ABnote Group Joint MULTOS Consortium

The ABnote Group has joined the MULTOS Consortium, a group of international blue chip organizations responsible for the ongoing maintenance and development of the MULTOS specification. ABnote, is pleased to join a diverse membership group which reflects the interests of companies in many sectors including telecommunications, e-commerce, travel, entertainment, retail, media, and government.

Thomas Ziemkus, senior vice president of ABnote, says “By becoming a member of the MULTOS Consortium, ABnote will increase its awareness of developing smartcard standards, and will therefore be able to provide the best advice to its customers. Joining MULTOS was driven by the need to fully accommodate both existing and potential customers, and we anticipate that ABnote’s long history as a security solution provider will enable us to make a valuable contribution to the consortium.”

CPI Card Group Releases Card Designer v2.5 and Receives EMV Certification

CPI Card Group announced the release of Card Designer v2.5. This latest version of the online software includes many new and updated features. Card Designer now has an updated online tool, enabling customers to get their cards to market faster. These upgraded features include a design checklist, pre-set templates and the ability to design not only the front but also the back of a card. Selecting a card background, placing graphical logos, text and network bugs will complete the design and make an image that is truly worth a thousand words.

The newest version of Card Designer also features the ability to upload high resolution artwork for card production. Requesting an order or pricing is a snap with updated forms that are more comprehensive, saving time as the customer places their requests.

CPI also announced that its Canadian facility has been certified by Visa and Interac to manufacture and personalize EMV financial cards.

This latest certification adds to the existing MasterCard certification achieved by the Toronto location.

Cupola Plastic Cards Attains ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Certification

Cupola Plastic Cards (CPC) announced their Information Security Management System has been certified as compliant with ISO/IEC 27001: 2005 in December 2008. ISO 27001:2005 is an internationally recognized and accepted specification for an Information Security Management System published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Information security management system (ISMS) standard ISO/IEC 27001 encourages organizations to bring technical decision making about information security controls into a business-driven risk-based framework.

The ISO 27001 certification, conferred by LRQA Dubai, the subsidiary of LRQA, establishes that CPC’s services and security management adheres to the highest standards in the world and endorses CPC’s constant commitment to safeguard the trust and confidence that their customers have placed in them. CPC can now demonstrate independent assurance of their internal controls, meeting corporate governance and business continuity requirements, while also demonstrating the observation of all applicable laws and regulations.

CPC realized that there existed a need to create a standardized and globally accepted ISMS for the following reasons:
• An effective ISMS was required to manage and secure confidential client and business information.
• More and more customers were looking at the existence and effective practice of a globally accepted ISMS during the initial negotiations or the Request for Proposal ( RFP) stage. Certification against a globally accepted ISMS standard would demonstrate due diligence.
• A structured ISMS was needed to manage the dynamic Visa and MasterCard requirements for card manufacturing and personalization bureaus.
• Implementation of an internationally recognized ISMS could be a key Market differentiator for CPC.

CPC has been one of the few organizations in this region which has successfully deployed the ISO 27001:2005 based ISMS and certified against the same in record time. Where as the other organizations achieving this certification had an average project timeline of not less than five months, CPC was able to deploy and be certified in a considerably shorter period of three months. This fact combined with the innovative methodology adopted has resulted in the project being recognized by Arabian Computer News magazine and being accorded a cover page article status in its forthcoming issue. The implementation methodology was based on the classic Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) development cycle. The figures shown below illustrates how an ISMS takes the information security requirements and expectations of the interested parties (Visa, MasterCard, Clients) and, through the necessary actions and processes, produces information security outcomes that meets those requirements and expectations.

What set CPC apart is that at the ‘Plan’ stage, the Visa and MasterCard logical security requirements were mapped onto the ISO 27001:2005 requirements to clearly understand the differences between the three standards. Armed with this gap analysis report, the implementation team at CPC set about creating and implementing the CPC ISMS which incorporated all the elements of Visa and MasterCard logical security standards while remaining true to the ISO 27001:2005 requirements.

