APDN alliance with Videojet bears fruit

Last year’s alliance between Applied DNA Sciences and printed coding specialist Videojet has resulted in a new security printing solution that will make its debut at Interphex in New York City tomorrow.

The partnership – set up in September – focused on developing DNA-encoded inks that can be printed onto packaging and used to add a forensic-grade authentication layer to printed security features such as serialized, unique identifiers, as well as a co-branded printer to apply them.

The new platform – on a Videojet 1860M continuous inkjet printer – will be on display at booth 3957 at the Interphex show and according to the partners can be used to introduce “tag, test and track capability into existing production lines quickly”, according to APDN’s vice president of government and military programmes Janice Meraglia.

Inkjet Codes with SigNature® Molecular Tags for Supply Chain Traceability and Brand Protection

The partners – who say the platform has been qualified using both black and an invisible ink that fluoresces under ultraviolet light – say it serves as a supply chain management tool that can track items globally and adds “another level of protection against counterfeits and diversion, transforming the inkjet code into a comprehensive supply chain certification solution.”

The inks have DNA tags that are unique to each customer and can be applied to a broad range of substrates, including aluminium, glass, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyester, steel, and nylon, while the printer electronically restricts the use of ink cartridges to only those that contain APDN’s SigNature DNA inks.

The molecular tagged inks include a product that has already been approved for use in aerospace and military applications, but the two companies believe the technology will be widely applicable across food, healthcare, tobacco, and personal care products, amongst others.

“We are looking forward to demonstrating this comprehensive supply chain certification solution at Interphex to pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies along with our partner, Videojet,” said Meraglia.