Hologram cards in the form of hologram ID cards or employee badges and any other cards subject to tampering or forgery are very popular. Any card made of plastic or paper can be made holographic. Holographic overlays are specifically designed to upgrade and improve security and authenticity of your existing plastic or paper ID cards. Hologram image overlays prevent photocopying and forgeries and allows a clear view of ID card information. Holographic card provide higher visual security and authenticity. Besides security, holographic cards are usually dazzling and eye catching display. There are various designs and colors, shapes- some opaque, some oval or wavy or some in translucent format to give a greater appearance of depth.

Properties of Hologram ID Cards

• Peel and stick transparent labels are affixed after the ID card is printed.
• The size of the hologram overlay is slightly smaller than a standard ID card.
• Pressure sensitive
• Self adhesive label
• Transparent
• The hologram overlays are strong.
• They can be applied to new cards or existing cards.

Hologram Overlays on ID Cards

• Transparent Hologram ID Card Overlay: This type of hologram ID card applies a transparent hologram film overlay on a digitally printed ID card. This not only protects the inks in the card from excessive abrasion and wear but also the card life and enhance the security of your ID cards. The holographic overlay helps in preventing alterations to the card information and resists copying or duplicating the ID card.
  
  
• Custom Holographic Origination Overlay: Another type is an overlay that is as per customer's specification. An hologram overlay with your company name/logo offers the most security for your ID cards.

Types of Master Origination of Hologram Card Lamination

The lamination done on hologram ID cards are as follows:

• DOT-MATRIX Hologram
• 2D/3D Hologram
• Flip-Flop Hologram
• Kinetic movement in hologram

Important factors to consider before making hologram cards

For any photo ID application, the first step is always to get the initial card design right. Once the holographic card layer and usage is determined, the next thing is to consider physical protection and the prevention of counterfeiting. For holographic card security and protection, various questions need to be answered:

• How will the card be carried ?
• How will the card be used ?
• Will the card suffer wear through after it is being physically "swiped" through a reader?
• What level of security protection is required?

An example: A typical example of holographic card is the symbol of dove used in almost all Visa and Master cards.


The above two figures show the two variations of holograms used in Visa cards. Very few people who have seen both versions of the VISA holograms are not aware of the fact that they are infact two different holograms, used in different parts of the world.

Applications of Hologram Cards

Hologram cards are found in the following:

• Hologram ID Card
• Hologram Credit Card
• Hologram Drivers License
• Hologram National ID Card
• Hologram Voter Registration Card
• Hologram Gun License Card
• Hologram Proof-of-Age Card
• Hologram Employee ID Card

The above cards are all examples of real world ID card applications and they must be completely protected against forgery.