Scratch-Off Hang Tags: Promotions, Verification Codes and Compliance

A scratch-off hang tag leaves an opaque coated panel on the face of the tag; the customer scratches it away to reveal a code or a QR symbol underneath. Brands use it for two jobs: a promotional draw, where scratching shows First Prize or Thank You, and authentication, where the panel hides a unique code to check on the brand site. One tag carries both the brand image and the entry point to an interaction.

This guide sets out the layer build of a scratch-off tag, the printing and die-cutting limits of the scratch panel, the promotion wording that has to appear on the tag itself, five failure modes we see most often, and six details to state up front so the artwork does not go through two rounds of revision.

When the extra step earns its cost

Three needs justify it: a promotion with a fixed campaign window, an authorised-dealer system where channel authenticity has to be proven, and brands that want first-party customer data. For a launch, a store anniversary or a capsule collaboration — events with a media budget and an end date — the panel turns a glance at the tag into a store visit or a scan.

The reverse holds too: on a core-line product with no campaign behind it and no authentication need, a scratch layer only adds cost and after-sales work. A panel that opens onto nothing tends to end up as a complaint on social media.

Layer build and material choices

Layer	Function	Common practice and what to watch
Face paper	Carries the artwork and the scratch build	Art paper at 300–350 gsm or folding boxboard at 300 gsm; the fibre must be even or the surface furs when scratched
Barrier primer	Stops the scratch ink soaking into the fibre	Screen-printed only in the panel; skip it and the code lifts off with the ink
Variable data	A unique code or QR per piece	Inkjet or laser; each piece unique, with a database kept for reconciliation
Scratch ink	Hides the code until scratched	Silver, gold or matte silver scratch ink; opacity must be complete — any code visible against a lamp is scrap
Protective layer	Abrasion resistance, moisture barrier and hand feel	Matte lamination or spot UV; it must stop short of the panel, or the code can never be scratched

The order is fixed: artwork first, then variable data, then the scratch ink and the protective layer. The scratch ink has to sit outermost and be fully cured; invert any step and the code tears away with the coating.

Panel size, position and process limits

Allow at least 20 × 8 mm, with characters no smaller than 2 mm high. If the panel holds a QR symbol, keep it at 12 mm square or larger with a 2 mm quiet zone. Below that, customers reach for a coin, and the odds of scratching through the paper climb sharply.

Place it in the lower middle of the tag, clear of the punch hole, the die-cut edge and any fold line, at least 5 mm in from the trim. A shaped panel — circle, shield, logo silhouette — needs its own screen, so tooling cost and minimum quantity rise; on a tight budget a rounded rectangle looks much the same in the finished piece.

Promotion compliance: what the tag itself must say

Draws are regulated as promotional activity in most markets and usually require the campaign material to state the name and full legal entity of the organiser, the start and end dates, the prizes and the odds, how and by when to claim, the address of the full rules, and that no purchase is necessary. If the tag is too small, at minimum give the rules link and say where the details sit.

Three mistakes come up again and again: stating the odds as guaranteed or glossing over them, which counts as misleading advertising; campaign dates that do not match the actual shipping window, so early or late goods carry a draw that has already closed; and no age statement where minors may take part. Authentication codes carry a further risk — a fixed code with no verification backend behind it resolves to a static page and stops nobody.

Five failures that show up most often

• It will not scratch: the ink is too thick or under-cured, so the nail lifts powder and the code stays blurred. Control screen thickness and drying temperature, and hand-scratch a sample before dispatch.
• It scratches through: face paper under 250 gsm, or a panel too close to the die-cut edge, and the whole corner tears. Go to 300 gsm and keep a 5 mm margin.
• The code is buried: full-sheet lamination or varnish runs over the panel and the code reads as a smear. The panel needs a knock-out, drawn as a separate mask at platemaking.
• Duplicated codes: variable data went out without per-piece verification, two garments reveal the same code and the reconciliation exposes it. Sample against the database after inkjet and export a batch reconciliation report.
• Stack sticking: piled flat, the scratch layer presses into the back of the sheet above, and in humid season the carton opens onto smeared marks. Add interleaving paper, switch to individually wrapped pieces, or lower the stack.

Six details to settle before the quotation

• Size and paper weight, and whether both sides are printed.
• Panel shape, area and position — circled on the artwork if possible.
• Coating colour: silver, gold or matte silver, and whether it should echo the tag palette.
• What sits underneath: text only, a QR symbol, or both.
• Total variable volume, and whether a verification backend and code range already exist.
• Campaign dates, sales channels and delivery date, which decide between phased and single-run inkjet.

On quantity, the scratch process runs in the same batch as a standard tag, so trial volumes are workable; at campaign scale, one screen and one inkjet pass is the cheapest route. Send the rules page link with the enquiry and we can check the QR destination at sampling, rather than discovering after launch that it points at an old page.

Related reading

• Hang Tag Anti-Counterfeiting: From Overt Features to Traceable Codes
• QR Codes on Hang Tags: Traceability, Authentication and Campaigns
• Hang Tag Special Effects: Glow, Thermochromic and Scented Inks
• Back to all trims FAQ articles