Datacard Group Makes Advancement in Secure Identity Applications for Governments

Datacard Group announced the launch of Datacard® Secura™ identification software. Designed to help governments issue secure credentials and minimize fraudulent identity, this software enables agencies to enroll applicants and authenticate identities in passport, national ID, driver’s license and government employee ID programs.

“Governments worldwide need to identify people with greater accuracy, making biometric matching technology essential,” said Russell St. John, senior vice president of global marketing for Datacard Group. “Many governments also need to automate manual, paper-based processes. Secura software addresses these challenges while maintaining compliance with government standards and recommendations, such as Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201 and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.”

Secura software is a suite of applications that enables role-based identity management, allowing government agencies to establish a trusted source for validating identities and credentials. It provides strong authentication across a range of activities from secure enrollment to credential issuance to post-issuance management of secure IDs.

Secura software optimizes security with the latest multi-modal biometric matching technology, and supports secure transmission and storage of identity and credential data. It also helps agencies improve efficiency with a modular design and configurable workflows that can be tailored to specific customer requirements.

Gemalto Sets Up Payment Card Personalization Facility in Indonesia

Gemalto announced that it will inaugurate its first personalization center in Indonesia before the end of the year. The new facility will enable Gemalto to locally support financial institutions in their EMV migration. Gemalto will act as an end-to-end service provider, from card manufacturing through to fulfillment. Value-added services include inventory management and express card personalization with same day shipment. The personalization center achieved MasterCard and Visa certifications in less than six months.

Drawing on its 20 year local presence, Gemalto has been playing an integral role in the Indonesian financial industry. Gemalto will utilize its global infrastructure, common to all Gemalto personalization centers worldwide, to provide local banks with a one-stop shop for their EMV migration program. The facility is ideally suited to meet further market requirements by developing applications for mobile contactless payment and online banking.

HID Global Announces Consolidation and Launch of Identity on Demand Services

HID Global has initiated consolidation of the company’s eGovernment passport inlay production into one manufacturing campus in Galway, Ireland.

The consolidation began in July 2009. By the end of 2009, the company anticipates that the significant majority of products related to its e-passport and e-national ID business will be produced at HID Global Ireland Teoranta (formerly Aontec Teoranta).

The consolidation is the starting point for additional expansion of the Galway campus. This expansion will include increased production capacity, the ability to support manufacturing of additional eGovernment-related technologies, as well as the addition of associated support functions. The expanded production capability at HID Global Ireland Teoranta will be supported by the company’s e-document engineering teams, which will continue to provide new development and support for existing eGovernment customers while meeting the needs and requirements of new clients.

HID Global also announced the launch of Identity on Demand (IoD), a unique service offering that provides expertise and speed needed to make custom credential and ID badge projects successful. Offering card design, database management and card personalization, IoD services manages the administrative tasks of customer ID projects by producing credentials quickly, efficiently and within budget.

The new service represents a consolidation of experience and process refinement for delivering card issuance services in a secure, fast and convenient manner. From laminated artwork and anti-counterfeiting techniques to variable record printing and advanced personalization, IoD services delivers the global know-how, tools, delivery services, speed and ongoing support needed to ensure the success of even the most demanding credential program.

Sold through HID Global’s extensive channel network of security integrators and OEMs, IoD services create opportunities for installing resellers and OEMs to extend their existing product and services portfolio. IoD services benefit ID badging project managers, who need external assistance due to tight project timelines, lack of resources or to supplement in-house card issuance capabilities.

JDSU Wins 2009 Sesames Award for HoloFuse™ Product

JDSU announced that it has won a prestigious Sesames Award for its HoloFuse™ polycarbonate film in the Applications Identification category. The awards were presented at an opening reception during the CARTES & IDentification exhibition on November 16, 2009 in Paris, France.

Every year, ten Sesames Awards are presented by a jury of industry experts for the best new advances in the hardware, software and application categories that benefit card manufacturing businesses and other related industries.

