Integrated Card Technology (ICT) is able to provide the market with high security personalised cards that will close doors to fraud and falsified identification cards. Laser engraved identity cards provide secure access, functionality and simplicity of use whilst allowing the full potential of modern technology to be utilised.
Ideal for high-security applications such as identity cards, drivers licences and even access to high security areas within a building, these cards can contain vital information, signatures and high quality identity photographs. Used worldwide, laser engraving has found global acceptance as the optimum technique for secure personalisation of cards. This method outclasses other techniques because of its outstanding reliability, efficiency and consistent product quality - even at high production volumes.
Durability
Durability and precision of engraving are vital when producing a high-security card. It would be pointless and a high security risk to offer cards that needed replacement on a regular basis and the wide range of graphic options offered by this process ensure that a client is able to put all necessary information onto one card and store it effectively.
Laser engraved cards are able to fulfil all demands that a company requires - attractive appearance, multifunctionality, durability and most importantly it is immune to manipulation. Developed by ICT's German shareholders Giesecke & Devrient, laser engraving provides for durable, tamperproof lettering and images.
Photo ID solutions
Photo identification using laser engraving produces extremely high-quality black and white images. The images which are incorporated through the surface layer of the card are computer-optimised finely graduated shades of grey which are wear-resistant and tamperproof and as an integral component of the card allows for reliable verification of the cardholder's identity. The greyscale option can also be chosen for incorporation of other images or typographical elements into the card, for example, fingerprints and signatures.
The actual laser engraving process involves an intense, concentrated, pulsating light that burns the information onto the card. Laminated cards made from polycarbonate are generally used due to their excellent suitability for laser engraving and their maximum life expectancy. The use of polycarbonate conforms to the principle of employing only noncommercial materials and proprietary processes as an anti-counterfeit precaution.
Machine-readable information can be laser-engraved into the card as a barcode. Durability and precision of the laser engraving means that the information remains clear and legible throughout the card's lifespan.
A further characteristic of the laser-engraved photo identity card is the multiple laser image (MLI) which is produced by laser engraving a combination of textual and graphical data on up to three optical levels. MLI gives the card a hologram appearance as different images become visible as the viewing angle changes. Holograms and other diffractive anti-copier features can be embedded into the card's core and if required, provided with additional laser-engraved marks linking them clearly and permanently to the individual cards.
"The overriding success of the technique is due as much to increasingly precise control of the laser pulses with rising energy as to advances in material technology that ensure consistently high quality and security against counterfeiting," says Nikki Kettles, at ICT.
"Whether the card needs to be read by a machine as well as be visible to the human eye, be permanent or modifiable, whether you require numbers, lettering, logos, photographs, signatures and latent images, laser engraving is the technology to use."
For details, contact Integrated Card Technology on telephone (011) 608 1803.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.
printer friendly version