Locking and sealing devices are used to reduce losses in many areas of human activity. For the same purpose, there are stickers-seals that appeared in very distant times. Merchants thus protected their goods, a correspondence and various stores were sealed with something like a sticker. Over time, materials and technologies have changed somewhat, but the tasks that are set for sticker-seals have remained the same.
Seal classification
They can be classified according to the load they carry. A seal can only act as an indicator of integrity violation or unauthorized access and not carry any power load. Such devices are called indicator devices. Such seals are removed using ordinary scissors or manually, made of plastic, for example, number colored seals or the usual lead ones. Protective tapes and stickers also belong to indicator sealing devices. That is, seal stickers indicate whether the protected object has been opened. Due to the fact that they are irreversibly violated, it is impossible to restore the integrity of the joint.
Power seals also provide containment against unauthorized entry and are opened with the help of special tools, such as metal bolt seals.
Where seal stickers are applied
There are a lot of applications. Indicator seals-stickers are used for sealing small objects (office equipment, devices, sensors, containers, safes, cabinets, various packaging and envelopes). An individual number on each sticker does not allow replacing it. The sizes of these stickers are small, they are simple and effective to use.
You can stick indicator seals not only on smooth surfaces, but also on most rough and even uneven surfaces: metal, cardboard, wood, plastic. They are resistant to moisture and chemicals in a very wide temperature range, from -40 to + 100 ° C.
When the sticker is torn off, an inscription appears, which then does not disappear. Seal stickers are of two types. The inscription may appear on the seal itself or on the surface on which it was pasted.
As for the inscription, it can be, for example, the English version of “OPEN”, or in Russian “OPENED”. It is not possible to remove it even with the help of chemical detergents.
Principle of operation and use
The structure of the material from which seal seals are made for sealing various surfaces includes two layers. Glue, which connects the surface and the sticker, much stronger than the thin and sensitive to the effects of the upper indicator layer of the seal.
Installation does not require special surface preparation and fixtures. It is enough to remove the protective substrate and stick the seal at the junction, then smooth it gently so that there are no air bubbles.
The sealing surface must be clean, metal and plastic covers and parts are usually degreased. In addition, you need to install the sticker at positive temperature, so that the adhesive layer seizes.
On the indicator surface of the sticker there is a number that is entered in the accompanying documentation or journal. Manufacturers can apply the logo of, say, the equipment manufacturer on the same surface.
Varieties
Seals-stickers for sealing can differ in the properties of the adhesive base, which is intended for smooth or rough surfaces, porous or not.
They differ in terms of validity, as they can be intended for long or short-term use.
Not all seal stickers are equally resistant to temperature fluctuations, moisture and exposure to chemical media.
Recently, two types of stickers for visual visibility have appeared. Seals can be opaque and transparent (invisible). Transparent labels are applied visible in ultraviolet rays or micro-labels where the protected object can be opened.
Seal stickers differ in the material of manufacture. They can be paper, which are not always used for aesthetic reasons, although they are resistant to accidental deformations and temperature extremes. In addition, paper seals can be easily removed without damage from very smooth surfaces. Thin film stickers are sensitive to high temperatures and physical impact. Combined sticker seals that are destroyed when you try to remove them are more effective.
Metallic stickers have already appeared today, which are used in trade for the most expensive products.
Sticker Seal Manufacturers
Companies that manufacture access control systems also produce stickers. Usually in the list of products in addition to them there is an indicator tape, antimagnetic seal sticker, safe packages.
Such serious enterprises have many certificates for various types of products. And, choosing a supplier, you must see these certificates.
Making seal stickers is a certified activity. The certificate of conformity is issued for sealing indicator stickers of types P, PS, PSt, P, STELS, STELS PRO for different surfaces and various degrees of protection. A separate document is issued to enterprises for the manufacture of antimagnetic seal stickers, as they are made according to other regulatory documents.
Anti-magnetic seal stickers
Such safety devices are installed at metering stations, for example, ordinary household electric meters, the readings of which can be changed under the influence of a magnetic field.
The anti-magnetic seal sticker is a plate in the center of which is a protected magnetic capsule in which the liquid is in the form of a drop. Under the influence of a magnetic field, a drop spreads over the capsule and contaminates its cavity.
Usually, a tear-off element with a number is made on the seal, which is also applied to the main part of the sticker. When installing the seal, the tear-off part is pasted into the accounting journal.
An anti-magnetic sticker, like a regular one, when you try to remove it, leaves an inscription that appears. In addition, slots are usually performed on it, which increase the sensitivity to peeling.
The magnetic indicator can be stored indefinitely, but the manufacturer gives a two-year warranty on the entire sticker.
The dimensions of the sticker allow you to install such a seal in a very limited space. It can be operated in the temperature range from -60 to + 80 ° C and is usually resistant even to oils and sea water.
Number Seals Stickers
The number sticker seal is usually performed in a fairly large range of sizes from a two-layer material. Each product has an individual number that cannot be erased and an inscription warning about sealing. The number on the sticker is unique. Firstly, it simplifies the registration of seals, and secondly, it helps control, since the number is entered in a special journal.
The manufacturer can order not only the number, but also other images on the labels, for example, the company logo or barcode, leave special fields for signatures or other information.
Numbered stickers are usually made of polymeric materials, can be blue or red (they are visible on any surface) or can be made in other colors at the request of the customer. They need to be glued at temperatures above zero, and operated in the range from minus 60 to plus 60 degrees Celsius. For the number stickers that seal the doors of cabinets and safes daily, it is important that there are no traces when removing the seal. As a last resort, they are removed with a damp cloth.
Number stickers are packed in rolls of five hundred or a thousand pieces. With their help, office equipment and ATMs, safes and switchboards, retail equipment, doors of offices and retail premises, containers are sealed.
Using Warranty Labels
Warranty stickers-seals or, as they are also called, access control stickers protect against unauthorized entry into internal elements and components of equipment, household and electronic equipment. They can also protect devices from tampering. To ensure guarantee control, they mark various microcircuits, components of mobile phones, and auto parts.
Manufacturers or sellers use self-adhesive warranty stickers to identify products or products.
Such sealing devices allow manufacturers to be sure that the buyer has not tried to repair the device or improve the characteristics of the device, and to reduce the cost of maintenance and replacement of goods that fail due to the fault of consumers.
The upper part of the warranty labels is made of paper, film or foil, sensitive to external influences. The strong adhesive base does not allow you to detach the sticker from the surface, so it can only be destroyed without the possibility of recovery.
Usually, the logo of the manufacturer and a warning about the termination of the guarantee are applied on the warranty seals if the integrity of the sticker is violated.
Warranty stickers during operation withstand high temperatures of up to one hundred degrees so that there is no temptation for craftsmen to remove the sticker and heat it. However, in any case, it will still not be possible to fix the sticker in its original place.
Indicator sealing stickers are convenient and quite cheap. If with their help it is impossible to prevent hacking, then you won’t fail to notice in any way. And this is the main goal of such devices.