“We have long respected the Sesames Awards and are honored to have won this prestigious award,” said Mark Bonney, vice president and general manager of Authentication Solutions for the AOT business segment at JDSU. “The award recognizes HoloFuse as a breakthrough technology and represents how committed JDSU is to providing solutions that can help reduce fraud for governments and their citizens.”

Introduced in May, 2009, HoloFuse is a new and highly integrated product that helps protect government-issued identity documents such as passports, national identity documents and driver’s licenses against counterfeiting and tampering.

HoloFuse is the first solution that helps prevent counterfeiting efforts by adding secure holographic security features to polycarbonate cards without the use of an adhesive layer, which is currently prone to attack by document forgers. In addition, providing an integrated solution simplifies the manufacturing process for card and identity document makers

Jet Announces it Received the Governor’s Sustainability Award

Jet demonstrated it is a premier organization and leader in graphic communication solutions by receiving the 2009 Governor’s Sustainability Award. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center presents Governor’s awards to organizations in Illinois that demonstrate a commitment to environmental excellence through outstanding and innovative sustainability practices.

“The efforts of these businesses and organizations demonstrate that it is possible to meet social and economic needs while minimizing impacts on the environment. Present and future generations will appreciate their foresight,” said John C. Marlin, ISTC Acting Director.

Jet’s initiatives for sustainability range from using the latest renewable materials and environmentally friendly processes, to employing sustainable business practices at every level of the company.

“Remaining dedicated to sustainability is more than recycling, more than lip service and certainly more than marketing green terms to clients,” affirms Jeff Norby, President of Jet. “This award solidifies our efforts as tangible tactics and we remain committed and dedicated to serve both our clients and the community we live in.”

LaserCard Introduces Advanced Visual Security Innovations for its Optical Security Media

LaserCard Corporation announced innovations to its optical security media that aid document examiners in visually authenticating identity credentials when electronic card readers are not available. These advances in secure imaging put the possibility of credible forgeries even further beyond the reach of counterfeiters.

Ongoing enhancement of LaserCard’s optical security media is enabled by continuous internal software development efforts. The company’s flexible development environment and secure encoding technology allow the media to be purposed in progressively new and unique ways. The optical media not only securely stores digital data and enables confident visual authentication, but also supports the covert interleaving of visual and digital information to provide yet another forensic authentication method.

New and enhanced features in the most recently released developments include:
• Higher resolution security artwork: Overt, covert and forensic user-defined security features are embedded into the optical media in the LaserCard controlled manufacturing process. These images are resolved at up to 25,000 dots per inch, well beyond the capability of current or conceived scanning, copying and printing technologies.
• Higher contrast, higher resolution cardholder image laser etched onto the optical security media (Personalized Embedded HologramHD™) to resist substitution or tampering of a credential’s printed or lasered facial image(s).
• New personalized features which enhance the Personalized Embedded Hologram, including ghost image (a faint duplicate of the credential holder’s facial image) and continuously variable text, both of which enhance counterfeit resistance.
• Complex background images to lock the elements of the Personalized Embedded Hologram together, such as watermark, and wallpaper, which enhance visual authentication, prevent tampering and further
deter counterfeiting.
• A new optical media card configuration which complies with International Civil Aviation Organization standards for travel cards.

These features provide credential examiners with a highly reliable means of visually authenticating a document and identifying its holder, especially when automatic readers are not available, which is the most common reality today despite the increasing specification of machine readable technologies.

L-1 Identity Solutions Awarded Five-Year Sole Source Contract for U.S. Passport Printing

L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. announced it was awarded a new contract to continue providing high security production systems for U.S. passports. The indefinite quantity contract has a potential value of up to $195 million and was awarded by the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Consular Affairs, Consular Systems and Technology Directorate to Trans Digital Technologies Corporation (TDT), a wholly owned subsidiary of L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc.

