a dust particle. He summarised his considerations in one sentence: "There is plenty of room at the bottom." Today his vision has not yet become reality, but the way is paved. More and more researchers and developers have already discovered the "room at the bottom". For this reason, Feynman is the 'father' of a development that Norio Taniguchi named "nano technology" in 1974. One metre is to a nanometre (10-9m) what the diameter of the earth is to a small hazelnut.

Today the world of nanos is already being successfully used in the field of product protection. Tiny particles can be affixed to materials of all sorts - even animals. The advantage of micro marking is obvious. The tiny marks are invisible to the naked eye. Counterfeiters most often do not even know where to begin their search for the tags. But product test centres, custom offices or companies may analyse whether or not a product in question is a genuine or counterfeit. The second advantage is that counterfeiters do not, except under difficult terms, have the possibility of imitating such micro particles. That requires the know-how of the manufacturing process of the micro particles and access to the appropriate machinery. Both would be nearly impossible for any backyard counterfeit operation.
 
Forgery-proof colour particles

The findings of the nano world have been revolutionised by the possibilities of microscopic tags. Due to a security system based on colour code particles, developed significantly by Rolf Simons, it is now possible to identify products clearly and to make them forgery-proof. Since the development of the miniscule colour code particle more than ten years ago and its subsequent million-fold application on diverse products around the globe, counterfeiters have been found, up to this day, to be unsuccessful in forging the code.

The product protection system is based on wafer-thin but extremely resistant melamine alkyd particles which are layered, one upon another, in the so called "sandwich process". The particles are available in different sizes of 5-45µm. Up to ten different coloured layers of 0.8µm form each colour code for a specific customer or branded article. Each of these codes protects products, documents and much more, functioning like a genetic fingerprint. The manufacturing process and even the machines are, as a logical consequence of the safety strategy, completely top-secret.

An abuse of the colour code system is nearly impossible. The all-encompassing security policy empowers the inventor: more and more companies employ this system for their needs - open or covert. The colour code can be administered to solids, powders and liquids and yet be applied and detected upon animals and plants. Due to its composition, this micro code may be used safely for foods and medical or pharmaceutical products. It is printable with different printing processes and is thermally as well as chemically extremely resistant. Today, in particular, all sorts of branded goods, electronic components, spare parts, documents, packaging and much more are protected by the micro colour code.
 
Overt or covert - that is the question

The easy application and verification of a product protection system is especially indispensable in the consumer goods industry, dealing with branded goods and also in the manufacturing of machines and spare parts. The notification that every machine and all accessories are protected and parts are examined routinely and in large quantities in itself prevents illegal production to the greatest possible extent. PUMA for example affirms that there are less and less counterfeit PUMA products on the market since they began to advertise aggressively that they employ the colour code system. Other world-famous companies would have also been able to spare a great deal of negative publicity in the past by implementing this procedure. As counterfeiters fundamentally take the line of least resistance, they prefer to counterfeit products of competitors that are less effectively protected.

The colour code system also has enormous advantages for companies or institutions that keep their security system secret. It guarantees decisiveconclusions and is admitted into evidence in cases of product liability action. Despite this incredible forensic security, the colour code particles remain one of the most competitively-priced systems on the world market. As complicated as the manufacturing process of the colour code is, so easy is the identification: the colour code can be detected with a standard tube microscope.
 
Holograms and DNA codes

Holograms have already been in use for product protection for a long time. They can be applied to labels in order to stop product counterfeiting and product piracy, for example, in the field of software and music. Due to the first abrasion-proof colour holograms based on nano technology, product protection can now be applied to stainless steel parts. Holograms on adhesive tape should even allow the authentication and storage of information on the smallest possible area, directly upon the product. These data are transferred by laser onto a special form of polymeric tape. The information enclosed can be decoded with laser readers. The holograms may be imprinted with text in an encrypted micro script, which can be read and checked with a loupe. Indeed, this technology is yet in its infancy and comparatively expensive.

Interesting solutions also arise from the field of biotechnology. A special method was developed to apply DNA labels to surfaces. The so-called "ident technology" uses both DNA strands for identification. One strand makes up the encoding, the other the decoding of the information. If the brand protection is meant to be visible, the producer can make the product additionally identifiable with a nano optic seal. Specialised readers are available for fast identification, but exact verification must take place in a laboratory. The world market of such biotech labels is valued at over one million.
 
Integration into production flow

An analysis should be done to determine which product protection system is best. Before a successful product application can be carried out, comprehensive advice that accommodates the special features of a specific product is needed. An easy integration into the production flow is as important as an uncomplicated verification without complicated processes later on. Especially in large-volume productions, for example in any production flow using different printing processes, security labels or dispensers, the processing ought to be smoothly integrable and failure-free. Combining different security procedures is also very promising. Nano particles or DNA codes, for example, may be integrated in micro colour code technology. It depends on the corporate and product philosophy of a company, as well as on strategic marketing and sales considerations, as to whether such codes are used invisibly or visibly, or whether both alternatives are combined. At the early stages of planning, an all-encompassing consultation is in demand that seriously considers the special features and requirements of a customer and that can help determine the optimal solution from the possible range of products.

Whether with holograms, DNA or micro colour codes, researchers and developers around the globe advance further and further into the nano-sphere. Feynman was right with his vision: there's plenty of room at the bottom. What matters now is using these new developments for greater product safety.