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A round up of all of the latest Universeal UK news, tamper-evident security industry updates and product guides to make your supply chain more secure.
Making Your Mark - Choose the Best Print and Customisation for your Security Seals
Security seals can be marked in a number of different ways with a variety of print methods, incorporating company names, logos, sequential numbering and barcoding. Most commonly, our production facilities use laser, thermal transfer or hot-stamp print methodologies to print plastic security seals.
Security Seal Marking Types
Each marking type brings its own advantages and disadvantages, and is suited to particular types of application. We categorise these marking types into three tiers of security: HIGH, STANDARD, BASIC:-
| SECURITY SEAL Marking Type | ILLUSTRATION | Printing Resistance | BarcodE? | Logo | Colours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Printed Security Seals |  | SECURITY LEVEL: HIGH Resistant to solvents, scratching and abrasion | Yes | Yes | Best contrast on pale colours |
| Hot Stamp Printed Security Seals |  | SECURITY LEVEL: STANDARD Resistant to alcohol and scratching. Medium resistance to solvents | No | Yes (print block required) | All colours |
| Thermal Transfer Printed Security Seals |  | SECURITY LEVEL: BASIC Resistant to scratching but not all solvents or alcohol | Yes | Yes | All colours |
Choosing the Best Security Seal Marking
When choosing the most suitable print method for your security seals, it is important to take into consideration the application of the seal - how it will be used and handled; for how long will it be in use; and in what kind of environments the security seal will be expected to perform. For example, a seal intended for outdoor use would require the most resistant laser marking to ensure resistance to the elements, including UV light emitted by the sun, temperature changes and moisture.
Conversely, for barcode readability on a security seal being used inside or in darker environments, thermal transfer print provides the best contrast and barcode scan-rates, although thermal print can degrade if the seal is likely to come into contact with solvents or abrasion. In this case laser-print barcoding is an option, although we recommend printing on pale colours only to ensure the barcode scan-rates remain high.
Another option, available on particular models of printed identification cable ties and plastic security seals, is hot-stamping (also known as hot-foil engraving). Hot-foil prints are indelible, and have medium resistance to chemicals or solvents – they are particularly suited to printing on products which are more difficult to laser-print effectively, such as nylon cable ties and security seals. Hot-stamping is also particularly suited for applications in which users wish to hand-write on the security seal, as hot-stamped white areas can be easily written on using a variety on pens and permanent markers.
Customised Security Seals - Bespoke Features Available
Customising your security seals provides increased security, as seals are more difficult to replace or replicate when they have distinctive features, such as stylised logo prints, bespoke text or are manufactured in particular colour shades. We outline below some of the most popular customiseable features, and how they can assist in improving your security, operational efficiency and corporate branding:-
| fEATURE | Example | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Bespoke Alphanumeric Text and Number Sequences |  | Purchasing seals with your own bespoke text and number ranges allows you to have greater control of the quantity and number of seals used within your organisation. For example, you can allocate particular markings or number ranges to particular departments or groups of users. This can bring you greater security benefits, by identifying weak points of your supply chain more visibly. Universeal UK can assist in this process as we maintain a complete audit control of all seal markings and numbers produced, and we reserve particular markings to particular companies. |
| Barcoding and other types of encoding for tracebility |  | Machine readable barcodes, data matrices etc can increase the speed of logistics operations, as well as reducing the possibility for human error. Barcodes are easily integrated within your wider IT infrastructure. We can produce codes in the most common standards, including Code 128, 39, Interleaved 2/5 and so on. |
| Wide choice of colour shades |  | Many of our seals are available in upto eight colour options, meaning that you can choose a colour which fits your organisation branding, or use colour-coding for particular operational needs or consignments, such as 'Goods In' Seals, 'Outbound' Seals, 'Return to Depot' Seals, and so on. Colours are often used to denote periods of operation - meaning you can periodically change seal colours to maintain the security of your supply chain. |
| Logos and other symbols / visual elements |  | We can recreate high-resolution logos to create a visually pleasing and difficult-to-replicate customised security seal. Additionally it is also possible to mark other visual elements on seals, such as operational warning or operational symbols, where your security seals are also communicating information to stakeholders. |
| White write-on patches |  | Many of our security seals can be produced with a white write-on face, which can provide a better contrast for handwritten information. White write-on faces can also be written on with rollerball or 'biro' style pens, which do not work on plastic. |
| Print Layouts / Templates |  | Some of our security seals (such as our Tracewaste Security Seal and Uniflag Security Seal) have large enough printable paddle areas that we can print in multiple areas and in different configurations. We can set out certain types of information required, leaving space for handwritten information - for instance 'DEPARTMENT', 'CHECKED BY' or 'DATE OF INSTALL'. We also print our seals and identificatoin ties with a calendar style layout - particular months or years can be punched out of the plastic, permanently recording the information without the need for laborious handwritten information. |
| Counterpart Security Number labelling |  | Duplicate, numbered counterpart labels are a useful and simple way to provide receipts to customers, or to record seal numbers against filed security seal log books, manifests or other paperwork. Counterpart labels are available on our SecureLock ST security seal models as standard- for other models MOQ's may apply. |
| Paired markings / Duplicate set security seals |  | Many applications require the use of multiple security seals for effective sealing, not just one. To provide some examples, curtain sided vehicle trailers may be sealed at multiple points to maintain security; crates / tote boxes can be sealed at both ends; and industrial valves or hatches may have multiple points of access.In these scenarios, it can be preferable to use multiple seals printed with one common security seal number. This makes it easier to record the seal number against seal records, and also encourages the operative applying the seal to use the appropriate number of seals for the application. We can assist by printing security seals in duplicate, triplicate etc - seals are marked together on a mat for ease of application and sealing. |
| Customised embossed Pliers |  | Some of our simple meter and wire seals, such as lead seals or plastic meter seals used on meters, are used in conjuction with sealing pliers. These sealing pliers can be customised with bespoke dies in the plier jaws - these embossed dies leave an impression of the crushed surface of the meter seal, providing you with an identification symbol |
If you require help choosing the most suitable security seal for your application (or the best marking type or customisation feature for your chosen seal), please get in touch with us on 01829 760000 to discuss.
Universeal UK Team.
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