The new contract, which has a potential term of five years (one year base and four option years) follows the completion of the previous contract agreement and encompasses ongoing support of the DoS in 22 domestic passport agencies and production centers through the continued use of the MP300US printing system. Additionally, TDT will provide security products, technical support, and maintenance needed to sustain U.S. passport production operations at all current and future passport facilities.

Added Robert V. LaPenta, chairman, president and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions, “We are very pleased to continue to serve the needs of the Department of State and other federal agencies. This contract is an important validation for our business and underscores the confidence that our customers place in us with the most critical of missions.”

For more than a decade, TDT has supported the DoS with the Toppan MP300US passport printing system as part of the Travel Documents Issuance System (TDIS) for the issuance of U.S. passport books.

MGI Installs Meteor DP60 Pro Digital Presses at Two Major In-Plant Operations

MGI USA announced they have installed Meteor DP60 Pro® 4-color multi-substrate digital presses at two major in-plant operations in the United States: Cincinnati, OH and Clayton County, GA, Public School System. The presses were installed in late August by MGI dealers Graphco and Paper Handling Solutions, respectively.

Steven Howe, manager of Cincinnati Printing Services, Stores and Mail Operations for the City of Cincinnati, selected the Meteor DP60 Pro with the EnvelopExpress high capacity envelope feeder after an extensive period of research and testing. Howe and his team have printed a wide range of applications on the Meteor DP60 Pro to date, including full color letterhead, envelopes, invitations, postcards, plastic parking tags, brochures, posters and many others.

Clayton County Public School System, one of the largest school systems in Georgia, installed a Meteor DP60 Pro and an EnvelopExpress, with sales and service handled by Paper Handling Solutions, based in Marietta, Georgia. The shop currently has Sakurai two and four color presses, along with several Xerox and Konica Minolta digital color printers. Judy Helms, supervisor of Printing Services, selected the Meteor DP60 Pro because of its versatility and multi-substrate capabilities.

“The driving factor in our choice of the MGI Meteor DP60 Pro was the ability to print on plastics and envelopes in addition to paper, as well as being ideal for short runs,” said Helms. “We’re now able to produce our short run jobs more economically on the Meteor DP60 Pro while matching the output quality of our Sakurai presses, and we love the quick turnaround times and no make-ready the Meteor DP60 Pro affords.”

Since the press was installed, Helms and her team have produced a host of projects including 4-color variable data envelopes, banners (utilizing the Meteor DP60 Pro’s Super Format print capabilities), flash cards and plastic business cards, with future plans to produce plastic ID cards for students, faculty and administrators.

Mühlbauer Launches New BookletLine and First Combined Laser and Dye Sublimation Card Desktop Personalization System

The Mühlbauer Group announced the launch of its new BookletLine, a flexible system for fully automated production of state-of-the-art ePassports and eCovers.

Numerous passports and other booklets are still manufactured in a more or less semi automatic way or in a very complex, interminable process. Mühlbauer’s BookletLine is a new, highly flexible solution for collating, lamination and punching of standard or electronic passports in a 2-up format with a complete throughput of up to 3,000 UPH.

The BookletLine consists of three highly modular machines, easily configurable to the requirements of the passport document. An intelligent software approach secures the complete system, ensures highest production quality and allows the tracing of all materials.

The passport lamination machine of the BookletLine can be also used to produce eCovers for applications that require lower security levels. For high security eCover manufacturing, a further system, the ECL 6000, with an innovative hot melt technology, has to be integrated into the line. eCovers can be handled in 2-up or 3-up format.

In addition, the complete Mühlbauer BookletLine is able to handle other booklet formats than ID3, e.g. bank books, through the complete system at minimum adjustment affords.

Mühlbauer’s wide experience in card body production enables a smooth handling of all materials. To guarantee highest output quality and yield, the complete BookletLine endues of continuous inspection units for testing the chip functionality and reject units for sorting out of defective booklets.

