As a developer of anti-counterfeiting materials for 15 years, I am often asked, “Why can supermarket cashiers use ultraviolet pens to quickly determine the authenticity of banknotes?” The answer lies in the anti-counterfeiting ink technology we will discuss today. Through this article, you will learn:

1. the working principles of the six main types of anti-counterfeiting inks
2. how to quickly determine authenticity with the naked eye and simple tools
3. the latest breakthroughs in rare earth fluorescent materials

I. The technological code of anti-counterfeiting inks

Quick answer: UV monomers and oligomers are usually chosen by viscosity, adhesion, flexibility, shrinkage, and cure speed as a package. The most reliable formulas come from balancing those properties rather than maximizing only one.

1.1 The double-edged game of photosensitive technology

I remember that in 2018, when we had a technical exchange with the Swiss National Bank, they showed me an anti-counterfeiting upgrade for the euro that really impressed me – the same banknote uses both **short-wave (254nm) and long-wave (365nm)** ultraviolet excitation technology. This design means that counterfeiters need to break through both fluorescent systems at the same time, and the cost of counterfeiting has soared by 83% (according to INTERPOL 2022 data).

Comparison of mainstream photosensitive technologies:

• Ultraviolet fluorescent ink: cost only $0.02/cm², recognition rate 98.7%
• Infrared ink: mostly used in passport chips, requires special equipment to read
• Photochromic ink: Japanese JIS standard requires color difference ΔE ≥ 5.0

1.2 Rare earth materials break the game

Pain points of traditional fluorescent materials:

✓ Organic type is prone to aging (37% attenuation in half a year)

✓ Non-organic models have excessive toxicity (lead content > 300ppm)

✓ Solvent-based models pollute the environment (VOC emissions exceed the standard by 4 times)

Our rare earth europium complexes developed in 2021 have broken through the triple technical bottleneck:

1. Fluorescence lifetime extended to 2.3ms (traditional material 0.8ms)
2. Quantum efficiency of 89% (industry average 62%)
3. Achieved application in water-based systems (reduction of solvent usage by 70%)

2. Smart choices in action

2.1 The golden balance between cost and effect

Advice for small and medium-sized enterprises:

• Food packaging: choose thermal ink (detection cost <$50)
• Drug labels: recommend chemical encryption ink (acid-base development)
• High-end goods: must use three-band fluorescent combination

![Comparison of anti-counterfeiting ink application scenarios]center]alt text=“Guide to selecting anti-counterfeiting solutions for different industries” keywords=“anti-counterfeiting ink application, ultraviolet fluorescence, thermal ink”]

2.2 My hard-won lesson

A case of anti-counterfeiting failure for a liquor brand in 2016:

• Mistake: using organic fluorescent ink alone
• Result: 40% of the labels faded after 3 months
• Improvement plan: combination of rare earth complexes and microtext

3. Future trends and innovative opportunities

3.1 A new era of smart anti-counterfeiting

AI-responsive ink being tested by our team:

• Features: mobile phone flashlight to stimulate specific spectra
• Advantages: real-time network verification (error rate 0.0001%)
• Cost: 25% lower than traditional solutions

3.2 An environmental revolution is underway

Latest breakthrough:

• Water-based rare earth ink has passed REACH certification
• Light curing system reduces energy consumption by 60
• COD value of printing wastewater < 50 mg/L

Personal insight:

I remember that in the anti-counterfeiting campaign in China, we successfully located the underground factory by analyzing the fluorescence decay curve of the counterfeit ink (a 15% decrease within 0.5 seconds). This has inspired us: dynamic anti-counterfeiting features will be the main battlefield in the next decade.

Interactive question:

What is the most ingenious anti-counterfeiting design you have seen in your daily life? Feel free to leave a comment and share your observations!

 

(1) Reference formula for UV fluorescent ink
Acrylic copolymer solution (MAA/MMA/EA/BA solid content 45%) 132
Tetraethylene glycol diacrylate 40
Photoinitiator 369 3
Fluorescent pigment 140
Low-melting point glass binder 3
Butanone 3
(2) Reference formula for UV security ink
EA 100
TPGDA 9
TMPTA 6
Other diluents 30~35
6512 5
Diphenylamine 0.3
Rare earth fluorescent complexes 1~3

A practical sourcing and formulation view of UV monomers and oligomers

Most successful UV formulations are built by choosing the backbone first and then tuning the reactive monomer package around the substrate, cure method, and end-use stress. That usually produces a more stable result than choosing materials by viscosity or price alone.

• Start from the final property target: hardness, flexibility, adhesion, and shrinkage rarely point to exactly the same raw-material package.
• Screen the reactive package as a whole: oligomer, monomer, and photoinitiator choices interact strongly in UV systems.
• Use viscosity as a tool, not the only decision rule: the easiest-processing material is not always the one that performs best after cure.
• Check the real substrate: plastic, metal, label film, gel systems, and coatings can reward very different polarity and cure-density balances.

Recommended product references

• CHLUMICRYL IBOA: A strong low-viscosity monomer reference when hardness and good flow both matter.
• CHLUMICRYL HPMA: Useful when more polarity and adhesion support are needed in the reactive package.
• CHLUMICRYL TMPTA: A standard reactive monomer benchmark when stronger crosslink density is required.
• CHLUMICRYL EO3-TMPTA: Helpful when viscosity and cure behavior need to be tuned around the base package.

FAQ for buyers and formulators

Can one UV monomer or resin solve every formulation problem?
Usually no. Commercially strong formulas depend on how several components work together to balance cure, adhesion, flow, and durability.

Why should monomers be screened together with oligomers?
Because monomers can change viscosity, cure rate, shrinkage, and substrate behavior enough to alter the final ranking of the same backbone resin.

