SECURITY FEATURES ON CARDS
Security features on cards
Laser
PVC cards, or more commonly called plastic cards, have a smooth surface that requires printers other than the most common classic printers, laser or inkjet.
A very effective system for card protection is laser customization (laser engraving) which constitutes an effective barrier against attempts at counterfeiting, with this technique it is possible to customize the important information on the ID card in black and white. To be able to use this technique, the cards must be made of a specific material, i.e. of polycarbonate with the laser the intermediate polycarbonate layers of which the supporti s made are engraved, making any attempts at falsification complex.
An example of application of this particular personalization technique is the new electronic identity card where all the variable data present on the document (personal data, photograph, tax code…) have been printed in this way.
Lamination
To protect plastic cards form abrasion, from the aggression of UV rays or even from falsification, it is possible to apply a polyester protection film: this process is called lamination.
Usually, this operation is carried out in two stages by the printer: first the printing takes place and then the application of the hot film at high temperature.
To carry ou this particular procedure, a special lamination module is required which can work in line with the printer or stand alone, not all pritners are compatible with the lamination modules.
The laminators are equipped with heating rollers that reach a temperature between 140 °C and 190 °C, thanks to which they melt the lamination film on the PVC card.
There are several types of lamination materials that fall into 2 main categories:
- Patches: very thick PET films used to protect cards for several years (5 to 10)
- Paints: finer films used to protect the card for 2 or 3 years.
These two types can be transparent (protection against UV rays) or holographic (protection against UV rays and security against forgery). It is also possible to have personalized holograms with your own logo or with the security image you prefer.