Secure ID Cards

Security is a top priority in every organisation. Whether you're a small business, school, university, or large enterprise, protecting your assets and keeping individuals safe is essential for all organisations. Issuing ID cards to employees, students, and clients is the most practical solution – but what makes an ID secure?

Simple vs. Secure

If you open your wallet or purse right now, you will most likely find several examples of plastic ID cards. The cards may range from a simple printed card from your local grocery store with nothing more than a basic image and barcode, to an official government issued driving licence with full-colour photos, encoded information, and protective holograms!

In both of these cases, the ID is meant to accurately identify a person. However, one source is relatively easy to replicate while the other contains many layers of security, which reduces counterfeit and forgery attempts. Adding features like photos, magnetic stripes, or smart card chips to an ID helps to improve its security and decreases the likelihood of misuse by unauthorised individuals. These additional layers ensure that the ID is legitimate and the person using it is the person who should be using it.

Getting More Out of Your ID Cards

Aside from simple identification, a secure and reliable ID can also be used for a variety of access and tracking applications:

• Building Access Control
• Time and Attendance Tracking
• Check-In/Check-Out Processes (files, books, equipment, etc...)
• Membership Management
• Visitor/Lobby Tracking

A few simple modifications to your cards and printer will significantly improve security and enable you to get more from your ID cards!

FEATURE: Photos

Adding a picture to an existing ID card provides an easy avenue to add an extra layer of security. A photo provides a quick means to confirm a person's identify and authenticate the user. With a photo prevalent on a card, forgery and fraud activities are greatly reduced. One quick look can identify a potential issue and indicate misuse of the card.

Photos are the most basic and common security feature you can put on an ID card. They certainly help reduce the possibility of fraudulent card use but are unfortunately not full proof. With the right equipment, it's not difficult to create a photo ID and replicate the text information.

On their own, photos don't provide a completely secure ID. However, when they are used together with some of the other security options, you'll have a combination that is difficult to forge or manipulate. The more security options you add to the ID, the harder it is to replicate.

FEATURE: Barcodes

Barcodes have been a standard tool in the identification industry for the past thirty years. In a limited amount of space, they can encode a string of text that is only readable by a scanner. With over two dozen types of barcode symbologies, which vary based on the need of the user, there is a barcode that will fit your needs.

In the context of an ID, barcodes are an easy way to have an account or user ID number printed on the card. The advantage of the barcode is that you can quickly scan the code to identify the user. With the scanner, you avoid input errors, increase accuracy, and speed up the verification/check-in process.

From a security standpoint, a barcode is another option that makes forging cards more difficult. You may be able to make a card that looks the same but if you don't know what is supposed to be in the barcode, it will not scan properly. With a forged ID, a simple scan of the barcode will alert you of conflicting information with the information contained on the card.

Like photos, barcodes require very little change to your printing process. Printing a barcode is the same as printing text. They are both just types of fonts!

Barcodes are a simple, yet effective way to add another level of security to your ID cards.

FEATURE: Holograms

We've all seen holograms on a variety of cards, but your driving licence is the most common one you use on an everyday basis. Holograms are a great way to make a very unique ID that is easy to visually validate and difficult to forge. With a quick glance, you can tell right away if an ID is legitimate or a fake.

Embedding a hologram onto an ID card is part of the printing process. However, the holograms are not actually printed onto the card. The hologram is contained on special clear overlay laminate that already contains the fixed hologram pattern. Once the card is printed, the laminate is applied to the card which adds the hologram without obstructing your printed information.

Since the hologram is already in the laminate you use, all you have to do is choose one that fits your application. Hologram laminates are available with a host of text and image options and can even be custom made for greater uniqueness.

Like photos and barcodes, holograms are an easy feature to add to your current cards to make them even more difficult to copy.

FEATURE: Magnetic Stripes

If you've ever looked at the back of a credit or debit card, you've seen a magnetic stripe (magstripe). The thin black bar on your card contains information about your account and identity. Similar to audio tape, a magstripe modifies the magnetism of the band to encode information. Normally, this information is a unique user ID for quick identification with a simple swipe.

Magstripes were created specifically as a security measure and have been on ID cards since they were first designed in the 1960's. Like barcodes, magstripes are a great way to store information that can only be read by a dedicated reader. Forging a magstripe card is even more difficult though since your printer has to have a magnetic encoder as opposed to just basic printing. Plus, with a scannable magstripe, you can easily use your ID cards for access control and attendance tracking. Although magstripes add a layer of security, there are a few limitations to the technology.

Magstripes can be erased or damaged when they come in contact with magnets. Luckily there are 2 types of magstripe cards you can use – high coercivity (Hi-Co) and low coercivity (Lo-Co). A Hi-Co card is meant for permanent applications since the stripe has a strong magnetic hold and will not erase easily. Lo-Co cards are only suited for applications where you would re-use the card to encode new information on it multiple times.

Magstripes may be one of the oldest security options but continue to be used for their reliability and simplicity.

FEATURE: Smart Cards

Smart cards are the current pinnacle of card security. Similar to barcodes and magnetic stripes, they provide another means to store data onto the card itself. The big advantage of the smart card is that it can store multiple strings of information including encrypted certificates. A smart card provides multiple levels of verification on the card itself for the greatest security possible.

What makes a card smart?

Each card has a small microprocessor and memory on it which can provide identification, authentication, and data storage. All this information can be encrypted so that without the appropriate reader and software, you cannot actually read the card. With other technologies that store information on the card itself, you have no way to protect the data from ever being read as you do with smart cards.

Smart cards come in two main types: contact and contactless. With a contact based card, you have to actually touch/insert the card into the reader to scan the information on the card. Contactless cards are powered and read wirelessly by just presenting the card in front of a reader. The read distance may be as limited as an inch, but this does help speed up the scanning process and is most commonly used in security access applications.

Whether you need to secure access to your building, PC, or even online accounts, the added verification and encryption capabilities of a smart card ensures that only those who are supposed to access your information or property actually can do so.

Making Secure ID Cards

While the security options covered here may seem challenging to get started with, in reality, they are quite easy to implement. A couple of changes in your media, design software, or printer configuration are all it takes!

With any of these features, your printer has to support the technology you want to use. Magstripes and smart cards require a printer that has an encoder for these technologies and blank cards that contain a magstripe or smart chip. Luckily, many printers already have these encoders or can be upgraded to have them.

The options that are part of the printing process – photos and barcodes – just require an update in your design software and a full-colour ribbon. These are the simplest options to add since even the base configuration of a printer has the ability to print these layers of security.

Holograms are the one special case since your printer will have to support laminating. As long as your printer has a laminate option available, a hologram laminate can be added to your printing operation. The beauty of holograms is that you don't have to change any of your card designs to add them!

Better, More Secure ID Cards

The very reason an organisation uses ID cards in the first place is to have an accurate way to identify someone. By designing cards with the right set of security options, you can be sure that the ID is effective and reliable.

To get the most out of your ID cards, you'll need to start with cards you can count on. Combining several of the covered security options is your best route for the most secure IDs possible. With a few simple changes to your current printing process, you can be making better, more secure cards in no time.

The options that are part of the printing process – photos and barcodes – just require an update in your design software and a full-colour ribbon. These are the simplest options to add since even the base configuration of a printer has the ability to print these layers of security.

Holograms are the one special case since your printer will have to support laminating. As long as your printer has a laminate option available, a hologram laminate can be added to your printing operation. The beauty of holograms is that you don't have to change any of your card designs to add them!