FAQs

A security seal is a device used to seal goods or packaging to protect items from theft or tampering. Sealed enclosures can take many forms – including sacks, truck trailers, shipping containers and tote boxes – but what all enclosures share in common is that they encase sensitive items such as goods in transit and are the appropriate point to seal against unauthorised access. See our guide to seals for more info.

When deciding on what type of seal to use, you must decide how the seal will be affixed and the level of security that is appropriate for the situation. Do you want the seal to provide a visual indicator of tampering only (an "indicative seal"), or do you need something which will act as actual barrier to entry (a "barrier seal")?

After deciding on the level of security needed you should consider the most suitable size and strength required. All our seals are tested to show their tensile break strengths in KGF. Some seals are designed to be broken apart by hand, for example our Fire Seals, whilst other options will need scissors, tin snips or bolt cutters.

You will also need to consider the information you need to be printed on the seal. Is the flag and printing area big enough for the information you need to record? If you are threading the seal strap through an aperture, what length and thickness is appropriate?

Choosing security seals can be tricky, and no one wants to make a costly mistake. Our guide to types of security seals can help you, and if you are unsure one of our knowledgeable sales advisors will be more than happy to help.

Security seals as standard are uniquely numbered - this is so that one seal cannot be simply cut off and replaced with another with the same number. We maintain a strict record of all of the seal markings we manufacture, and never manufacture the same number twice unless this is expressly required by the customer for their own purposes. For more information see Marking and Customisation section below.

 Seals should be stored in a dry area out of direct sunlight, between 15-25 degrees Celsius.

The majority of the products we supply are either manufactured or printed in the UK. We have invested in extensive UK tooling, equipment and printing capabilities over the last 15 years to ensure we can respond to customer demand in a quick and flexible manner. 

If UK production is an important requirement for you then we will be more than happy to guide you to suitable products to suit your needs.

Under international shipping law, all shipping containers moved internationally must be sealed by an ISO17712 and CT-PAT approved high security barrier seal, resistant to tampering. Our high security bolt seals seals all meet this standard for international freight movements. Cable seals with tail diameters over 3.25mm also meet this standard.

Generally all-in-one moulded seals will be the most cost-effective type of seal to give you a level of tamper evident protection; examples include our TabLOCK and Tracewaste seals. The Security Seal Category section of our site shows you indicative starting prices for seals, and generally our lowest priced items are placed near the top of our product pages.

Our UniStrap 412 seal has a break strength of 40KGF. You can easily use the "Seal Break Strength" filtering at the top of our Security Seals page in order to refine the exact strength of seal you require.

A fixed length seal is different to a pull through seal as it creates a fixed loop. These are ideal if you don’t need something to sit tightly around a product, and are particularly suited for sealing truck / container doors when in motion, so that they don't break accidently in transit. See our truck security blog page for more information on why a fixed-length seal is often the best solution.

Generally our MOQ is a carton quantity, which for plastic seals is usually 1,000pcs, and for metal cable and bolt seals generally 250 or 500pcs. Minimum order information is normally displayed on respective product pages; specialist or bespoke items may require alternative MOQ's, so please enquire with us for particular requirements.

We don't have one standard price list, as there are so many different combinations of size, length, colour and print options. We prefer to quote on an individual basis. We provide very fast quotations by email or telephone based on customer requirements.

You can place orders online for most of our products. For more complicated, bespoke orders, or if you need some guidance on possibilities, you can order through one of our sales associates [email protected]

We do not allow collection of parcels but we can facilitate pallet collections of this is applicable to your order. Please contact us for more information.

As security seals are designed to permanently and visually void once opened or tampered with, they are single-use by design and cannot be re-used. We do however have ranges of security products which can be used multiples times, such as our reusable security bags.

Generally we print our seals using one of three methodologies: laser-print, thermal transfer print or hot-foil print.

Laser prints are resistant to solvents, scratching and abrasion. Because of this they are a very secure method of print. Laser prints appear as a dark grey burn in the surface material. Thermal transfer prints are resistant to scratching but not solvents or alcohol; because of this they are not recommended on higher security seals, but offer great print contrast and barcode scan success rates. Hot foil prints are resistant to alcohol and scratching. They have a medium resistance to solvents. More information is available on our Making your Mark blog post.

Yes absolutely - we recommend customisation as a way to increase the uniqueness and security of the seals you purchase from us. We can custom print most of our products with logos, text, sequential numbering, barcodes and QR codes. Full details of the customisation available on our security seals is available from our Making your Mark blog post.

Yes. We regularly ship goods all over the world. Please ask for our shipping rates. 

Many of our items are available from stock and can be despatched overnight. For personalised seals lead time will depend on quantity, colour and type of personalisation required.

Yes absolutely, the majority of our seals are recyclable as they are manufactured from popular and easily recyclable materials including polypropylene, aluminium and copper materials.

Yes we now offer many of our products with recycled content plastic material, or produced with special additives which vastly increase the biodegradation of seals when they are disposed of. Our eco-friendly security seal category outlines the products we currently offer in these combinations - many of these are stock items available for immediate despatch. 

Care should be taken when applying and removing all security seals. Appropriate tools should be used (tin snips, bolt cutters, wire cutters), and gloves and eye protection should be worn where appropriate.