Copyright©2009LaserCardCorporat

InnovationintheDesignandManufactureofPolycarbonateIDCredentials

DrChristopherDyballChiefOperatingOfficer,LaserCardCorporationMay1,2011

LaserCardCorporation1875N.ShorelineBlvd

MountainView,CA94043USAt:+16509694428f:+16509693140

sales@lasercard.comhttp://www.lasercard.com

Copyright©2010LaserCardCorporation

Copyright©2010LaserCardCorporation 2

LaserCardbringsover20years’industry‐leadingexperienceintheuseofpolycarbonatetoawiderangeofsecureIDcredentialproductsTheneedforgreatersecurityinidentitycredentialshasdrivenanumberofsignificantchangesinrecentyears.Oneofthemoresignificanthasbeenahigherlevelofinvestment,bothinthecredentialsthemselvesandinthecardholderissuancesystems.Inturn,thishascreateddemandforimprovedreturnonthatinvestment,intheformoflonger–lasting,moredurablecards.

ModernIDdocumentsarerequiredtostanduptomanytypesofstress,rangingfromattemptsatphysicalalteration,toyearsofinconsideratehandlinginavarietyofenvironmentsandweatherconditions.Replacingdamagedcardsiscostly.Todeliverthemostsecure,durableandclimate‐resistantcards,theindustryisincreasinglyturningtopolycarbonateasthematerialofchoice.

Introduction:Durability,SecurityandTamper‐ResistancePolycarbonatehasuniqueproperties.Whenusedinitspureformandnotmixedwithotherplastics,thedifferentlayersofpolycarbonatethatmakeuptheidentitydocumentfusetogethertoformasingle,solidbody.Thispreservestheintegrityofthedocument,preventsdisassemblyandremovalofauthenticcomponentsforfraudulentuse,andprotectssecurityfeaturesbelowthesurfaceofthecard,includingirreversiblelaser‐engravedpersonalizationinformation.

Inadditiontosupportingtraditionalsecurityfeaturessuchasoffsetsecurityprinting,opticallyvariableorfluorescentinks,hologramsanddiffractiveopticallyvariableimagedevices,polycarbonatealsosupportshighlyfraud‐resistantsecurityfeaturesthatarevisibletothenakedeye.Thesefeatures,whichareeasilyauthenticatedbyrelevantauthoritieswithoutspecialtoolsorreaders,includeunalterablelaserimages,andlaser‐engravedpersonalizedinformation.

Moreover,thedurablenatureofpolycarbonateallowsfortheproductionoflong‐lifespanidentitydocuments,whichcanlastfortenyearsormore.Itcanaccommodateoneormoremachine‐readabletechnologiesincludingcontact,contactlessordualinterfacechipsandRFIDtags.

Polycarbonatehaswonthetrustofgovernmentsaroundtheworldandtodayisincreasinglyusedintheproductionofmultipleadvancednationalidentitycardprograms,nationalpassportprogramsandnationaldrivinglicenseprograms.

LeadingtheWayinPolycarbonateDesignLaserCardCorporationcommittedtoexploitingtheadvantagesofpolycarbonatemorethan25yearsago,overadecadeinadvanceofmostofthecardindustry.Thecompany’sexpertiseinpolycarbonateevolvedasaresultofthedevelopmentofitsuniqueopticalsecuritymediaIDcards.Polycarbonateisanidealsupporttoopticalsecuritymediabecauseofitsdurabilityandopticalproperties.Asaresult,muchofLaserCard’sengineeringandmanufacturingexperiencehasbeenfocusedoninnovationinthehandling,printingandprocessingofpolycarbonate.

Intheearly1980’sthecompanyfirstbegantomanufacturepolycarbonatebasedopticalsecuritymediacardsfortheU.S.permanentresidentcardor“GreenCard”program.ManygovernmentsandnationalorganizationsfollowedtheexampleoftheGreenCard,whichhasbeendescribedas‘puttingmasscounterfeitersoutof

Copyright©2010LaserCardCorporation 3

business’andhasprovenitsdurabilityoveralifespanofuptotenyearsandbeyond.Today,LaserCardhasdeliveredtensofmillionsofpolycarbonatecardsforprogramsrangingfromcitizenandgovernmentemployeeidentitytomajorsportingeventaccesscontrol.

