Printer That Prints Labels That Show in Black Light

  • Thread starter Thread starter Will
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Will

Does any manufacturer sell a printer that uses ink that will show up only in
black light? We want to encode identification tag messages that can be
placed into complex products at various points. This helps with warranty
issues when, for example, you get a product return where the product has
been tampered with and the item being returned is not the one that was sold.
 
Will said:
Does any manufacturer sell a printer that uses ink that will show up only in
black light? We want to encode identification tag messages that can be
placed into complex products at various points. This helps with warranty
issues when, for example, you get a product return where the product has
been tampered with and the item being returned is not the one that was sold.
Click to expand...
you can buy pens that you can write onto objects which the ink will
fluro under uv light.
 
Will said:
Does any manufacturer sell a printer that uses ink that will show up only
in
black light? We want to encode identification tag messages that can be
placed into complex products at various points. This helps with warranty
issues when, for example, you get a product return where the product has
been tampered with and the item being returned is not the one that was
sold.
Click to expand...


no only pens
 
You can get security stick on lables, the very kind you see with "if
the seal is broken then the warrenty is void" or something similar
printed on them.

Once you tried to peel these lables off they sort of crumble into
peices, whether they are UV responsive or not I can't say.

What you are after I guess is a do-it-yourself type, could you not
use a stamp (rubber and ink pad) over these, or even print your own
sticker and place it over/under or even alongside one of these
security lables.
I don't know if you have RS Components over in the States (Radio
Spares) that is where you can get these lables from

Just an idea
Davy
 
There are special inks that are only visible under UV light, although I
don't know if any are being formulated for inkjet printing purposes.
I'd imagine someone is producing them.

Do they need to be able to print on other surfaces than paper? Do they
need to be waterproof? Do you want the ink to come off if the product
is handled?

I would try something like:

"ultraviolet ink" +inkjet

in Google and see what comes up.

Art
 
I just looked into these further from the actual manufacturer.

They look like great fun, and quite interesting to work with, as they
allow for nearly full color invisible printing that phosphoresce under
UV light, BUT read this (taken from their webpage) (Also, right now, at
least, many of their pages are not working properly under Netscape or IE)

Art

=====================

From: http://www.ecabengineering.com/tech/instructions.html

Overview

These specialty inks will provide for extraordinary spectrum of UV
colors. They will also require very specific attention to handling.
They cannot be treated casually as we treat commerci= ally available
visible ink cartridges. They will produce brilliant colors consistently
as long as a few simple procedures are followed.


-- Warning -- Warning -- Warning --

1. If left unused in the printer for more than 30 minutes, these inks
will degrade the print head, clogging your print head, reducing the
quality of your print. Cleaning is sometimes possible, though it can be
require painstaking effort. One experience with this will likely
motivate one to never again let the inks dry. The best practice is to
never leave the ink cartridges installed. Immediately replace them with
the cleaner cartridges provided and perform the finish printing
procedure described below.

2. These colors will fade in hours if left in sunlight. Do not leave
prints or cartridges in direct sunlight or near a window.

Print Quality

You can expect brilliant print quality, however, these inks will dry in
the pri= nt nozzle if left unused for more than a 30 minutes. The key is
not to let the= ink dry on the nozzles. Here is the recommended procedure:

Paper Selection:

It is essential that the correct paper is chosen for your application.
Most papers on the market contain Optical Brighteners. These fluoresce
blue and will drown out much of the color of the invisible inks. You can
order suitable paper through your invisible ink supplier. We are
constantly building resources for suppliers of all suitable media. If
you wish to search for paper on your own, the best way to identify
suitable papers is by shining a black light onto the paper. Brightness
numbers indicated on paper reams... 94, 90, 84 are not a clear
indication of the presence of Optical Brighteners. Some 84 brightness
papers still have a little brightener in them.

Printers:

Any non-photo Epson C86 or compatible 4 color printer will work with our
cartridges.

Color Design:

It takes some practice to learn to manipulate the printing software to
achieve the desired colors. We have provided some samples and
instructions to help you get started.

=========================
 
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