Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection, provider of inspection and security technologies for the printing industry, has partnered with Bosch Secure Authentication to optimise technologies in the field of brand protection and traceability for protectable printed products.
According to Julian Schubert, CEO of Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection, counterfeit products pose an enormous economic risk for brand manufacturers and carry health, safety, or financial risks for consumers.
“This cooperation is an important step for Koenig & Bauer and once again underlines the company’s innovative strength,” he explained.
“By integrating cutting-edge technology into our printing presses, we are strengthening our position as a leading supplier of security solutions and offering our customers and their customers crucial added value in protecting their brands.”
The Ovjera systems, specifically adapted for the printing industry, are designed for high volumes and manufacturing speeds and can be integrated directly into printing presses without slowing down the production flow.
In this cooperation, Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection is playing a crucial role in tackling the challenges posed by product counterfeiting.
Although products in a series appear identical on the surface, they nonetheless show subtle differences in terms of micropatterns, material variance, and production characteristics. The Ovjera technology utilises this uniqueness and captures it at an optical level.
Similar to a biometric process, Ovjera can assign a precise identity to every object, which can be retrieved at a later point in time and serves as an invisible serial or key element for linked data.
Using Ovjera technology, products can be protected by being photographed at the end of the production chain – that is, before packaging and shipping.
The ‘entropy essence’ of the surfaces is stored in a database. For verification, a photo can be taken again later using a smartphone app. This is then compared with the reference data stored in the database.
This means the authenticity of a product can be clearly verified at any time – without any additional security features or imprints.
“With Ovjera, we are integrating a technology that lays the foundation for the next generation of brand protection,” said Marc Hunsänger, director of Protection Technologies at Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection.
“Our customers receive a future-proof tool for anchoring the digital, counterfeit-proof identity of their products directly in the printing process – without any additional materials.
“In this way, we achieve a significant increase in security while simultaneously minimising the risks associated with artificially created security features. This is modern, sustainable, and highly secure production all in one.”
For Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection, the integration of cutting-edge technology from Bosch Secure Authentication opens up strategic growth opportunities to strengthen its position as a technology enabler for counterfeit-proof supply chains and the highest levels of protection.
Furthermore, new business models are emerging through the sustainable networking of the protected asset and the user.
By integrating Ovjera solutions directly into the printing presses, Koenig & Bauer can offer its customers and their customers a technological leading position and a decisive competitive advantage in the fight against counterfeiting and fraud.