ThesedecadesofpracticalexperiencehavegivenLaserCardunparalleledknow‐howinovercomingthechallengesassociatedwithprocessingpolycarbonate,averydifficultmaterialtoworkwith.LaserCardisalsousingpolycarbonateinthedevelopmentofadvancedmulti‐technologyIDcards,leveragingitsextensiveengineeringandmanufacturingexperienceinthevariedfactorsinfluencingthedesign,manufactureanddeliveryofcards.Thecompanyisnowapplyingthisknowledgetoanevenbroadersetofapplications,includingdriverlicensesandvehicleregistrationdocuments.Asaresult,thecompany’sexpertiseisindemandamongindustrypeersandtechnologypartners.

QualitiesofPolycarbonateOvertime,thecardindustryhasmovedfrompaper‐baseddocumentstoawiderangeofmaterials,includingpolycarbonate,polyester,PETG,PVC,ABS,TeslinandComposites.Polycarbonatesareagroupofthermoplasticpolymersthatareeasilymolded,thermo‐formedandnon‐delaminable.PolycarbonatehasbecomeoneoftheleadingmaterialsusedinhighlysecureIDcardprogramsandisrapidlybecomingmorewidelydeployedacrossabroaderrangeofapplications.Thisislargelybecausepolycarbonatefarsurpassesothermaterialsonthreekeyattributes:durability,lifeexpectancyandenvironmentalstability.Ascanbeseenintheillustrationbelow,polycarbonatefarexceedsthelifespanoperationaltemperaturerangeofeventhemostsophisticatedPVCmaterialorPVCcompositesusedincardmanufacturing.

Becauseofitsdurable,temperature‐resistantandimpact‐resistantcharacteristics,polycarbonateholdsupextraordinarilywellinextremeweatherandenvironmentalconditions,makingitpreferabletootherplasticsorcompositematerialsusedinadvancedIDcards.

Inregionsexperiencingextremeheatandhumidity,cardsmadeofotherplasticmaterialscaneasilymeltorwarpintheheatordirectsun,effectivelyendingthecard’susefullifewellbeforeitsdesignatedexpirationdate.Polycarbonate,resistanttothermalstress,offersanalternativethatcanprolongcardlifespanmanytimesover.Governmentsinsomeareasthatnowreissuedriverlicenseseveryyearcanbenefiteconomicallyandadministrativelybyissuingpolycarbonate‐baseddocumentsthatlastuptotenyears.Whenweighedagainstthecostoflessexpensivecardsthatneedfrequentreplacement,polycarbonatecardsmayofferalong‐termeconomicandadministrativeadvantage.

Copyright©2010LaserCardCorporation 4

Manufacturersofdriverlicensesandvehicleregistrationdocumentshavehistoricallyusedlessexpensivematerialstomeettheeconomicprioritiesofgovernmentagenciesworldwide.However,therelativeadvantagesofpolycarbonate,aswellasitscosteffectiveness,makeitakeytothefutureofthisclassofdocuments.Asaleadingexponentofpolycarbonatecardconstruction,LaserCardisbringingthebenefitsofthismaterialtotheseapplicationsandbeyond.

ProtectingRFID‐enabledChipsPolycarbonatealsooffershigherlevelsofprotectiontoRFIDtagslaminatedwithinthecard’sstructure.Polyester,althoughoftenusedformanyRFIDcards,maydelaminaterelativelyrapidly,therebysubjectingtheRFIDinlaytoearlyfailure.Throughitspioneeringworkbuildingmulti‐technologycards,LaserCardhasdevelopedspecialRFIDinlaytechniquesonpolycarbonate.MostWHTI(WesternHemisphereTravelInitiative)‐compliantdriverlicensesareconstructedofcompositestructureswhereasLaserCardheatweldstheantennaandchipdirectlyintothestructureofthepolycarbonatecard.Theencapsulationofthechipentirelyinpolycarbonate,andtherebyavoidingthestressesinducedbytheuseofalternatecompositeencapsulationstructures,protectsitfromdamage.

