State and Defense departments order high-tech printers

The departments of State and Defense have ordered high-definition printers capable of creating identification cards for National Guard members and embassy employees.

The Pentagon order of 290 laminating card printers and encoders will go to the National Guard Bureau, a joint agency of the Army and Air Force, some time this year. The printers will create IDs for active and reserve Guard personnel as part of the military's Common Access Card program, a project of the Telos Corp. in Ashburn, Va.

The printers have the capability to encode the cards with the type of electronic data that is embedded in smart cards.

A second order for 100 of the printers by the State Department will be used to provide embassy employees with smart cards for secure access to buildings and computer systems. The initial order of 50 was shipped in June 2005, and the second order of 50 will be delivered by the end of the current fiscal quarter.

Printers for embassy employees will include a special clear high-definition printing film that prints photos and holograms -- an advanced form of photography that allows an image to be recorded three dimensionally. The data--photo, bar code, employee identification number--is then printed on this film.

Traditionally, a photo is placed on the card then a hologram printed on separate film is placed over it.

"You have a very high level of physical security that is a deterrent to fraud," said Alan Fontanella, Fargo's product director for its secure materials business, "so you can physically damage the card itself by trying to counterfeit it."