Tickets for events like concerts, sports games, and more are often targets for counterfeiters who make illegitimate copies and sell them, costing venues and organizers significant revenue. Fortunately, there are ways to make tickets incredibly difficult or near impossible to accurately duplicate to deter counterfeiters. In this article, we will explore some of the most effective techniques and technologies used today to create highly secure and uncopiable tickets.
Use Thermal Printing
One of the best ways to make tickets that cannot be easily copied is to use thermal printing technology. Thermal printers use heat to print on special heat-sensitive paper. When thermal paper is photocopied, the copy comes out completely blank. This makes thermal printing the ideal anti-counterfeiting solution for tickets.
Venues can invest in thermal ticket printers and thermal paper rolls to print all their tickets in-house. The thermal printers quickly and efficiently print event details, QR codes, barcodes, and more onto the special paper. The end result is highly secure tickets that cannot be photocopied or scanned. Even taking a picture of a thermal printed ticket will not properly replicate it.
Thermal printing has become very popular for printing tickets and receipts in recent years specifically because it prevents replication and fraud. The blank copies act as proof that someone attempted to duplicate the thermal printout.
Advantages of Thermal Ticket Printing
– Tickets cannot be photocopied or scanned
– Special heat-sensitive paper is required
– Photographs and digital copies appear blank
– Difficult to fully replicate the original ticket
– Provides instant proof of attempted counterfeiting
– Thermal printers are affordable and widely available
Use Holograms
Holograms are another great way to make tickets impossible to duplicate accurately. Holograms are images that appear three-dimensional when tilted and cannot be copied or scanned properly because they use complex patterns of laser light interference.
Event organizers can have custom holograms made to put on their tickets. The holograms act as a visual anti-counterfeiting measure. Even if someone was able to replicate the rest of the ticket design, the complex hologram would be incredibly difficult to duplicate without the original source files and materials.
Holograms provide some key benefits as an anti-counterfeiting tactic:
Benefits of Using Holograms on Tickets
– Cannot be scanned or photocopied accurately
– Looks 3D and has depth when tilted
– Extremely difficult to recreate without specialty tools
– Can have custom designs or logos
– Provides visual proof of authenticity
– Can be paired with other techniques like thermal printing
The unique visual nature of holograms lets consumers, vendors, and staff instantly identify real tickets from fakes just by looking for the hologram.
Use Sequential Numbering
Numbering tickets sequentially during the printing process is another tactic to make duplication harder. Thermal printers and specialized software can automatically print a sequential number on each ticket.
The numbers will be in a proper sequence like 001, 002, 003, 004, etc. This makes the tickets distinguishable and trackable. If the numbers are not in the correct sequenced order, it signals the ticket is likely a fake.
Venues keep internal records of the sequence the tickets were printed in. Staff can then verify tickets by checking the number against the verified sequence list.
Sequential numbering also makes it extremely difficult for counterfeiters to print fake tickets that don’t have continuity problems with the numbering. They would need specialized software and hardware to print sequential codes properly.
Benefits of Sequential Numbering
– Provides each ticket with a unique ID number
– Printers can automatically sequence the numbers
– Makes tickets identifiable and traceable
– Discontinuity in sequence indicates fakes
– Hard for counterfeiters to accurately replicate sequencing
– Staff can verify against the venue’s sequence records
Use Secure Barcodes
Barcodes are very useful to include on tickets as an anti-counterfeiting tool. Special secure barcodes can store important encrypted data and digital signatures that make duplication virtually impossible.
For example, a QR barcode on the ticket can link to the purchaser’s info and the ticket’s serial number data. Without access to this digital information, a fake barcode would easily be identified at the venue.
Barcodes also allow for easy scanning for visual verification. If a barcode doesn’t properly verify with the expected data, the ticket can be identified as a counterfeit. Certain digital barcodes are more secure than others. For example, QR barcodes are more complex than standard UPC barcodes.
Benefits of Secure Barcodes on Tickets
– Barcodes can encrypt verification data
– Links to ticket details and purchaser info
– Unreadable or incorrect data indicates a fake
– Easily scanned for instant digital verification
– More complex barcodes like QR are highly secure
– Adds an extra layer of security against copying
By pairing anti-copying printing methods like thermal paper with secure barcodes, tickets become incredibly hard to duplicate with any accuracy.
Use Watermarks
Subtle watermarks are a great way to improve ticket security against copying. Watermarks make portions of the ticket translucent so light passes through slightly. This effect does not replicate well through scanning or photocopying.
Watermarks are applied during the printing process. Custom designs can be created, like the venue or event logo and name. Without access to the original printing source files and materials, watermarks are impossible to recreate accurately.
