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ID Zone Learning Center

Find answers to your questions about photo identification and plastic card printing!


How to Make ID Cards More Secure

Do you feel like your ID card is lacking when it comes to security? The experts at ID Wholesaler offer some of their most common and easiest ways of making ID cards more secure.

Adding Security to Your Credentials
A best practice for a secure credential is to have multiple security checkpoints for both the credential and the process in which you create and distribute your credential. To begin identifying where these checkpoints should be, we first need to answer some basic questions.

  • What reasons do businesses implement a visual ID badging solution for their employees?
  •  If security is driving the need for an ID Badge solution, what do businesses want your security to protect? Normally, it's one of the 4 Ps:
    • People – management, employees, contractors, visitors
    • Products – tangible or intangible (services) items an organization produces
    • Processes – confidential information, procedures, policies, data, strategy, etc.
    • Property – assets like a facility or building, computers, furniture, warehouse, etc.
  •  What happens if one or more of those items is compromised? Common questions to ask include the following:
      • How does it affect my business?
      • What’s the impact on employees?
      • What does a compromise ultimately cost?

Let’s Look at the Big Picture
Security is an ever-evolving animal. With so much technology at our fingertips today, companies constantly have to be on the lookout for newer and better ways to protect their 4 Ps. Most organizations use one or more of the following modalities to heighten security as it pertains to their ID badge credential:

  • technology card for access control
  • photo id card for identification
  • badge accessories (lanyards, badge reels and badge holders to house and/or display ID card)

The more detailed your ID cards, the less likely you’re going to find a threat within the secure areas of your facility, and the greater assurance that your 4 Ps are protected. Let’s look at some examples of potential breakdowns for the aforementioned modalities when used independently.

Example 1:
Technology cards: People are generally friendly and courteous by nature. It is not uncommon for individuals to hold doors for people as they come and go, and the workplace is no exception to this.

During common arrival or departure times, it often occurs for multiple people to interact with your buildings entry points at the same time. This creates a setting of multiple people entering the building with a single swipe of their technology card or possibly no swipe at all. Thus breaking down the first level of our security process

Example 2:
Photo ID cards: How do you do you currently validate the authenticity of your employee’s credentials?

Are you using the employee’s photo? A company logo? If someone were to pull your company logo from your website and create a photo ID of themselves, how would you easily be able to identify this?


Where to  Start
The first step in protecting the 4 Ps is to have the proper implementation process for creation and distribution of your ID cards. The more detailed your ID cards, the less likely you’re going to find a threat within the secure areas of your facility, and the greater assurance that your 4 Ps are protected.

Before finding the ID card security solution that’s best for your organization’s requirements, you’ll need to determine how you plan on rolling out your new credential program.

  • User rights administration
  • ID badge policy (for more information on this see attachment ID badge policy)
  • Where you store your data (sensitive information)
  • Where media or consumables are stored
  • Best practice would be a lockable card hopper or a Kensington lock for all of your printing equipment

The next step in protecting the 4 Ps is determining the visual security elements your business would like to incorporate with your credential. You can add visual security elements to both the card itself and the accessory used to wear your credential.

A visually secure card + custom badge accessories = increased security.

Tools to strengthen the visual security elements on your ID card

  • UV Printing: Ultraviolet (UV) printing is available with select printer models. By purchasing a ribbon with a fluorescent panel on it, you have the ability to put a customizable image or text on the card. The only catch, the image is only visible under black light.
  • Watermarks: Many printer manufacturers offer the ability to alter or manipulate the overlay panel of ID cards to provide a stock or customizable watermark. It’s a very cost-effective way to add a visual security element to your card and increase security. However, one drawback to manipulating the protective overlay panel is that depending on usage, the watermark and printed imagery tend to wear off quicker.
  • Holographic Foil ID Cards: Cards with embedded holographic foil allow the customization of the image and its location, making it unique and difficult to duplicate. They’re a great way to increase visual security if you’re printing on PVC or composite card stock. They are not compatible with technology cards.
  • Tactile impression:Tactile impression doesn’t require the purchase of customized consumables. Instead, the equipment uses a heating process to put either a stock or custom stamp on the card’s laminate. Tactile impression also offers a physical element you can feel (the impression made by the stamp on the card).
  • Custom lamination: This option offers both security and durability to cards. There are a variety of visual secure elements available – from microtext to Guilloche patterns – that can be added to the laminate as standalone or in tandem. Minimum order quantities tend to lend this security option to businesses printing a higher card volume.

Tools to strengthen the visual security elements of your badge accessory

  • Custom Lanyards: A lanyard is an over-the-head attachment that presents an ID badge on an individual’s chest. The options to customize a lanyard include material color options, attachments, and print. Adding a customized printed logo or name of your company is a great way to improve the overall security for your organization.
  • Custom Badge Reels: A retractable badge reel can be used in tandem with a lanyard or can be worn individually on an individuals belt or clip on to an article of clothing. The retractable feature works great for technology cards that require an individual to swipe their badge. A badge reel can be customized by adding text or a logo to the pad or rim of the badge reel providing a visually pleasing accessory and increasing the overall security of the credential.
  • Locking Badge Holders: A locking badge holder is just as it sounds, it is a badge holder that locks the card inside of the holder so that it cannot be easily removed or tampered with. Not only do they provide increased durability to your card, but the locking mechanism maintains the authenticity of your badge.
  • Custom Badge Holders: Customized badge holders provide the ability to put a logo or text on the badge holder itself adding an additional level of protection to your ID badge.

No matter how you want to increase the security of your ID card program, you can trust the knowledge and experience of our ID Experts. They'll listen to your security needs and help you find a solution that works best for your organization. Call us today for a free consultation at (800) 910-5987.


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Have questions or need assistance? Talk with an ID Expert at (800) 910-5987, Chat Live, or email us at sales@IDZone.com.

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