HID FARGO Card Design User Manual
THE CARD DESIGN
ID
BOOK
A STE P-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATING
DYNAM IC, E FFECT IVE AN D SEC URE I D CAR DS
BONUS
SECTION:
CARD
DESIGN
GALLERY
Presented by
INTRODUCTION
CRE ATING ID CAR DS HAS NE VER BE EN EAS IER
Welcome to our
step-by-step guide.
If you have been charged with
designing ID cards for your
organization, you have an
important responsibility.
Creating an effective ID card design
involves more than meets the eye.
However, with a little planning and
consideration of the best practices
discussed in this guide, it will be an
enjoyable experience.
After reviewing this simple step-
by-step overview and our gallery of
existing ID cards, you’ll be ready to
begin — or enhance — your own
design. Creating dynamic, effective
and secure ID cards has never been
easier.
Good luck!
THE
CARD DESIGN
ID
BOOK
CONTENTS
Introduction 2
ID Card Anatomy 3
How to Design an ID Card 4
ID Card Gallery 18
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ID CAR D ANATOMY
The Anatomy of a Secure ID Card
A secure ID card is more than a name and a photo. It requires visual security elements to
protect itself from tampering and forgery. Technology cards include embedded electronics,
antennas and smart chip contacts that usually affect card design.
Customized Card Features
Logo
Holographic
overlaminate
Smart card contacts
Custom background
photography
Technology Card Features
Over-the-edge
High Definition Printing
Custom graphic design
Holographic
overlaminate
Smart chip contacts
High Definition
Printing (HDP
Technology card top
Proximity antenna
Smart chip antenna
Technology card bottom
®
) Film
™
STEP 1
DEF INE PARAM ETE RS
Define the parameters
of your ID card design
Creating an effective ID card design involves
more than meets the eye.
That’s why this first step is so important. You
need to understand the objectives of your
organization’s entire ID card program.
While designing a visually attractive card is
also important, it’s secondary to designing a
card that helps:
o Enhance physical and logical security
o Increase efficiency and productivity
o Reduce vulnerability to counterfeiting
o Reflect the organization’s brand identity
PEOPLE
PRIVACY
PROPERTY
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFITS
PRIDE
s
ID card program
objectives will
strongly influence
your ID card design
parameters.
These objectives will later help determine the
parameters of your card design.
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HOW-TO ST EPS
s
At the beginning of your process, consider talking with an expert in card identity systems. Whether
your cards are designed to protect your organization or promote it (or both), authorized Fargo
integrators are an excellent resource to help you define and achieve your objectives.
Here are a few questions about ID card
s
objectives to help you start defining the
parameters of your ID card design:
o How many employees, contractors
and visitors do we have? Will we have
separate card designs for each?
o How many different areas of our
organization will interact with the
cards? Will we need different levels of
security clearance for each?
o Does our card design need to comply
with any government regulations?
o How will we verify and authenticate the
identity of each cardholder?
STEP 2
DET ERM INE SE CUR ITY
Determine the level
of visual security you
will need on your card
A color photo on a plain white card just
isn’t enough anymore. Today, anyone with
a computer can create a legitimate-looking
ID card with ease. Proper card design can
help reduce your vulnerability to counterfeit
ID cards. Incorporating holographic
security elements that are difficult to
forge, yet easy to authenticate, should be
the first consideration in a secure card
design. There are choices for every need
and budget, from basic elements such
as a simple foil to sophisticated solutions
such as custom-designed holographic
overlaminates.
s
An authorized Fargo
integrator can be an
excellent resource for
determining the security
elements in your next
card design.
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Holograms can be loaded with high-tech, layered security features from
microtext and fine line (guilloche) designs to optically variable devices
(OVDs) like animated morphing imagery.
t
The starting point of
any secure ID card
design is a 300 dpi
color photograph.
From a design
perspective, the
larger and more
vivid the photo is,
the easier it is to
authenticate the
cardholder.
HOW-TO ST EPSHOW-TO ST EPS
s
Holographic foils and
images, like those found
on credit cards, may
be applied to a card’s
surface or embedded
below its surface for even
more security.
Holographic overlaminates
s s
can contain an off-the-shelf
holographic design, or you
can create a custom design
for even greater security
— and brand enhancement.
STEP 3
DET ERM INE TECHNO LOG IES
Determine the
technologies that your
ID card will have
The card technologies your organization
uses will influence your card design.
They will also affect the selection of the card
printer/encoder you’ll use. But you can still
create a great-looking card, if your design
accommodates technologies such as:
o Bar codes
o Contact and contactless smart cards
o Proximity antennae
o Magnetic stripes
Whether on the inside or outside of the card,
these technologies can alter surfaces and
make printing any design more challenging.
s
Cards with embedded
electronics like smart
cards or “clamshell”
proximity cards will
affect your design and
the type of printer that
you will use.
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Achieving an effective ID card design involves three layers: functionality,
security and graphics. When making decisions about these elements, it
is smart to involve the experts, whether they are your security personnel,
ID card system integrators or graphic designers.
s
Do you plan to utilize a bar code in
ssss s
your operations?
Remember to allow adequate space
around it to ensure trouble-free
scanning. Also, if your bar code is
printed on a background color, be sure
that background color provides sufficient
contrast for scannability.
HOW-TO ST EPS
Designing a card with a magnetic stripe?
Remember that some elements like this
have fixed positions on ID cards.
The electronics inside proximity cards
create an irregular card surface. For
consistent image quality on prox and
other technology cards, consider using
High Definition Printing
Most traditional direct-to-card printers
can’t print tightly around smart card
contacts without risking damage to their
print heads. High Definition Printing
Technology prints up to the contacts’
edges, and over the card edge for a highquality appearance.
™
technology.
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