Standardization of taggant signatures using transfer images

A spectrally responsive transfer system, comprising:

• a) a taggant system comprising one or more taggants, said one or more taggants exhibiting spectral characteristics in response to at least one illumination;
• b) a spectral code associated with the spectral characteristics of the taggant system;
• c) at least one transfer device releasably supported on a carrier, each transfer device comprising a spectrally responsive transferable body releasably supported in an upside down orientation on the carrier in a manner to allow the transferable body to be transferred from the carrier to a substrate, wherein the transferable body comprises:
• 1) at least one spectral ink layer that is releasably coupled to the carrier, wherein the at least one spectral ink layer incorporates the taggant system;
• 2) at least one base color layer provided over the at least one spectral ink layer such that the at least one base color layer overlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the at least one base color underlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the substrate;
• 3) at least one metal foil layer provided over the at least one base color layer such that the metal foil layer overlies the at least one base color layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the metal foil layer underlies the at least one base color layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the substrate;
• and
• 4) an adhesive layer provided over the metal foil layer such that the adhesive layer overlies the metal foil layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the adhesive layer underlies the metal foil layer and couples the metal foil layer to the substrate when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier to the substrate.

A spectral signature system, comprising:

• a) a taggant system comprising one or more taggants, said one or more taggants exhibiting spectral characteristics in response to at least one illumination;
• b) a spectral code associated with the spectral characteristics of the taggant system;
• c) at least one transfer device releasably supported on a carrier, each transfer device comprising a transferable body releasably supported in an upside down orientation on the carrier in a manner to allow the transferable body to be transferred to a substrate, wherein the transferable body comprises:
• 1) at least one spectral ink layer that is releasably coupled to the carrier, wherein the at least one spectral ink layer incorporates the taggant system;
• 2) at least one base color layer provided on the at least one spectral ink layer such that the at least one base color layer overlies the
• 3) at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the at least one base color underlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the substrate;
• 4) at least one metal foil layer provided over the at least one base color layer such that the metal foil layer overlies the at least one base color layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the metal foil layer underlies the at least one base color layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the substrate;
• and
• 5) an adhesive layer provided over the metal foil layer such that the adhesive layer overlies the metal foil layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the adhesive layer underlies the metal foil layer and couples the metal foil layer to the substrate when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier to the substrate;
• d) an illumination system that emits at least one illumination in a manner such that when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto a substrate to become a transferred body and is illuminated by an illumination, the transferred body emits a spectral response that encodes the spectral code;
• e) at least one detector that detects the spectral response;
• and
• f) a control system comprising program instructions that evaluate information comprising the spectral response to determine information indicative of whether the spectral code is detected.

A method of making a spectrally coded substrate, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing at least one transfer device releasably supported on a carrier, each transfer device comprising a transferable body releasably supported in an upside down orientation on the carrier in a manner to allow the transferable body to be transferred to a substrate, wherein the transferable body comprises:
• 1) at least one spectral ink layer that is releasably coupled to the carrier, wherein the at least one spectral ink layer incorporates the taggant system, said taggant system comprising one or more taggants;
• 2) at least one metal foil layer provided over the at least one spectral ink layer such that the metal foil layer overlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the metal foil layer underlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the additional label;
• and
• 3) an adhesive layer provided over the metal foil layer such that the adhesive layer overlies the metal foil layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the adhesive layer underlies the metal foil layer and couples the metal foil layer to the substrate when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier to the additional label, and
• 4) at least one base color layer provided between the at least one spectral ink layer and the at least one metal foil layer such that the at least one base color layer overlies the at least one metal foil layer after the spectrally coded transfer film is transferred from the carrier to a substrate;
• and
• b) transferring a transferable body associated with the substrate from the carrier onto the substrate to thereby provide the spectrally coded substrate.

A method of making a spectrally coded label, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing at least one transfer device releasably supported on a carrier, each transfer device comprising a transferable body releasably supported in an upside down orientation on a carrier in a manner to allow the transferable body to be transferred to the label, wherein the transferable body comprises:
• 1) at least one spectral ink layer that is releasably coupled to the carrier, wherein the at least one spectral ink layer incorporates the taggant system, said taggant system comprising one or more taggants;
• 2) at least one metal foil layer provided over the at least one spectral ink layer such that the metal foil layer overlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the metal foil layer underlies the at least one spectral ink layer when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier onto the label;
• and
• 3) an adhesive layer provided over the metal foil layer such that the adhesive layer overlies the metal foil layer when the transferable body is releasably supported on the carrier and such that the adhesive layer underlies the metal foil layer and couples the metal foil layer to the substrate when the transferable body is transferred from the carrier to the label, and
• 4) at least one base color layer provided between the at least one spectral ink layer and the at least one metal foil layer such that the at least one base color layer overlies the at least one metal foil layer after the spectrally coded transfer film is transferred from the carrier to a substrate;
• and
• b) transferring a transferable body associated with the label from the carrier onto the label to thereby provide the spectrally coded label.