Lifelike faces, security in practice: why you should rely on color photos
Lifelike faces, security in practice: why you should rely on color photos More lifelike images mean easier verification
In today’s globalized world, travel is increasingly crucial for prosperity. As a result, more people are using their identity documents for travel. At the same time, it is becoming more complex to protect those identities while forgers constantly come up with new methods of identity fraud. It is therefore essential to include the highest quality and most secure photo technology in identity documents. At the same time it is crucial to ensure that ID documents are easy to verify.
Government and citizens alike rightly expect first-rate, vivid color photos to be included in their national identity documents in combination with further security features. Black-and-white holder’s images were previously the norm for polycarbonate documents. Now, color photos are integrated instead.
Color photos give any ID card both a contemporary and professional look, boosting public confidence in the document’s security aspects and its reliability. What’s more, a brilliant color image in an ID offers instant visual proof that the card holder is a citizen of a modernized country.
Significantly, color photos also enable ID document holders to be identified more precisely. Physical characteristics, such as facial features or hair color, are more clearly visible, making identity verification easier and faster.
CLIP ID and CLIP ID Echo from Veridos allows efficient, highly secure color personalization
Why the ID holder’s portrait is essential for security
The portrait displayed on any ID, whether a passport, driver’s license or other important national identity document, provides one of the closest links between the document and its owner.
Of course, authorities have to ensure that the picture used on the document corresponds to the actual document holder and that no attempts at forgery or manipulation have been made. Fortunately, counterfeiters don’t have access to the sophisticated color personalization technologies used in the latest generation of identity documents. These security features can make the picture forgery-proof once the document has been issued and protect it from forgers.
How identity documents can be easy to verify
Color photos enable authorities e.g. at border control to identify ID cardholders more quickly and accurately, speeding up identity verification at citizen's offices or borders and making the process more efficient and secure.
In today’s economy, there is an increasing call for IDs to be checked, not just by experts but also by laymen. For instance, when opening a new bank account. Non-experts can carry out these inspections with ease, either via the naked eye, using a basic tool like a magnifying glass, or employing a more sophisticated device, such as a smartphone or a scanner.
True, vibrant colors bring image to life
When it comes to color personalization, CLIP ID (Color Laser Image Protected ID) and CLIP ID Echo from Veridos offer the best integrated solutions. These add vivid color photos to any polycarbonate identity documents, including data pages for passports and different kinds of ID cards.
CLIP ID incorporates a unique combination of secure laser engraving and durable image printing on a special lenticular structure. This results in a lifelike image of the ID holder – in true, brilliant colors.
The color personalization process uses two photo sources to produce vibrant color images of the holder. First, a black-and-white version of the photo is laser engraved. Then, a color version
is printed on top. Once created, CLIP ID images can’t be tampered with by counterfeiters.
CLIP ID Echo is an enhanced version of CLIP ID. It includes repeated portrait and biographical data about the cardholder, such as a birth date or an ID number. This additional information is personalized by laser engraving. The engraved data can only be seen from certain angles. Moreover, the data can’t be reproduced by photocopying, for example, making it extremely effective against forgery.
“A brilliant, lifelike portrait of the holder is the key to secure verification. CLIP ID and CLIP ID Echo go beyond that – making identity documents even more forgery-proof,” says Jan-Patrick Bachmann, Product Manager at IDMS Business Line
The utmost security provided by these enhancements boosts public confidence in the security and the reliability of their ID documents. Authorities such as border control officials also benefit: the more vibrant the holder’s photo, the easier it is to verify them. Costa Rica and Bangladesh have been the first countries to benefit from the technology. All in all, the 10 millionth passport will be personalized with CLIP ID before the end of 2023.
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