AlpVision CEO talks global invisible cryptography authentication for packaging

AlpVision, a global authentication and counterfeiting company based in Switzerland, highlights its invisible cryptoglyph authentication, which embeds security patterns in packaging varnish. 

Packaging Insights speaks to Fred Jordan, CEO at AlpVision, about the cross-industry deployment of the counterfeiting solution. We also discuss what makes the system detectable via smartphones and its environmentally sustainability features. 

What is AlpVision, and how does it differ from other authentication solutions?

Jordan: We produce invisible authentication solutions. That means we can detect things you cannot see with a smartphone app. It costs nothing to integrate our solution. It’s very secure because “the bad guys” don’t see and the detection is seamless. 

You don’t need to know anything about the technology. You just use your smartphone and our app, which tells you whether it’s authentic.

How does AlpVision work and how is it integrated into packaging?

Jordan: We have two packaging technologies. A cryptograph is a pattern inserted into the varnish layer of the package. We create thousands of small holes all over the varnish layer. There is varnish on every package, so there is no added cost for the cryptographic technology, just a modification of the file used to create the plate. The printer can run as it did previously. 

At the end, you get a package that looks exactly like the normal one, but it includes this invisible security solution. 

What can you share about AlpVision’s development? 

AlpVision’s customer base is broad, with a strong presence in the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries.Jordan: The company has been active for 25 years. Initially, we worked with documents, and then smartphones came along. What we invented is a way to detect in real time using the smartphone’s computing power.

When you run our app, it analyzes every frame from the camera’s video feed and detects issues in real time. Initially, the technology was very cumbersome, but it became user-friendly by doing real-time computation.

Could you tell us about the clients you work with?

Jordan: We have customers in every field. They are particularly represented in the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. 

The technology can be integrated not only into packaging but also into labels. For instance, automotive lubricants have a label on the bottle, and our technology works perfectly with this.

Every year, about 30 billion products are secured with this technology. It’s one thing to make a technology that works sometimes, and it’s very different to have something truly reliable that can work with multiple suppliers. Today, there are about 300 printers worldwide that print Cryptograph technology. I don’t recall any cases of printers in any country not being able to print our features. This is reliability, and it is fundamental: if you have a security feature, you have to make sure it works.

What are some challenges you have faced, and how did you solve them? 

Jordan: There were many challenges in the beginning, particularly in achieving this real-time detection, but these were solved several years ago. 

The main challenge we face today is keeping up with new smartphones, because we have to be compatible not only with iPhones but with the myriad of Android models that come out regularly, including updates to their operating systems.

We have an internal software update process which is in place to make sure all smartphones are able to detect. 

I will add that WeChat is used in China, which is another way to interact with the smartphone. This is a server-side computation, and we also support this. Overall, our technology can be deployed successfully with all setups.

How does working with governments differ from working with brands?

Jordan: From a commercial standpoint, working with governments is very different. From a technical standpoint, we are more likely to work with labels and documents when we collaborate with the governments. Fundamentally, this doesn’t affect the core of the technology.

Sometimes, instead of creating holes in the varnish layer, we include very small dots. This is because government documents are often printed in offset lithography, which allows small dots to be included, and some of them have no varnish. 

The dot approach does not make a difference for the printer and the user. This is because printing remains free and it can be detected with a smartphone just as easily.

Do you take environmental sustainability demands into consideration?

Jordan: Yes, we won a prize for the sustainability of our solution for a very simple reason. As I explained, we are not adding anything. There are no special inks or additional inks. The environmental impact of what we are doing equals zero. This is the beauty of our solution: it is cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

Are there any other aspects of your technology you would like to highlight? 

Jordan: We’ve been discussing placing invisible markings on boxes and labels, which is a big part of our technology, but we also have another aspect of our technology. We use existing defects on boxes and packaging, for instance, as a unique identifier.

We have successfully deployed fingerprint technology as well, but our philosophy remains the same. We don’t add anything; it’s still invisible, and it’s still detected in real time by a smartphone.