The number of interdependent processes combined with the custom nature of each solution creates an elaborate ecosystem. The good news is that continuous innovation in the industry has led to new approaches, technologies, and products to help make card delivery extremely successful, secure and efficient.
At the heart of each ID program is secure personalization — the production, encoding, and printing of the ID card securely, to ensure one identity per person. For organizations subject to stringent regulatory and compliance mandates, such as energy utility companies, many are opting for printer/encoder solutions that enable them to create and manage the production of their own custom ID cards in-house. These cards must be designed to accommodate specialized technologies such as holographic film and security inks, and processes such as reverse transfer printing. This has given rise to a new breed of heavy-duty re-transfer printers incorporating a range of security features designed for maximum security. Moreover, most of these high-capacity printers also have built-in security to forbid access to unauthorized individuals.
Of course, every security solution is dependent on, and must respond, to the special needs of each enterprise, and not every method is appropriate for every type of user.
Take the production of a national driver’s license as an example — there are a number of key criteria to consider in choosing a printing/encoding solution for this sector.
The first is flexible print technology, to support the growing trend to specify higher-value, longer-lasting and more secure cards, such as laser-engraved polycarbonate cards, as well as enhanced credentials incorporating UHF RFID inlays. A crisp and high-definition image on a card is also fundamental to the make-up of a driver’s license. Retransfer technology is particularly important, as it improves card durability and enables organizations to incorporate visual elements for fraud protection without having to worry about misprints from irregularities and abnormalities on or below the surface of cards made from a variety of materials, including those with embedded electronics.
Secure issuance solutions need to be tailored to address the needs of each operational environment while still optimizing card, cardholder and system issuance security. Thankfully, today’s organizations have a rapidly expanding universe of choices for issuing secure credentials across a wide variety of applications that can meet specific security and business needs.
A centralized card issuance system offers benefits that include low cost per card, more economical use of supplies, and simplified operator training and system maintenance. Despite these advantages, there are many motivations for moving to a distributed card printing solution. One of the most obvious is the benefit of no longer having to manage a remote card issuance/delivery process: Drivers wanting instant satisfaction can receive their licenses immediately, and the government saves taxpayers’ money by eliminating mailing costs. Additionally, the distributed solution avoids the risk of card loss, and reduces the time required to fix any errors since everything is done locally. Finally, the distributed model enables issuers to verify the identity of the person who receives the card.
Fortunately, a new class of desktop printers/encoders gives issuers both options in a single solution. They combine the high-volume reliability and advanced “credentialing” features of large centralized printers with the lower cost and smaller footprint required for the distributed printing model. Moreover, these desktop units can be pooled to handle large-volume, centralized card runs. Alternatively, they can be deployed individually for on-the-spot card issuance at selected offices. As such, a licensing authority can also deploy a combination of both centralized and distributed printing solutions throughout the branch network, and scale them up or down depending on changing volume requirements.
To optimize effectiveness of the distributed issuance model, organizations require high-duty-cycle printing solutions that are easily scalable, decrease operational and service costs, and maximize output of finished credentials with any combination of physical, electronic, or visual personalization. A distributed system can either be structured in a grouped configuration, in which multiple printer/encoder units can be networked in one place to produce average to increasingly larger volumes in continuous batch runs, or a geographically dispersed configuration that can be securely networked and share one common database. This also provides the added benefit of ensuring there is redundant equipment in case of an individual printer problem or repair requirement.
Like a lot of companies, bodies that isses drivers’ licenses worldwide are under increasing pressure to reduce not only costs, but also improve efficiencies and enhance customer service. Turning to smaller, high-production, high-security printer/encoders allows for easy maintenance, flexible configuration and continual production — at a far lower cost than larger printer options. This new range of high-capacity desktop-sized machines provides a powerful and flexible secure issuance solution for organizations looking to create a secure ID card that meets different customer requirements.
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I think a better title for this would have been how to create a cost effective Secure ID Card. It is something you say earlier on in the article is that the solution has to fit with the company using it. There will be trade offs through the process because as you approach a card that is totally secure then the cost of that card or system associated increases. We all want a system that is total secure but in some instances thats just not cost effective and that is how we end up with the myriad of different systems… Read more »
I must admit, this is a topic I’m not too solid on. But the principle of cost v security level is something i can relate to, of course. Any business/home has to ask a question about what the cost of a breach will be versus the cost of the security method used.
@Robert Brown in my point of view best approach would be to have a layered security levels. I think security based on single layer will not be cost effective. The layers are defined what you need to secure and what cost you can afford to have lost that data.
Yeah so that makes sense, higher security levels for more important info. But one common system would be needed to make this work.