Oberthur Technologies Receives MasterCard and VISA Certifications for Mexico City Service Center and Announces Breakthrough EMV Migration Solution

Oberthur Technologies received both MasterCard® and VISA® magstripe and chip card certifications for its new service center located in Mexico City, Mexico. The newly-certified facility can personalize up to 20 million secure payment cards, SIM cards and ID cards per year.

“The new service center in Mexico City expands Oberthur Technologies’ reach into Latin America’s rapidly growing EMV market,” says Martin Ferenczi, managing director of the Americas Region of the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies. “Oberthur Technologies localized services combined with our global expertise in EMV is able to fulfill the needs of our customers in this critical market.”

Oberthur Technologies also announced EMV-in-Box, for card issuers in the United States.

“At a time when the global marketplace is migrating to EMV to fight against rapidly increasing payment fraud, the U.S. will become isolated if it stays with magstripe-only technology,” said Martin Ferenczi.

EMV-in-a-Box, a fully integrated EMV migration solution and management program, is based on best practices gained by Oberthur Technologies’ work on more than 200 EMV projects worldwide. The program includes on-site consultation, EMV training, project management and technical support. The migration plan enables EMV cards to be issued within 12 weeks from project initiation.

EMV (Europay MasterCard VISA) is a global specification for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology. The EMV standard, which offers enhanced security versus traditional magstripe cards, has widespread use and acceptance worldwide, excluding the United States.

Oberthur Technologies’ ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facility, in southeast Pennsylvania, recently completed a multi-million dollar expansion plan. The newly installed equipment includes milling and embedding lines for chip based cards. The expanded facility is targeted to have a card manufacturing capacity of over 20 million cards a month. EMV card personalization can take place at either of Oberthur Technologies two bi-coastal service centers, located in Los Angeles, California and Chantilly, Virginia.

Oberthur Technologies to Provide Contactless Transit Cards for Montreal’s Public Transport System

Oberthur Technologies has been selected by STM (Société de Transport de Montréal) to supply contactless cards for use throughout the Montreal region’s public transport network.

As the sole supplier to STM, Oberthur Technologies will deliver the e-ticketing smart cards over the next four years, which can be used on buses, the subway and commuter trains throughout the Greater Montreal area and Quebec City, and can be recharged at automated fare vending machines or points of sale.

To use the card, the passenger simply holds it above the card reader at the turnstile or fare box on the bus. The convenience and flexibility of contactless transport cards provided by Oberthur Technologies makes public transport in Montreal more efficient.

Made of highly durable PET-F plastic, the card is fully compliant with the Calypso™ international e-ticketing standard for smart cards and provides both a contact and contactless interface.

Pentacard Rigid Gold and Silver Vinyl Core Films Now Available from Klöckner Pentaplast

The extensive Pentacard® film product line has been extended to include the Pentacard CC-M146/19 solid gold and silver films for secure and non-secure card applications. With these new Pentacard films, Klöckner Pentaplast offers the unique alternative of a solid middle layer that matches the gold or silver color used on the outer layers (surface) of the card. Currently, gold and silver cards have a white middle layer that is visible when the card is viewed from the side. These new films are ideal for card applications where enhanced aesthetics are required to support high-quality branding initiatives.

Available in 200µ to 400µ thicknesses with a matte / matte surface, Pentacard CC-M146/19 films are engineered to provide excellent printability and outstanding lamination. These films offer the same high-quality performance characteristics as standard Pentacard rigid vinyl films, such as dimensional stability, flex, and embossing retention.

“Pentacard CC-M146/19 films were developed to offer our customers yet another alternative to enhance the value and high-quality perception of solid gold or silver card applications,” notes Dr. Jürgen Bundschuh, Klöckner Pentaplast’s business manager for card films in Europe. “The extension of our Pentacard film portfolio to include these new films, along with our existing cards films, continues to provide our customers with the broadest selection of card films available in the global market place today.”

PPG Breaks Ground for its First Resin Plant in China

PPG Industries held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first resin production facility in mainland China at the Zhangjiagang Yangtze International Chemical Industrial Park, Jiangsu province. Resins are key raw materials for paints and coatings, and the Zhangjiagang plant will supply other PPG plants throughout China, as well as automotive and industrial customers.