Contact Us Now!

If you need Price and Sample Testing, please fill in your contact information in the form below, we will usually contact you within 24 hours. You could also email me info@longchangchemical.com during working hours ( 8:30 am to 6:00 pm UTC+8 Mon.~Sat. ) or use the website live chat to get prompt reply.

 

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Polythiol/Polymercaptan
DMES Monomer	Bis(2-mercaptoethyl) sulfide	3570-55-6
DMPT Monomer	THIOCURE DMPT	131538-00-6
PETMP Monomer		7575-23-7
PM839 Monomer	Polyoxy(methyl-1,2-ethanediyl)	72244-98-5
Monofunctional Monomer
HEMA Monomer	2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate	868-77-9
HPMA Monomer	2-Hydroxypropyl methacrylate	27813-02-1
THFA Monomer	Tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate	2399-48-6
HDCPA Monomer	Hydrogenated dicyclopentenyl acrylate	79637-74-4
DCPMA Monomer	Dihydrodicyclopentadienyl methacrylate	30798-39-1
DCPA Monomer	Dihydrodicyclopentadienyl Acrylate	12542-30-2
DCPEMA Monomer	Dicyclopentenyloxyethyl Methacrylate	68586-19-6
DCPEOA Monomer	Dicyclopentenyloxyethyl Acrylate	65983-31-5
NP-4EA Monomer	(4) ethoxylated nonylphenol	50974-47-5
LA Monomer	Lauryl acrylate / Dodecyl acrylate	2156-97-0
THFMA Monomer	Tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate	2455-24-5
PHEA Monomer	2-PHENOXYETHYL ACRYLATE	48145-04-6
LMA Monomer	Lauryl methacrylate	142-90-5
IDA Monomer	Isodecyl acrylate	1330-61-6
IBOMA Monomer	Isobornyl methacrylate	7534-94-3
IBOA Monomer	Isobornyl acrylate	5888-33-5
EOEOEA Monomer	2-(2-Ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate	7328-17-8
Multifunctional monomer
DPHA Monomer		29570-58-9
DI-TMPTA Monomer	DI(TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE) TETRAACRYLATE	94108-97-1
Acrylamide monomer
ACMO Monomer	4-acryloylmorpholine	5117-12-4
Di-functional Monomer
PEGDMA Monomer	Poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate	25852-47-5
TPGDA Monomer	Tripropylene glycol diacrylate	42978-66-5
TEGDMA Monomer	Triethylene glycol dimethacrylate	109-16-0
PO2-NPGDA Monomer	Propoxylate neopentylene glycol diacrylate	84170-74-1
PEGDA Monomer	Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate	26570-48-9
PDDA Monomer	Phthalate diethylene glycol diacrylate
NPGDA Monomer	Neopentyl glycol diacrylate	2223-82-7
HDDA Monomer	Hexamethylene Diacrylate	13048-33-4
EO4-BPADA Monomer	ETHOXYLATED (4) BISPHENOL A DIACRYLATE	64401-02-1
EO10-BPADA Monomer	ETHOXYLATED (10) BISPHENOL A DIACRYLATE	64401-02-1
EGDMA Monomer	Ethylene glycol dimethacrylate	97-90-5
DPGDA Monomer	Dipropylene Glycol Dienoate	57472-68-1
Bis-GMA Monomer	Bisphenol A Glycidyl Methacrylate	1565-94-2
Trifunctional Monomer
TMPTMA Monomer	Trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate	3290-92-4
TMPTA Monomer	Trimethylolpropane triacrylate	15625-89-5
PETA Monomer		3524-68-3
GPTA ( G3POTA ) Monomer	GLYCERYL PROPOXY TRIACRYLATE	52408-84-1
EO3-TMPTA Monomer	Ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate	28961-43-5
Photoresist Monomer
IPAMA Monomer	2-isopropyl-2-adamantyl methacrylate	297156-50-4
ECPMA Monomer	1-Ethylcyclopentyl Methacrylate	266308-58-1
ADAMA Monomer	1-Adamantyl Methacrylate	16887-36-8
Methacrylates monomer
TBAEMA Monomer	2-(Tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate	3775-90-4
NBMA Monomer	n-Butyl methacrylate	97-88-1
MEMA Monomer	2-Methoxyethyl Methacrylate	6976-93-8
i-BMA Monomer	Isobutyl methacrylate	97-86-9
EHMA Monomer	2-Ethylhexyl methacrylate	688-84-6
EGDMP Monomer	Ethylene glycol Bis(3-mercaptopropionate)	22504-50-3
EEMA Monomer	2-ethoxyethyl 2-methylprop-2-enoate	2370-63-0
DMAEMA Monomer	N,M-Dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate	2867-47-2
DEAM Monomer	Diethylaminoethyl methacrylate	105-16-8
CHMA Monomer	Cyclohexyl methacrylate	101-43-9
BZMA Monomer	Benzyl methacrylate	2495-37-6
BDDMP Monomer	1,4-Butanediol Di(3-mercaptopropionate)	92140-97-1
BDDMA Monomer	1,4-Butanedioldimethacrylate	2082-81-7
AMA Monomer	Allyl methacrylate	96-05-9
AAEM Monomer	Acetylacetoxyethyl methacrylate	21282-97-3
Acrylates Monomer
IBA Monomer	Isobutyl acrylate	106-63-8
EMA Monomer	Ethyl methacrylate	97-63-2
DMAEA Monomer	Dimethylaminoethyl acrylate	2439-35-2
DEAEA Monomer	2-(diethylamino)ethyl prop-2-enoate	2426-54-2
CHA Monomer	cyclohexyl prop-2-enoate	3066-71-5
BZA Monomer	benzyl prop-2-enoate	2495-35-4