Holoseal

Holoseals were plastic stickers manufactured by MerenData. They were used by Imperial Customs to indicate which cargo had passed inspection. One side of the holoseal was imprinted with a holographic Imperial crest, and the other was coated with adhesive. The holoseal was applied to cargo containers, usually along the seam between the body and the lid. Special holoseals were available for liquid containers, larger containers and even collars used for livestock, plant, and slave transport.

Each holoseal had an implanted register code that could be read by Imperial Customs' tag scanner datapads. Holoseals were kept in a locked dispenser, and were removed and peeled from the protective backing at the point of application. They were difficult to remove without destroying the seal and had a security measure to self-destruct if forcibly removed. The adhesive back stuck to the container while the hologram reacted with the atmosphere and turned black. Seals split along the seam of blackened at the edges first before corroding the entire hologram.

Holoseals could be removed if they were improperly applied in the first place. While most customs officials made sure the holoseals were properly applied, some mistakes were made and taken advantage of by smugglers. Tampering with a holoseal was a Class Four infraction of the Imperial Penal References, and incurred a fine of between one thousand and five thousand credits, a month in prison, and confiscation of the cargo.

Text and facts from the “Holoseal” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.