“As our 14th plant in greater China, the Zhangjiagang plant is another example of PPG’s commitment to growth in China and in the coatings industry,” said Charles E. Bunch, PPG chairman of the board and chief executive officer, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony. The Zhangjiagang plant will primarily produce water-based electrodeposition resins, which provide a more environmentally-responsible alternative to traditional resin products for use in automotive and general industrial coatings. The plant will span 60,000 square meters, and initial production capacity will be 27,000 metric tons. The plant is scheduled to begin operation in early 2011.

“The construction of the Zhangjiagang plant continues PPG’s trend of entering developing regions as local market demand expands,” said Viktor R. Sekmakas, president, PPG Asia/Pacific.

Sekmakas said the facility will be “a model plant in Asia” in terms of its environmental features, and it will incorporate many of PPG’s “green” building materials, such as low-volatile organic compound (low-VOC) coatings and low-emissivity glass. “PPG will design, build and operate this facility to meet high environmental standards, conserving energy, water and raw materials and integrating state-of-the-art pollution control measures,” he said.

SMARTRAC Launches Research Project on Biodegradable Production Materials

SMARTRAC N.V. announced that it has launched a research project on biodegradable production materials. As RFID components are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, the environmental sustainability of the products and materials used in their production is an issue of growing significance. For this reason, SMARTRAC has launched a research project to identify and implement production materials that are suitable for reliable high quality products yet are environmentally friendly at the same time.

The research project will be conducted by the SMARTRAC Research & Development department together with several technology institutes in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, SMARTRAC is in intensive dialogue with substrate manufacturers and leading chemical companies.

RFID transponders today are typically made of thin polymer substrates such as PVC or PET films, a metal antenna and a microchip. In addition, adhesive materials are used to join the different layers together. These materials are similar to those used in standard consumer product packaging.

As huge growth is forecast in future demand for RFID transponders, especially in consumer applications, SMARTRAC is taking early action to further optimize the transponder materials with regards to environmentally friendly disposal. The outcome of the research project will be a range of new transponder substrate and encapsulation materials for a wide range of applications which will be used as a base for a “Green RFID Transponder” line.

VTT has Created a New Product Line—High Tech Lamination Plates for Exclusive Cards

VTT Verschleißteiltechnik GmbH announced their latest product line has acheived new technical ability to laminate structured card surfaces directly. VTT technology allows customers to unlock a new dimension of possibilities on a small space. Cards with matt, glossy, textured and smooth finishes are achievable, providing a new look and feel for cards.

Zebra Migrates to Security Card Market

Zebra Technologies is targeting the Middle East security market with its range of retransfer card printers including the ZXP Series 8 printer.

“They can have holograms on them, they can have embedded security chips and print quality is second to none,” claims Peter Gooding, Customer Applications team manager at Zebra.

Printing technologies that Zebra has in its repertoire include access and control identification, asset tracking, for the printing of loyalty or gift cards, point of sales printers and terminal operating solutions. Its printers have also been employed on a large scale by the UK’s National Health Service, for patient printout tags. It is however, the security card printing customers that the company is hoping to most attract this year.
“The Middle East market has been a growing market and we expect it to grow even more in the future,” suggests Wael Hasan, territory manager for the Middle East at Zebra.

“We have seen a lot of customers that are moving into automating their business processes, so that has reflected on the demand in the autoID business and that will definitely require our solutions.”

Hasan goes further to point out that the Middle East is a strong market because of the financial support from governments and that the government sector is one of the most important verticals for its retransfer printers.
The ZXP Series 8 printer delivers photo quality, high-speed printing on many different types of cards, including those with uneven surfaces such as smart cards, polycarbonate cards and biopolymer cards. It is available in single and dual-sided printing configurations with magnetic encoding, smart card encoding, single- and dual-sided lamination, and connectivity options.