HP, the technology major is now aggressively promoting its digital printing product, HP Indigo press ws4500, which it claims can prevent counterfeiting to a great extent.

In a bid to provide digital printing solutions for the biggest challenge faced by pharmaceutical industry, HP conducted an event addressing the concerns. The event hosted in association with SGRE labels, one of the leading names in digital print service providers for labels and packaging catering to the pharma sector. A panel discussion with industry experts from Hindustan Unilever, HP, some brand owners emphasized on the need of authentication for drugs and create awareness for the same among the people.
 
According to HP one way to fight counterfeit of any kind of product is to ensure better packaging.
 
According to  Appadurai, Country Head,  Indigo & Inkjet Press Solutions, Graphics Solutions Business, HP IPG India the  level of pharmaceutical counterfeiting is approximately 5-10% of world trade. This represents a direct revenue loss of $24-$49B for the industry. Keeping this in mind HP is trying to set a new standard by driving the digital shift. Digital variable data printing helps meet expanding market needs and enable solutions that exceed heightened security requirements that too with no high cost attached and thus it is the right time to “ Go Digital’ and do more with less.
 
This is where digital printing is the  need of the hour. In the label printing sector, HP Indigo presses offer a range of solutions to combat counterfeiting. They range from the relatively basic bar-coding, numbering and personalization, to more elaborate solutions using UV techniques, microtext, 2-D barcodes, color coding, and smart packaging solutions, he added
 
A third-generation mature press WS 4500 is a high-productivity, cost-effective digital solution. HP Indigo press has many advantages over conventional printing, a number of which has an impact on the environment. The manufacture of gravure cylinders is costly and requires the use of more energy and solvents than digital printing.
 
The label and packaging digital solutions offers HP Indigo customers to efficiently produce functional, versatile and affordable smart labels and packaging for use in anti-counterfeiting processes and supply-chain management operations, particularly in pharmaceutical pedigree label and packaging environments requiring full serialization.
 
Digital printing promises to be a superior weapon in the fight against counterfeiting, however its high cost deters mass adoption. But considering the benefits, it does seem to be worth every penny, pointed out Appadurai,
 According to HP, spread of spurious, counterfeit and substandard drugs is a modern day menace which has been recognized internationally, especially in India reports a  share of 75 per cent in the total fake drugs supplied all over the world. Among the spurious drugs commonly found in the Indian market are fake insulin which may be taken by an unsuspecting diabetic, fake chemotherapy that may be administered to a final-stage cancer patient, the use of chalk instead of paracetemol in painkillers, or the use of coloured tap-water presented as cough syrups without any effect until it is too late. Companies like GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Enosss and Piramal Healthcare have come out with 3D holograms to prove the authenticity to protect the health of people.