Foiling Criminal Intent

Published: June 01, 2003, By Nsenga Byrd Thompson, Staff Editor

For officials in Passaic County, NJ, securing ID cards becomes a lesson in security.

In a post-9/11 world, security is a concept our society cannot ignore. As many households stock up on plastic sheeting and duct tape, business and government operations are seeking out film and foil — holographic film and foil that is. So when officials in New Jersey's Passaic County sought to revamp their employee and resident ID cards, they were determined to find proven experts in the field.

Crown Roll Leaf Inc. was prepared for the challenge. A manufacturer of metallic, holographic, special effects, tamper-evident, anti-counterfeiting, and security foil for stamping and laminating, the company penetrates several markets including graphics, book publishing, greeting cards, packaging, and security.

With 290 employees in its 175,000-sq-ft facility, the 24-hr, 7-day-a-week operation houses an arsenal of equipment including 50-in. embossers, multiple vacuum metallizers, a seven-station, 54-in. gravure press, and two smaller seven-station gravure presses, coating machines, slitters, and rewinders. The company also houses R&D operations, a fully equipped art department, and four state-of-the-art-holographic labs.

It's in these holographic labs that Crown Roll Leaf produces Securelam, the tamper-evident holographic patch it used for the Passaic County ID cards.

James Kipp, security product manager at Crown Roll Leaf, explains. “Securelam is a custom-made holographic security film that incorporates a specific OVD [optically variable device]/hologram with a proprietary high refractive index coating that allows the hologram to be extremely bright under poor lighting conditions.”

Kipp says the company has been selling this material for more than four years. It is used for drivers' licenses, national ID cards, and security documents worldwide. In the US, currently several states use the process for their drivers' licenses.

The plastic security ID cards used by Passaic County also include a custom metallized OVD/hologram also created by Crown Roll Leaf.

“In order to add to the security, we created a custom security hologram for Passaic County that was applied to the card prior to lamination [of the Securelam]. So they had a security hologram, then they had the Securelam on top of that,” says Kipp.

Passaic County then applies the Securelam onto the ID card with a NISCA ID Card printer/laminator.

Passaic County has been impressed with the reinvented ID cards. “The new ID cards are a tremendous improvement over our previous cards. The security is twenty-first century high-tech and has eliminated any concern we've had about counterfeiting,” states Alan Souto, detective/sergeant, Bureau of Criminal Identification, Passaic County Sheriff's Office. “Even the most sophisticated printer and scanner cannot reproduce the look of holography.”

CONVERTER INFO
Crown Roll Leaf
91 Illinois Ave., Paterson, NJ;
800/631-3831; crownrollleaf.com