Konica Minolta's Adrian Wilkinson talks security printing solutions

1. 16 PRINTACTION · April 2020 PRINTACTION.COM
Konica Minolta’s Adrian Wilkinson
talks security printing solutions
By Victoria Gaitskell
D
edicated technology
that can combine digital
spot varnish and spot
foil processes to pro-
duce holographic ef-
fects gives printers an
entry point into the
high-margin field of
security printing, says
Adrian Wilkinson, product marketing
manager of production for Konica Min-
olta Business Solutions (iCanada) Ltd. in
Mississauga, Ont.
Wilkinson explains that Konica Min-
olta’s MGI iFOIL S Printing Press works
in combination with the JETvarnish 3DS
to perform inline embossing and hot foil
stamping through a 100-per-cent digital
process.Among the spectacular visual and
tactile effects that can result from this
equipment pairing is Authentication
Hologram Digital Printing (AHDP), a
patented process using specially formulat-
ed toner and foil to produce holographic
effects that can be used to create custom-
ized security authentication options for
brands or products. Wilkinson says the
advantages of AHDP technology include
that it can be combined with variable data
printing and executed much more easily,
quickly, and inexpensively – without the
need for films, expensive dies, and lengthy
makeready – in contrast to traditional spot
varnish and cold foil stamping.
Brand and packaging security
Other security measures that can be ap-
plied to packaging as variable data appli-
cations include serial numbers or other
unique identification codes, says Wilkin-
son. Still, other security devices that he
expects will become more prevalent in
packaging designs of the future include
radio-frequency identification (RFID)
chips and augmented reality (AR). Both
RFID and AR technologies enable users
FOILINGCOUNTERFEITERS
AND HACKERS
PRINT SECURITY
Radio-frequency
identification
(RFID) chips are
expected to
become more
prevalent in
packaging designs
of the future.
JACOB
H/
ISTOCK
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IMAGES
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GETTY
IMAGES.

2. PRINTACTION.COM April 2020 · PRINTACTION 17
to access digital content from a package
using their smartphone or other mobile
device.
“Although serial numbers,identification
codes, AR, and RFID are not necessarily
directly related to security printing, they
are design features the brand owner can
build in, to ensure product authentication
and that their brand is not being imperson-
ated by someone else,” saysWilkinson.
Trends inTrade in Counterfeit and Pirated
Goods, a 2019 report published by the Or-
ganization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), states that the
current boom in e-commerce sales is
driving a global surge in fake and pirated
merchandise with an estimated value of
half-a-trillion U.S. dollars or 3.3 per cent
of the world’s entire trade volumes.
“Small parcels sent by post or express
courier are a prime and growing conduit
for counterfeit goods,” the OECD report
states.
The website of the Canadian An-
ti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) re-
ports that the 11 counterfeit goods most
often seized by customs (in descending
order of frequency) include:shoes,knitted
clothing, leather goods, electrical machin-
ery and equipment, watches, medical in-
struments,non-knitted clothing,perfumes
and cosmetics,toys,pharmaceuticals,and
jewellery. This list provides confirmation
of many types of brand owners who would
likely benefit by incorporating security
features into their packaging designs, and
there are probably many more.
However, Wilkinson says that in his
experience, rather than being primarily
focused on security concerns, brand
owners are typically more focused on
making their brand or product appear
unique.Thus, at the present time,they are
more interested in using spot varnish and
foil to grab consumers’ attention.
“A lot of times these effects are used for
short-run boutique projects,” he says.
For example, an automobile manufac-
turermightinvestincustomizedpackaging
with a deluxe, exclusive feel to hold keys
and accessories for a newly purchased
high-end car. Purchasers would receive
this special presentation package at the
time of delivery of their new premium
vehicle.
“I do not often hear of security holo-
grams being expressed as a primary need
from a brand ownership perspective,”
continues Wilkinson. “But even though
security may not be a forefront discussion,
it’s definitely something printers can ex-
plore in their dialogue with brand owners
and suggest they incorporate into their
packaging along with decorative spot var-
nish and spot foil effects.”
In fact, a report by global business
management consulting firm Smithers
confirms that the market potential for
brand protection,anti-counterfeiting,and
security packaging components is growing.
“As the brand protection industry is
moving from optical to digital authentica-
tion methods,andtrack-and-trace systems
emphasize coded systems to create integ-
rity in the supply chain, there is an oppor-
tunity for holographic marks that can be
authenticated automatically or via a smart
device,”reads Smithers’online synopsis of
the report.The Smithers report forecasts
global growth for anti-counterfeiting
packaging during the period 2019-24 at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
4.4 per cent to over US $4 billion.
Data security
Wilkinson says that Konica Minolta sup-
ports another completely different aspect
of security printing by means of a compre-
hensive multi-tieredTotal Security System
for its bizhub multifunction printers.
These devices combine printing, copying,
and scanning functions.
Every Konica Minolta multifunction
printer comes equipped with bizhub
SECURE,a security service for the device,
consisting of such features as a password
lock, hard drive encryption, auto-deletion
of temporary data, and antivirus protec-
tion.Wilkinson says an extensive penetra-
tion test by global cybersecurity organiza-
tion NTT Data,involving over 80 hours of
simulated attacks by sources ranging from
hackers to malware, has certified that
Konica Minolta’s multifunction printers
maintain the privacy and integrity of all
stored information against compromise or
extraction.
Other components of Konica Minolta’s
Total Security System that can be activat-
ed, depending on a particular company’s
individual needs for information privacy
and security, include:
• Access control to restrict device
usage to registered authorized users
• A document security system that
monitors digital activity to and from print-
ers.This feature provides a full document
audit trail by depositing copies of docu-
ments into a searchable, monitored re-
pository with a breach-alert notification
system
• Comprehensive assessment of a
company’s vulnerabilities and risk profile
• Physical securityvia advancedvideo
surveillance technology
• Managed security services.
How businesses collect, store, use, and
share personal information about Can-
adians is governed by the Personal Infor-
mation Protection and Electronic Docu-
ments Act (PIPEDA). But critics have
long argued that the current privacy
legislation lacks teeth, especially in an age
when major data breaches are common-
place and social media platforms that
amass personal information about Can-
adians abound. Critics have urged such
reforms as significant fines for companies
that breach privacy rules and empowering
the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of
Canada,the nation’s privacy watchdog,to
order private companies to comply.
In response last May, Canada’s gov-
erning Liberal Party released a “Digital
Charter” setting out 10 broad principles
on how they intend to deal with issues like
data ownership and privacy protections.
Recently, Federal Minister of Innovation,
Science and Industry Navdeep Bains told
the Toronto Star that he expects to back up
those principles with legislation within a
matter of months.Between these expected
reforms and the growing concerns of
Canadians about their privacy, data and
document security are likely to become
even higher priorities. Prospective clients
will be even more likely to choose to do
business with companies that can demon-
strate they will handle personal informa-
tion with the appropriate level of care.
“We are definitely trying to raise aware-
ness of the importance of preventative in-
formation security and provide expert as-
sistance to guide printers and other clients
through the steps involved in maintaining
it.But in unfortunate instances [of breach-
es] where the horses have already left the
barn,we can assist in the recovery process
as well,” saysWilkinson.
The percentage of
global trade volumes
that are believed to
be fake and pirated
merchandise.
MGI JETvarnish
3DS and
MGI iFOIL S
3.3%