The advancement in technology has brought with it a myriad of useful inventions to mankind. One of these innovations from brilliant minds across the globe is in the world of hologram technology. Wondering what hologram technology is all about? Worry not because this is just the right article to address that and so many other questions on hologram technology. This article explores what hologram technology is and its applications particularly in the making of security hologram stickers. After an understanding of the above is established, the focus of this article and that is whether security hologram stickers can be copied shall be tackled so stick around to learn more.

What is hologram technology?

What then is hologram technology? Hologram technology refers to a three-dimensional projection of images which can consequently be seen without the use of special equipment like glasses or even a camera from any angle or better yet dimension. What this means is that the image seems to shift in a realistic manner any time a viewer walks around it. Holographic images may be static as in the case with pictures. They may also be animated in nature, having the capability of being viewed with several persons from any point of view.

The applications of hologram technology are widespread across various sectors of the economy and subsequently in our day to day lives. This technology has proven very useful in the education sector, the healthcare industry, in entertainment as well as in the security sector which is the main focus of this article. It is through this technology that the making of hologram stickers has been made possible.

What are hologram stickers and how are they made?

A hologram is an image that appears to be three-dimensional in nature that is; the image of the object captured by the hologram can be viewed from any angle. Hologram stickers are flat labels that are adhesive in nature and give a visual effect of a three-dimensional image. These stickers are made through a chemical process that involves the treatment of a glass plate with iron oxide after which it is coated with photoresist. The resulting material will then result in a chemical reaction with certain light waves and the aim of this is to make a holographic image on the sticker. This process involves the splitting of a laser beam (which is the most common form of lightwave used in hologram technology) into two with the aid of a half mirror. The first half of the now split beam is reflected off a mirror the result of which is that it will hit the object to be captured and consequently reflect onto the photographic plate where the hologram is to be captured. This beam is referred to as the object beam. The other half of the split laser beam is reflected off another mirror and hits the same photographic plate. This beam is known as the reference beam. A hologram is thus formed at the point of intersection of the two beams on the plate.

Can hologram stickers be copied?

Security hologram stickers are made and designed in such a way that is not only unique but also almost impossible to counterfeit. This is not to say that these hologram stickers are too sophisticated, as a matter of fact, security hologram stickers are simple by design. It is, however, the advanced technology employed in their making that makes it very hard and almost impossible for security hologram stickers to be copied. It is for this particular reason that these hologram stickers have been made use of in areas requiring high tech security.

Most of the security hologram stickers are designed with the tamper-evident property meaning that they are damaged upon removal. Therefore once such a sticker has tampered with it is as good as damaged and cannot be reused. The uniqueness of security hologram stickers is what makes it impossible to alter, copy, or even manufacture from scratch using cheap means.

Applications of security hologram stickers

Hologram stickers have without a doubt played a huge role in the enhancement of security particularly in the manufactured products sector. This explains why these stickers are now commonly known as security hologram stickers. The presence of security hologram stickers on the packaging of products or even on the products themselves is now a popular method of proving the authenticity of products. There is therefore no shadow of a doubt that these hologram stickers are now slowly taking over the security sector as the most assured means of countering counterfeits.

Among the applications of security hologram stickers include their use in products such as:

·    Credit cards

·    Gift certificates

·    Currency

·    Legal and government documents

·    Membership cards

·    Bank checks

·    Driver’s license

·    Cosmetics

·    pharmaceuticals

·    clothing

·    product packaging for purposes of protecting a specific brand

Listed above are just but a few examples of the areas in which hologram technology has been applied. There are of course so many other areas where security hologram stickers have proved very vital.

How to prevent counterfeiting in security hologram stickers

Hard as they are to counterfeit, security hologram stickers could definitely use some upgrades to make them even harder and impossible to tamper with. The old saying that goes, prevention is better than cure definitely applies here. There are a number of ways through which security hologram stickers can be made better and these are as discussed below:

Including variable information on the hologram stickers

Security hologram stickers are definitely complicated as they are and this is something that has proven to be of utmost value when it comes to their effectiveness in the prevention of counterfeiting. This is because the complicated process of making these holograms is something that has not only proven difficult for counterfeiters but also an uphill task; one that is hectic and requires a lot of investment in terms of time, money and manpower. It would then make so much sense to increase the complications in these hologram stickers as a measure of preventing counterfeiting. One such way is to include variable information on security hologram stickers. This information could be anything that is strictly unique to a particular brand such as personal information or even product serial numbers. This will definitely make security hologram stickers more complicated and less susceptible to counterfeiting.

Hiding information

When hidden information is included in security hologram stickers then counterfeiting proves difficult since only the manufactures of these hologram stickers know what they hid and where they hid it.

Complex images

As mentioned above, there is no better way of enhancing security hologram stickers other than complicating them further. This is a smart way of preventing any alteration of these stickers since it makes them not worth copying or duplicating given the time and money involved. Including complex images on the security hologram sticker is another way of further complicating them thus achieving the end goal which is to make these stickers impossible to duplicate.

Using combined measures

It is without a doubt that out of the measures discussed above there is not a single one that is fully effective on its own. That being the case, making use of a combination of several available measures is the surest and most effective way to improve security hologram stickers.