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For businesses, events, and other organisations, security is in high demand. Standard plastic cards may have offered some protection in the past, however, due to the increased production and reduced cost of card printers, ID card forgeries are rapidly increasing.
Rather than having to contend with forgeries or risk leaving your organisation open to threats, you can avoid these issues by investing in cards with built-in security features. With multiple printing techniques available, you can choose which level of security you require.
Metameric inks work on the principle of metamerism, which means that two colours matching under one set of lighting conditions can appear differently under another set. Under normal viewing conditions, the card appears normal, but when viewed under a red filter, a line of numbers appears, signifying the card’s legitimacy.
Thermochromic inks or dyes are temperature-sensitive compounds that temporarily change colour with exposure to heat. Developed in the 1970s, they come in two forms: liquid crystals and leuco dyes. Leuco dyes are easier to work with and allow for a greater range of applications.
Fineline printing, or microprinting, refers to very thin and small printed characters or entire words. Without the use of a magnifying lens, the structure appears as a continuous line. The characters contained in these lines cannot be reproduced with conventional copy methods, meaning forgers will have a very hard time trying to replicate these designs.
UV card printing utilises ultraviolet ink that is invisible under regular illumination. A cost-effective process, the UV printing works by showing all logos, design structures, or texts as visible only when illuminated under a UV light.
This is a popular security feature for both ID and membership cards due to its low-cost and because the printing element cannot be copied, giving you more confidence in your security protocols.
A common feature on bank cards, hologram designs are applied to the card surface in a 2- or 3-dimensional appearance with machine-readable features. These can only be read with special equipment, making them incredibly difficult to counterfeit.
There is also the holographic stripe, which can be implemented horizontally or vertically under the top layer of the card. The holographic stripe can contain individual logos, characters, or other information.
Guilloche is a pattern of subtle thin lines interwoven according to the rules of geometry. It includes all the wavy decorative lines and graphic patterns which you may have seen on banknotes or passports.
The use of guilloche lines might in itself prevent the counterfeiting of products (e.g., certificates, diplomas, gift vouchers, tickets, and packaging). In addition to having anti-counterfeit purposes, guilloche can also be applied for decorative purposes, as it can aesthetically enhance the appearance of your ID cards. Your organisation can also create your own unique pattern, furthering your confidence in the security of your products.
If you’d like more information on how you can improve your ID card security, please get in touch with a member of our expert team today.
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