Penetrating inks, or‘bleeding inks’, permeate right through the paper substrate of a document. Any attempt to mechanically erase the document’s contents will reveal the ink and cause visible damage.
Used for
Authentication
Anti-tampering / Anti-alteration
Suitable for
Very small products
Small products
Medium-sized products
Large products
Goes on
Product
Packaging
Can be used for
Physical products
Visibility
Visible
Reading device needed
No
Connection to server
No
Description
Penetrating inks are particularly fluid and, when in contact with the support, penetrate deep into the fibres, creating a weak stain around the print, which is also visible on the back of the document. They are generally used in letterpress printing.
Another technique is to mix with the ink a coloured oil able to penetrate deep into the pores of the paper, generating a coloured stain around the number. Any attempt to scrape the number from the document or correct it would leave the stain on the document, making the counterfeiting of the serial number clearly noticeable.
Uses
Similar to reactive inks, penetrating inks are most commonly used to combat the counterfeiting of documents, cheques, paper valuables, etc. They are mainly used in letterpress printing and to secure document numbering.
Implementation
If you want to use penetrating ink, you will need to adapt your printing process to ensure that the ink is applied in the desired position.
Cost
The costs associated with penetrating inks can vary significantly according to how and with which type of document the ink is used. It is therefore difficult to give a general idea of the investment required.