ChallengesinPolycarbonateCredential ManufacturePolycarbonate,whiledesirableforIDcardprogramsbecauseofitsdurabilityandtemperature‐resistantcharacteristics,presentssignificantengineeringandmanufacturingchallenges.Consistentproductionofpolycarbonatecardsisadifficultprocessrequiringspecialistexpertise.LaserCard’songoingresearchanddevelopmenthasenabledittoovercomethemostsignificantobstaclesandextendthebenefitsofpolycarbonatetoabroadrangeofcustomersandvarietyofhighlysecureIDcardprograms.

Onesuchchallengeisthedifficultyofdie‐cuttingpolycarbonatecards.AnotherisdyediffusionpersonalizationwheredyesmustbespeciallyformulatedorthepolycarbonatemustbecoatedwithadyereceptorlayerorbelaminatedwithaPVCoverlay.

Today,whiledyetransferprintingstilldominatesthelegacy‐issuedbaseofIDcardstheindustryisincreasinglyturningtolaserengraving.Withdyetransfer,dyescanfadeandimagesarefrequentlysubjecttoblurringbydyemigrationresultingfromexposuretohighhumidityorplasticizersincardwallets.Personalizedinformation,whichlivesatthesurfaceofthecard,canberemovedbynailpolishremover,chemicals,abrasivesorothermeansoffraudulentmodificationevenwhentheimagesareprotectedbyadurabilitypatch.

Theadvantageoflaserengravingbycontrastisthedurabilityoftheimage.Laserengravingproducesagrayscaleblackandwhiteimageonly,butthatimageiscreatedbycarbonizationoftheplasticandisinvulnerabletoeffectsofhumidity,plasticizersorfadinginsunlight.Furtherthelaserengravedimageisburnedintothecardbodyandcannotberemoved,thusprovidingahigherlevelofresistancetofraudulentmanipulationofthecard.Also,theengravingcanbetactile,non‐tactileoracombinationdependingonengravingconditionsandcardstructure.

Insomeapplications,inordertoobtainthefraudresistanceoflaserengravingcombinedwiththeavailabilityofacolorimageofthecardholder,acombinationoflaserengravinganddyetransferprintingisused.Manufacturersmustthereforebeabletoworkeffectivelywithpolycarbonatetosupportbothdyetransferandlaserengravinginordertosuccessfullymeetmarketdemands.

Copyright©2010LaserCardCorporation 5

PolycarbonateinMajorProgramsLaserCardhasdeliverednumerouslarge‐scaleIDprogramsutilizingpolycarbonateconstruction.

• USGreenCard:morethan20millioncardshavebeenissuedsince1997;thenextgenerationprogramlaunchedinMay2010istheworld’sfirstimplementationofopticalsecuritymediaandRFIDtechnology;SaudiArabiaNationalIDCard:uncompromisingdocumentsecurityanddurabilitytoovercomemajorcounterfeitingissues

• CostRicaForeignResidentCard:counterfeit‐proofcredentialsreplaceeasilyreproducedpaper‐baseddocumentation

• ItalianNationalPoliceForce:constructionincorporatesopticalsecuritymedia,contactandcontactlesschipswithinasingle,secureandstandards‐compliantcarddesign

• IndiaVehicleRegistration:meetsthemoststringentdurabilityrequirements,ascertifiedbyindependentlaboratorytestingsupportinga10‐yearlifetime

• RepublicofAngolaNationalIDcard:counterfeit‐resistant,tamperproofvisualauthenticationanddurabilityunderextremesofclimate

• U.S.DepartmentofDefenseAutomatedManifestSystem:durableandreliablecredentialsfortheworld’sharshestconditions

Contactustoday:TolearnmoreabouthowintegratingmultitechnologiesintoyoursecureIDsolutioncanbenefityourorganization,pleasecontactusat:

• TheAmericas: tel:+16509694428,email:sales@lasercard.com

• Europe,MiddleEast&Africa:tel:+492102929900;E‐mail:sales.emea@lasercard.com