|
© graur razvan ionut
|
Digital photo
The digital photo is the most common identification feature since it is the easiest to obtain. You just need a camera or a scanner to capture the face of a cardholder. The photo is then printed directly on the card using a card printer.
|
|
|
Preprinted cards
Preprinted cards obtained through lithographic and/or silk-screen processes allow you to create custom card stocks. These card stocks are then personalized by adding security features and individual information on each card. A minimal order of 1,000 cards is generally required when industrial production processes are involved.
|
|
|
Holographic laminates
Holographic laminates involve the creation of a holographic image atop a clear film, which is then applied on your cards by a laminating module using pressure and heat. Aside from prolonging your cards’ life, holographic laminates make them more secure and more easily identifiable. The laminated card can be validated on the spot by exposing it to light, which ‘activates’ the kinetic elements of the hologram. No special light is required, so any given control station can do so without problem.
|
|
|
Color gradient
A color gradient involves sifting color tones on a printed card, moving from pale to dark or vice-versa. The effect can only be obtained by adequately printing the basic color on your card, then superimposing data using a laser printer.
|
|
|
UV ink
Ultraviolet (UV) printing helps secure your cards without compromising their readability. To decipher the printed characters, all you have to do is hold the card under a UV lamp and watch as the ink starts to ‘glow’. Standard PVC card printers cannot support UV ink. Still, UV characters can be preprinted on your card stock, which is then personalized using said printers. This method is cheaper than the color gradient because it involves the printing of a single ‘color’ instead of four. For an even cheaper security solution, you can try the different fluorescent ribbons available on the market. Designed for the use in PVC card printers, they allow you to print images which only appear at a specific angle of observation.
|
|
|
Micro-printing
Micro-printing is another security solution that requires specialized scanning equipment. At first glance, it will appear as a simple line printed on the card, but on closer inspection, using a microscope or magnifying glass, it will appear as a series of tiny characters, often forming words, such as company names and the like. Micro-printing is used in certain provinces in order to secure drivers’ licenses and healthcare cards. Not unlike UV printing and color gradient, micro-printing involves an industrial process available only with large batches of preprinted cards, which must be personalized later using standard card printers.
|
|
|
Ghost image
What is dubbed a ‘ghost image’ is actually a half- translucent copy of a photograph, graphic or even a line of text. Normally, such an image is slightly offset in relation to the original image; it can also be placed elsewhere on the card. The ghost image can hardly be reproduced using a color printer since such a device tends to degrade image quality. Easy to create (by simply changing the opacity of an image using an identification software), the ghost image is a cheap and effective security feature.
|
|
|
Magnetic stripe
The most popular type of access cards uses a magnetic stripe similar to the one on a debit or credit card. Such a card requires physical contact with a reading device, which is used by an operator to withdraw the information imbedded in the stripe. Encoding magnetic stripes is easy, but it requires specialized equipment. Pre-encoded cards are also available. With a price tag of 1 or 2$, magnetic stripe cards offer a great value to business managers.
|
|
|
Proxy card
For a truly superior level of protection, choose the proxy card (or contactless card, as it is sometimes called). Using sophisticated electronic circuits, this type of card can be deciphered by a reader without any direct contact between the two elements. It contains wiring and a tiny memory chip. The electronic field surrounding the reader emits constant energy, which is absorbed by the wiring when nearing the reader so as to activate the card. The memory chip then emits an activation number or code toward the reader in order to “identify” itself. Since the reader acts as power source, the card itself contains no battery. The main benefits derived from proxy cards are the superior level of security that they offer, as well as their contactless mode of operation, which allows them to retain their integrity for a longer period of time. Considering the advanced technology required to produce these cards, their individual cost oscillates between 5.00 and 6.00$.
|
|
|
Barcode
Barcodes are the least effective, but cheapest security feature available. Originally designed for warehousing and inventory purposes, they are deciphered using optical readers.
|
|
|
Smart card
Proxy cards, as well as cards secured with barcodes and magnetic stripes are called ‘non-rewritable systems’ for they hold information which cannot be modified once written. Unlike such cards, smart cards are rewritable. Basically, they act as electronic storage devices within which information is written and erased as in floppy disks and flash drives. Their capacity greatly exceeds that of any barcode or magnetic stripe. While magnetic strip cards and proxy cards can contain up to 26 and 52 bits of information respectively, a smart card can contain up to 8000 bits (or 8k).
The extra storage space can be used to house credit information meant for the electronic payment of cafeteria meals, vending machines and parking meters. This makes the smart card a versatile tool with which to fulfill your identification, access control and electronic currency needs all at once. This is why many universities and colleges are now turning to smart cards to provide their facilities with all-encompassing solutions. That said, beyond posing as ID cards, access control cards and electronic wallets, smart cards can also be used to grant access to computer stations and to monitor library loans. Due to their increasing popularity, smart cards are getting cheaper and cheaper.
There exists another popular type of smart cards, which isn’t rewritable. This type of cards is generally used for prepaid call services, and it works very much like a fuse: when the fuse is burnt, it can be used no more. This is what happens once a predetermined amount of minutes is used and the smart card burns the fuse. Since the card is not rewritable, you must then buy another one. Other uses for such cards could include access control to commercial facilities such as theme parks and car washes, allowing the cardholders a predetermined number of uses. However, such cards are of little interest when it comes to business or government applications.
|
