From the second half of 2025 to mid-2026, the leading players in the field of security printing and security paper products will no longer focus solely on “who has the brightest hologram stickers and the thinnest security threads.” Instead, they will simultaneously work on two fronts: one is to develop physical security materials that can serve as intelligent carriers for digital identities, and the other is to create digital traceability platforms that can comply with national standards, the European Union’s DPP, and pharmaceutical traceability codes. According to public information from the China Security Printing Industry Association, Science and Technology Daily, and several leading enterprises, Zhongchao, Shanghai Tianchen, Zhaoxin, and Oracle Super Code are leading the transformation in China, while Avery Dennison, HP, and DNP are pushing RFID/DPP/microprinting to mass production in the international arena.

Domestic camp: From “anti-counterfeiting” to “managing the entire lifecycle.”

At a symposium of the China Anti-Counterfeiting Industry Association in February 2025, the Institute of Currency Printing and Technology made a clear statement: In response to sophisticated counterfeiting methods, currency-level anti-counterfeiting technologies are integrating digital encryption, artificial intelligence, and blockchain from “pilot” status into the main process. It has also proposed strengthening collaboration between industry partners and promoting a three-tiered synergy between materials, equipment, and digital technologies. Its high-end application cases, such as Olympic Games tickets and Expo tickets, have been adopted as models within the industry featuring “physical micro-nano structures + backend verification.”

Shanghai Tianchen’s approach is the most typical – shifting from a supplier of anti-counterfeiting labels to a provider of “anti-counterfeiting + packaging + chip” integrated solutions. In March 2025, it co-hosted a cosmetics packaging seminar with the Printing Committee Office of the Shanghai Packaging Association, integrating cloud film, micro-nano structures, and RFID security chips into bottle caps and cosmetic boxes. Its “RFID anti-counterfeiting security chip for smart bottle caps” has been certified by both the China Packaging Federation and the China Anti-Counterfeiting Industry Association. It incorporates dual algorithms: national secret SM7+ proprietary algorithm. Upon opening the bottle, it is destroyed, and the bottle, box, and carton all have multiple codes linked together. It has been used for projects such as Moutai, Wuliangye, Fenjiu, and Yili QQ Star milk powder. The Yili QQ Star milk powder canister features laser direct writing, positioning holography, and metal micro-nano structures. According to official reports, this has led to a 263% increase in sales for the single product.[Include citation: 19]

Zhaoxin Information focuses on “one item, one code + blockchain certificate.” In the Association’s Outstanding Case of 2025, Zhaoxin created holographic, three-color changing codes, random cluster patterns, and ultra-micro hidden numbers for Zhuangzidao seafood. They also developed a “one book, one code” system for Book Publishing House to trace the origin of books, thereby resolving two longstanding issues: book piracy and seafood substitution, using the same set of code middleware.

Oracle Super Code won two awards in 2026: it successfully underwent the re-evaluation as a national-level “key small and innovative enterprise” and the re-evaluation of a strong intellectual property enterprise in Hangzhou. Its “Mantianxing Blockchain + Nine-Code Fusion Engine” has been implemented in various scenarios such as Baise Agriculture and Forestry, Pin Pin Xiang Tea, and North China Fast Fire Suppression Counterfeiting, expanding its anti-counterfeiting efforts from “verifying authenticity” to “managing channels, promoting repeat purchases, and integrating with government regulatory systems.”

The concerted actions of leading domestic entities can be summarized in one sentence: substrate manufacturers acquire digital qualification certificates, code platforms supplement physical substrate materials, and ultimately converge at the level of “bottles/boxes/crates/pallets with multiple codes linked together.”

International Landscape: DPP regulations driving change, resurgence of RFID and microprinting.

The EU’s Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products mandates the launch of an official digital product passport (DPP) registration platform on July 19, 2026. The Textiles Authorization Act will be introduced in 2027, with a 18-month transition period. This timeline directly alters the roadmap for foreign giants.

Avery Dennison will open its first RFID inlay factory in Pune, India (AD Cobra for South Asia) in April 2025. In 2026, they will launch the ReadyDPP platform, which combines QR codes, NFC, RFID inlays, and cloud-based digital twins into a DPP solution for the fashion industry. Simultaneously, they will utilize Pragmatic Semiconductor’s FlexIC flexible NFC for large-scale integration, resulting in ultra-thin, bendable labels suitable for retail and healthcare applications.

HP is focusing on “digital printing machines + security media.” In 2026, Dscoop Europe released the Indigo 7K+ (Eco Print Mode saves 40%–60% ink), Indigo 18K Value Pack (printable up to 600μm, accepts trade cards/high-end paper boxes), and the PageWide T4250 HDR book publishing and large-scale inkjet printing. Also in the same month, at Sino-Label 2026 and the South China Printing Exhibition, HP’s Indigo 18K HD/6K+ directly listed “secure and anti-counterfeit printing” as one of its primary target scenarios, with AI Preflight+PrintOS helping to reduce waste rates and downtime.

DNP (Dai Nippon Printing) signed a micro-printing cross-licensing agreement with Kodak in February 2025 to jointly develop micro-text features for consumer packaging and identification documents. Nissha acquired the micro-printing assets of Imprimerie Sorel by the end of 2024, integrating securities-grade micro-printing capacity into its packaging lines. The rationale for the overseas side is straightforward: micro-texts combined with digital printing and RFID can simultaneously meet the verification requirements of brand owners, customs authorities, and e-commerce platforms.

Three industry signals behind the dynamics of the giants.

“Anti-counterfeit paper products” are being redefined – paper is no longer the end point but a three-dimensional substrate with embedded optical microstructures, pre-installed invisible coding areas, and digital private keys that can be bound. Tianchen’s bottle cap chip, Avery Dennison’s FlexIC, and HP’s 600μm printing capability all point to the same thing: substrate manufacturers must understand data.

Shift from cost-driven compliance to compliance-driven alternatives – comprehensive collection of pharmaceutical traceability codes (stable operation from January 2026), EU DPP, and the revision of national standards GB/T 19425/17002, making “do we have a code” no longer just an optional feature but a bidding threshold.

The concentration of companies in the head segment is rapidly increasing. Of the more than 5,000 anti-counterfeiting enterprises in China, only a few dozen can simultaneously provide “physical samples + national security qualifications + blockchain nodes + vertical industry case studies.” Orders are increasingly being directed towards these companies.

For small and medium-sized paper manufacturers specializing in security paper products, the dynamics of the giants are not distant noise: Tianchen’s bottle cap chip implies that “bottle cap manufacturers must also be able to handle RFC”; Zhaoxin’s code middleware implies that “paper mills must maintain APIs when shipping products”; and Avery Dennison’s DPP indicates that orders for export clothing accessories will, in turn, ask you, “Can this label be attached to a digital twin?”The minimum requirement for the next round of reshuffling is being able to communicate with the systems of leading giants, rather than just interacting with their printing presses.