Security is one of the most important priorities in any organization. From small businesses to large enterprises, and from local school districts to big-campus universities, issuing ID cards helps keep people and assets safe. But there's a difference between a simple ID card and one that's secure.
A simple ID card could have a logo on the front and a bar code on the back. Think about your grocery store rewards card or your library card. These don't need a lot of security; they just need to identify you. But these simple cards are easy to fraudulently reproduce. A more secure ID card has layers of security, from photos to holographic images, smart card chips, and more.
At Idesco, we hear our customers often ask: What can I do to increase security without buying a new ID card printing solution? Here are a few tips to make the most of your current ID card printer and employee cards.
Add full-color photographs
Whether you have a simple plastic ID card or a smart card, adding a full-color picture of the cardholder is an easy, economical deterrent for counterfeiters. By upgrading your printer ribbon to full color, your current card printer can create photo IDs that help you identify cardholders.
While photos are a basic and common security feature for most ID cards, they're not fool-proof. If hackers have the right equipment, they can create a photo ID and replicate the text on your card.
Besides adding color pictures to your ID cards, try this next step.
Add a bar code
If you don't already, you can use your current ID card printer to print a bar code containing information to help you verify the cardholder's identity. By changing your cards' design and incorporating a bar code, you can add a layer of security that is more difficult to replicate.
As long as you have a bar code scanner, you can easily scan the code and identify the user. While counterfeiters may forge an ID, they won't know what's supposed to be in the bar code. A quick scan will identify forged cards instantly.
Add watermarks or holograms
If you don't want to upgrade your current ID printing solution, you can add watermarks and holograms by hand at an economical price. Watermarks cover a variety of situations to offer easily identifiable security to cards. They're translucent and show up at a certain angle or under a certain light.
You can also apply holograms manually to your cards after they're printed. Not only do holograms offer a layer of security that's impossible to replicate, but they also offer an extra layer similar to lamination. This can help extend the life of your ID cards.
Add color-coded bars or colored lanyards
A simple way to restrict access to offices, buildings, facilities, and more is to print color-coded bars on your employee ID cards or assign different colored lanyards. For example, a red bar means the cardholder has access to certain areas, while a blue lanyard permits access to other locations.
Again, this is a simple visual security measure that's fairly easy to replicate, but when used with other security measures just adds one more layer.
Final thoughts
If you don't want to upgrade your ID card solution to incorporate smart cards or other more expensive security options, you can combine the above security layers. The more layers you add to your ID cards, the harder it will be to forge new ones. And with a few simple changes to your current ID design and printing process to incorporate these layers, you can print more secure ID cards without upgrading your printing solution.
The reason you use ID cards is first to accurately identify those who belong. By designing your cards to incorporate security layers, you'll be able to better count on your ID cards to provide an acceptable level of both identification and protection.
But if your security needs become more involved, call one of our ID Experts to discuss other options. We can show you solutions that provide the highest level of security to protect your employees, visitors, students, vendors, contractors, and others. Our trained experts have years of experience with all ID card solutions. We're here to make sure you get exactly what you need at a price that meets your budget.
If you still have questions, call one of the Idesco ID Experts at 212-889-2530 and they’d be happy to answer them.