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Identification Badges
ID Cards
ID
Card Security
ID Card Security
There are many ways your ID card printer can help ensure plastic or technology card authenticity
and to reduce the chances of successful fraudulent reproduction of your plastic
cards. Although no single type of technology offers 100% security, you can now
use a variety of security measures together to help enhance their effectiveness:
Holography, Etching, MicroText, Photographic Perforation, UV Ink, Ghost Images,
Watermarking, etc.
This page will briefly explain some of the current technology available to
ensure that ID cards and documents are valid.
Overlamination
Clear Overlamination
Fargo, Eltron, Magicard, Datacard and Nisca
manufacture printers/laminators that are capable of applying clear card
overlamination. Although clear lamination was really developed to help enhance
card durability - both physical and UV protection - it does slightly enhance
card security by placing a barrier against card alteration. As you will read
below, there are a number of derivatives that include holography for additional
security. Lamination in this industry is typically made of clear polyester film
and is generally applied as a patch (near edge) over the top of the plastic card
using heat and pressure. Several emerging technologies are becoming available
that will extend the laminate material to the edge of the card. Lamination
material is a secure, tamper-resistant overlaminate available in thicknesses
that generally range from .6 mil to 1.0 mil thicknesses. Clear overlaminates
provide vastly superior card durability than to.
Holographic Overlaminate
All printer manufacturers that provide overlamination
capability also provide holographic versions of their overlaminate material.
These vary slightly, but in general employ a holographic image which is imbedded
on the surface of the overlaminate to help reduce the possibility of successful
card reproduction. On higher level standard and custom holographic
overlaminates, one may have the option of implementing micro text printing
within the holographic image to enhance fraud protection. If a generic hologram
does not offer the type of unique security you are looking to implement, please
call us to discuss the development of a custom holographic solution.
Thermal Transfer Overlaminate
Fargo, Eltron and Magicard offer a somewhat less
robust method of protecting the card called Thermal Transfer Overlaminate - or
thin film. This is available in both clear and holographic. Thin film is a
medium security, medium durability overlaminate that measures approximately .25
mil thickness. This lamination material is ideal for applications requiring
tamper-resistant cards with a moderate life span.
SmartShield - By Fargo Electronics
SmartShield allows you to automatically print a
custom transparent security image -- a logo, symbol or text -- directly onto
your cards. Once printed, this image appears only when the card is viewed under
ultraviolet (black) lighting or when viewed at an angle under normal lighting.
This image enhances the uniqueness of every card you produce and may help you
detect counterfeited cards.
With SmartShield, you can use existing logos or
create new one-of-a-kind images using any standard graphics program. Then you
simply save it to your proprietary SmartGuard access card. Once saved, the image
will be automatically printed onto every card you produce. SmartShield images
can be changed and resaved onto your access card as often as necessary, but only
by those who know your password. SmartShield is available on several Fargo card
printer models including DTC515, DTC525 and ProLX.
ID Security Badges
Holokote - By Ultra Magicard
Similar to the Fargo SmartShield solution, Magicard
uses the clear overlay panel on a YMCKO or YMCKOK ribbon to produce a type of
security watermark on printed plastic cards. This feature is called Holokote.
Printers equipped with the unique HoloKote, key-controlled anti counterfeiting
card protection feature come with a built-in UltraSecure logo, or can use other optional
customer logos stored on a Holokote Custom key.
The technology that Magicard employs produces a type
of overlay 'frost' that is visible under normal light conditions, but cannot be
enhanced using UV lighting. The Holokote solution enhances the uniqueness of
every card you produce and may help you to detect counterfeited cards. This
feature is available on several Magicard card printer models including the Rio,
Rio Grande, Tango and Alto.
UV Inking
UV Inking is one method of adding something unique to a
plastic card. UV inking has been widely used and accepted by the Federal
Government, State Drivers License programs and many in the financial world. In
fact, if you look at your Visa or American Express cards under a UV lamp, you
will likely see some type of security lettering on the card in UV Ink. Several
card printer manufacturers can special order cards with unique UV Inking.
Micro Text
As the name suggests, this security process involves
printing very small text in a specific location on a card surface. Due to physical limitations in
the resolution of thermally printed images, it is
difficult to print true micro text using thermal printers. Micro text is therefore generally pre-printed,
prior to dye-sublimation printing, using a type of offset press. Micro text can
also be found on higher end holographic security overlaminates. Due to the
difficulty of reproducing micro text in its original form, the United States government
considers the printing of micro text a valuable security precaution: examples of micro text
printing appear on both U.S. passports and newer, higher denomination U.S. currency.
Ghost Images
Ghost Images are a basic level of card security.
Essentially, a ghost image is a smaller version of the original photo image on
an ID Card and is generally printed semi-translucent. These ghost images are
made possible by using a software that will allow for the ghost image to be
added to the plastic card during the printing process. The benefit of this type
of card security is that it does not generally add to the cost of your printed
card.
Etching or Photographic Perforation
Two other techniques for creating duplicate or "ghost" images on ID cards are etching and perforation. Scratching lines ("etching") into the surface of a card can create reproductions of images, logos, and designs that are nomally made during the thermal transfer printing process. Punching tiny holes into ("perforating") the cards' surface does the same thing. Both techniques are performed on a very fine scale and require specially made, precision-crafted equipment for their effects to be realized.
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Telephone: 800-717-8080 · 415-945-1777 · 
Fax: 415-945-1781