1. Look at the material

High voltage light strips are basically made of PVC material, while legitimate manufacturers use domestic environmentally friendly materials, which have little taste. Irregular manufacturers use secondary recycled PVC material, which can have a strong plastic odor during production. Low voltage lamps with sleeves, regular manufacturers will use silicone sleeves, while irregular manufacturers will use PVC sleeves. From here alone, the prices vary greatly.

2. Look at FPC

FPC is divided into two types: deposited copper and rolled copper. The copper foil of the copper plated plate is protruding, which can be seen from the connection between the solder pad and FPC upon closer inspection. Calendered copper is closely integrated with FPC and can be bent arbitrarily without the occurrence of solder pad detachment. If the copper plate is bent too much, it will cause the solder pad to fall off, and if the temperature is too high during maintenance, it will also cause the solder pad to fall off.

3. Look at the surface

If LED light strips are produced using the SMT process, their surface cleanliness is very good, and no impurities or stains can be seen. However, if a counterfeit LED light strip is produced using manual welding technology, no matter how it is cleaned, there will be residual stains and cleaning marks on the surface, as well as flux and tin residue on the FPC surface.

4. Look at the solder joint

The LED light strips produced by legitimate LED light strip manufacturers are produced using the SMT mounting process, solder paste, and reflow soldering process. Therefore, the solder joints on the LED light strip are relatively smooth and do not require much solder. The solder joints extend in an arc shape from the FPC pad to the LED electrode. However, the soldering amount of the counterfeit version LED light strip is uneven, often forming a circular dot that covers the soldering foot, and there may be varying degrees of tin tips, which is a typical phenomenon of manual soldering.

5. Look at the label

Regular LED light strip packaging bags and reels will have printed labels on them instead of printed labels. The labels in the counterfeit version are printed, and the specifications and parameters are not consistent.

6. Look at the packaging

Regular LED light strips will be packaged in anti-static coil trays, usually every 5 meters or 10 meters, and then sealed with anti-static and moisture-proof packaging bags on the outside. The counterfeit version of the LED light strip will use a recycling reel for cost savings, without an anti-static and moisture-proof packaging bag. Upon closer inspection of the reel, it can be seen that there are traces and scratches left when removing the label.