Products across industries have certain standards for safety, and any kind of tampering can make these products unsafe or useless for the consumer. While we hope that packaged products won’t be disturbed during shipping or on the shelves, it’s essential to ensure certain items are undisturbed. With tamper evident seals, manufacturers, retail locations and beyond can protect the integrity of their products.
Learn all about tamper evident security labels from the experts at Label-Aid Systems, Inc.
What Is a Tamper Evident Security Label?
Tamper evident labels are designed to protect the contents of a product by making it clear when a package has been opened. These labels are extremely difficult to remove without destroying the label, so it is immediately apparent to a buyer when a product has been tampered with.
How Does a Tamper Evident Label Work?
Tamper-proof labels can work in various ways. Generally, there are two parts of a tamper evident label — permanent adhesive and a delicate face material.
The adhesive makes up the bottom layer of the label to keep it in place even when someone tries to remove it. This adhesive label can also include indicators for tampering, such as holograms, words or color changes. The top layer is a delicate face material that is made of thin material that can easily peel away from the adhesive.
The most common methods for tamper evident labels include:
Small cuts: Tamper-proof labels can be made with a series of small, hard-to-see die cuts. These very intentional cuts make it challenging to peel away the label without it coming off in pieces.
Disintegrating materials: Certain plastic materials and adhesives offer durable bonding capabilities but disintegrate when removed. With these labels, any sign of tearing or missing pieces indicates tampering.
Hidden print messaging: Some tamper evident labels can use the die-cutting process to leave “VOID” behind when the label is removed. At Label-Aid, this is our preferred form of tamper evident label. Print these labels with your custom messaging and make it clear when the label has been removed.
Benefits of Tamper-Proof Labels
Using tamper evident labels offers several advantages to businesses, including:
Improved product safety: Visual indicators of tampering tell consumers when a product isn’t safe to use. This indication is essential for protecting users and ensuring buyers get the product they paid for.
Theft deterrence: Tamper-proof labels are an immediate sign that a product should not be messed with. If anyone intends to steal the contents of a package, the tamper evident label will likely deter them from moving forward with their plan.
Simple production: The main benefits of tamper-proof labels are safety and theft deterrence, and you can enjoy both advantages with ease. Tamper evident labels are easy to produce and offer flexibility in design. Work with a trusted label manufacturer like Label-Aid to add these labels to your product lines.
Clear issue tracking: Tamper evident labels make it immediately clear to shippers and retailers when products have been disturbed. These obvious indications make it easier to track where in the process a product was disturbed or tampered with. Did the product get destroyed in a warehouse? On the way to a specific retail location? Identifying when it happened can help companies resolve the issue before it occurs again.
Streamlined inventory: Many tamper-proof labels can double as barcodes, so your operation can more effectively track products throughout the supply chain.
Strengthened brand reputation: While tamper-proof labels keep your company informed about the safety of your product, they also help build trust with your consumers. These labels tell your buyers that you care about their safety, and they encourage more people to trust your brand and buy your products.
Common Applications of Tamper-Proof Labels
Tamper evident labels have a place in several areas, such as:
Pharmaceutical: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires tamper-proof labels and other tamper evident techniques for medications. Pharmaceutical products can easily be altered to cause harm or can change once exposed to the air. Tamper-proofing is essential for consumer safety in this industry.
Food and beverage: If a seal is broken or a food or beverage product is tampered with, this might indicate the product is no longer safe to eat or drink. These labels are often used for to-go orders at restaurants, but they can also be found on products sold in grocery stores.
Cosmetics: In cosmetics, tamper-proofing is most helpful during returns. Stores can identify when a product has been used upon return to ensure it is not put back on the shelf. These seals can also be used to identify if a product made it through the shipping process without tampering.
Product warranties: Many sectors deal with product warranties. With tamper-proof labels, companies can determine when a product has been opened or repaired in a way that voids the warranty. Warranties like this are common with high-value electronics, specialized equipment and machinery.
Manufacturing: Manufacturing operations may produce end products for consumers or components used in end products. Either way, functionality and safety are essential in these cases. With tamper evident labels, manufacturers can ensure their products arrive at their destination completely unaltered. Some common use cases for these labels include property or asset labels, closure seals and warranty seal labels.
How to Choose a Tamper Evident Label
When you’re trying to decide what type of tamper evident label you need, there are a few factors to consider. Work with a professional to determine the following:
What product are you labeling?
What is the surface of the product, and how well does it take adhesive?
What is the product’s size?
Do you need customization? If so, how much?
Are there any regulations surrounding this label?
When you partner with a professional label production company like Label-Aid, you can get the answers to questions you may not know the answers to yourself, like the surface of your product and how well it takes adhesive. These conversations can help you find the right tamper evident label for your application.
Request a Quote for Custom Tamper Evident Labels
At Label-Aid Systems, Inc., we specialize in a range of labeling solutions for products across sectors, from consumer products to medical use cases. When you partner with our team, you gain access to high-quality, customizable tamper-proof labels. Our void labels have a polyester face sheet that can be overlaminated for extra protection indoors and outdoors. The permanent acrylic adhesive sticks to most surfaces, and we offer white and silver substrates.
Our customers count on our void labels for safety, security seals, warranty seals and more. Request a quote today to learn more about our tamper evident labels for your application.
