Tobacco Asia

Tobacco Asia 53 Boegli.ch STORY TELL YOUR BRAND Boegli–Gravures can help you to develop subtle, refined and ingenious ways of elevating your brand's characteristics and enhance your consumer brand experience. Let us partner with you to bring new dimensions to your marketing. Boegli_ADtabacco_2024.indd 10 Boegli_ADtabacco_2024.indd 10 13/12/2023 18:20 13/12/2023 18:20 Established in 2005 and headquartered in the UK, Nautilus Ltd. has carved out a niche in the se- curity solutions landscape through its commitment to innovation and precision. Their specialty lies in creat- ing hidden image technology—features that are engi- neered to be both visually captivating and function- ally secure. These aren't your standard overt symbols or QR codes; Nautilus' features are embedded deep within the material of the product's packaging and are only visible through specific optical filters or lenses. Bridging creativity and practicality Nautilus' technical director Chris Goddard empha- sized to Tobacco Asia his company's dual focus: "We develop security features that are not just clever in de- sign, but engineered to function effectively under real- world constraints, be it material variability or produc- tion tolerances." Indeed, one of the company's core strengths is its ability to convert complex ideas into designs that hold up during high-speed printing, die- cutting, and embossing processes. Whether it's the un- even surface of corrugated board or the reflectivity of foil substrates, Nautilus tailors each security element to meet environmental and mechanical demands. Working with clients from both private and government sectors, Nautilus occasionally encounters proposals that push the boundaries of what's techni- cally feasible. "Yes, some designs are too fine or de- Optical Tax Stamps: A Smart Defense Against the Illicit Tobacco Trade As global demand for tobacco tax compliance intensifies, optical secu- rity technologies (OST) are emerging as vital tools in the fight against counterfeiting, smuggling, and revenue loss. With an estimated 12% of global tobacco products consumed illicitly—equating to 400–460 billion cigarettes annually—tax stamps have become indispensable to authori- ties and brand owners alike. "These stamps offer a dual function," noted Dr. Mark Deakes, chairman of the International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA), "They not only authenticate products but also act as a visible deterrent against criminal activity." Evolving far beyond traditional holography, to- day's tax stamps integrate micro lenses, color shifting inks, structured color, and plasmonic technologies, providing complex, tamper-resistant visual effects that are difficult to replicate. Innovations like India's C-DIT THTT stamp and a biodegradable, silicone-coated variant used in northern India's Ladakh region demon- strate how OST can balance robust security with sustainability. Mean- while, solutions from companies like Kurz employ proprietary Kinegram ® technology that incorporates over 30 security elements into a single design. "Optical Secure Technologies are no longer limited to holograms," said Dr. Deakes. "They now serve as digital bridges linking physical authentication to track-and-trace systems while meeting sustainability goals." As more nations recognize the urgent need to adopt or upgrade tax stamp programs, OSTs present a future-forward solution to uphold compliance, protect consumers, and recoup billions in lost tax revenues.

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