Staff members can hold tickets up to the light to verify the expected watermark is present. If not, the ticket can be identified as a potential fake. The transparency effect of watermarks just doesn’t copy well, making them a great anti-counterfeiting feature.
Benefits of Watermarks on Tickets
– Portions of the ticket become semi-transparent
– Light passing through watermarks does not copy well
– Can have custom watermark designs
– Easily verified by holding ticket up to a light
– Lack of correct watermark indicates counterfeit
– Difficult to recreate without the source printing files
Watermarks are a simple but effective way to add quick visual verification. Paired with other techniques, they make replicating tickets extremely difficult.
Use Secure Card Stock
An important part of making tickets that cannot be copied is using proper secure card stock. Standard copy paper is easy for counterfeiters to purchase and replicate.
Event organizers should specifically source more secure card stock materials to print tickets on. Options include:
– Heavy weight paper: Makes the ticket feel more substantial and durable.
– Textured card stock: Has a rough texture instead of smooth.
– Colored paper: Not standard white. Colored paper is harder to duplicate accurately.
– Synthetic paper: Made from plastic polymers instead of wood pulp. More tear resistant.
The right card stock will be hard for most counterfeiters to source. The unique textures and colors also do not replicate well through scanning, photocopying, or photography. Staff can identify fakes by the look and feel of the ticket paper.
Benefits of Secure Card Stock
– Made from materials like heavy paper or plastic polymers
– Often has textured surfaces instead of smooth
– Colored paper rather than common white
– Difficult for counterfeiters to source and duplicate
– Does not copy well through scanning or photography
– Provides a quick tactile way for staff to spot fakes
When paired with other effective anti-copying measures, secure card stock makes creating counterfeit tickets very challenging.
Use Multiple Techniques Together
For optimal security, venues should utilize multiple anti-copying techniques together. Relying on just one measure leaves more vulnerability.
Combining tactics like holograms, thermal printing, and secure card stock exponentially increases security. It becomes virtually impossible for counterfeiters to replicate every technique accurately.
Venues can even take it a step further by using sequentially numbered tickets printed on specially sourced colored card stock with custom holograms and hi-tech QR barcodes. This layered security approach makes copying tickets unrealistic and not worth the effort.
Staff can also perform multi-step verification by checking the:
- Paper weight and texture
- Printing technique like thermal
- Holograms
- Sequential number
- Barcode
With so many security checks in place, counterfeit tickets can be easily identified.
Benefits of Combining Multiple Anti-Copying Techniques
– Makes tickets exponentially harder to duplicate accurately
– Allows for multi-step verification by staff
– Uses layered security rather than relying on one tactic
– Custom combinations can be created based on needs
– Requires counterfeiters to replicate more materials and processes
– Provides the highest level of anti-counterfeiting protection
Train Staff on Security Features
When employing anti-copying techniques for tickets, staff training is crucial. Employees need to fully understand the security features to properly identify real versus fake tickets.
Some ways venues can train staff include:
– Providing visual guides detailing security features
– Hands-on exercises with real tickets to learn look and feel
– Classes on how thermal printing, holograms, and barcodes work
– Testing staff knowledge with example real and fake tickets
– Regular refresher training as new security tactics are added
Well-trained staff are the ones validating and accepting tickets, so they must be experts on authenticity. Providing the tools and knowledge needed makes the security features more worthwhile.
Use Secure Online Sales
Another important way venues protect tickets from duplication is selling them securely online. Only using reputable and protected online ticketing platforms greatly reduces risk.
Options like requiring user accounts or capping ticket sales per person also help. Double-checking shipping addresses against payment info also filters out many counterfeiters attempting bulk purchases.
Secure official ticketing websites supply consumers the right tickets straight from the source. This avoids the risk of fakes being sold on the secondary market. It also provides consumer protections around fraud.
Get Legal Protections
Ticket duplication violates copyrights and intellectual property laws. Venues should ensure they legally register copyrights for ticket designs, watermarks, and other IP.
Working with lawyers to issue DMCA takedown notices against duplicates being sold online is important. Venues can also pursue legal action against large counterfeiting operations damaging their business.
Having proper legal protections provides more avenues to get counterfeit tickets removed from the market when they do emerge. Lawsuits act as a deterrent as well for would-be ticket fakers.
Conclusion
Making event tickets impossible to copy takes some careful planning and execution. However, the right combination of professional printing methods, security features, online precautions, staff training, and legal protections can make successful counterfeiting very difficult.
Thermal paper, custom holograms, special card stock, and sequentially numbered QR code tickets verify authenticity from all angles. Fans get to enjoy peace of mind with their tickets, while venues limit lost profits from copying. With a sound anti-counterfeiting strategy in place, organizing a successful event becomes much easier.