The 'Official' Novelty ID thread [for ALL novelty questions]

[JohnSmith]

I'm having a lot of trouble getting the front and back to line up when I print my novelty id's. I'm using the 8-up template and I print the front first then edit the 8-up and flipping the paper and then printing the back and it's not lining up right. It's about an 1/8 of an inch off. Any suggestions? Should I get thinner paper and print front and back separate and then glue them together and then laminate? Any help would be appreciated.

[JohnSmith]

Also, does anyone know how thick the texas id's are? Thanks

[anthony8975]

Don't use the 8 up sheets. Either use the one up if you must have pregprated sheets. I reccommend getting the 8 1/2 by 11 non pregprated sheets or the 4 by 6 sheets. Invest in a die cutter and cut the ids out once printed out.A LOT easier than lining up one lreforated sheets. Also the thickness I've used is 24 mil in total and it seems to be just fine(7mil lamination and 10 mil teslin). I'm trying out 10mil TXP and 10 mil teslin tomorrow or the following day so I'll let you know how it works out.

[anthony8975]

getdowngetdirty - what is clear that i could use to puff out the TXP? i was thinking silicone but it would melt under the pressure and heat of the laminator and would spread throughout the actual ID and not hold the digits to the birthday

[rhexis]

Originally Posted by Mike70442

Does anyone know where I can find a good supplier of PVC cards? I'm looking for 20 or 25 mil inkjet PVC cards as my printer is not compatiable with the dye-sub PVC cards. The only inkjet ones I can find are 30 mil and with the laminate on top of the 30 mil card, it just feels way too thick.

I agree the inkjet pvc cards are a bit thick. However, you don't need to laminate them! Just use an overlaminate. I suggest getting a roll of fargo polyguard overlaminate. It's meant for fargo machines but you can peel the overlam off the roll and run it through a normal pouch laminator. 160 degrees seems to work good. Also fargo had a product called cardjet which was basically an inkjet card printer and there's still cards for them that should work with the inkjet card tray system. It's only printable on one side though Don't know how thick they are. You may be able to print on the non-inkjet side with a thermal card printer but not even the fargo techs seem to know if that is possible.

Anyhow, hope something in this helps.

[rhexis]

Rhexis stamp hologram tips:

I have noticed that some people here have commented that using the stamp method the results turn out blurry. I noticed that too and thought applying more pressure in stamping would help, but it didn't. My results were uneven and kinda fuzzy.

Solution:

spray adhesive (gotta credit caliid2006 for this idea). I use the Blair brand spray I found at an art supply store.

First rub the pearlex over the raised parts of the stamp (it doesnt need to be caked on, just a thin layer) and make sure that it is uniform by angling it into a light source. Give a stout blow along the stamp to get rid of excess pearlex. Put the printed card down on a surface or figure out how to hold it up without getting adhesive all over your hands then give it a very short spray of adhesive about 8-10 inches away covering the whole card, if you spray too much the paper will curl. Stamp it. The paper will probably stick to the stamp so I've been running my finger along the back where there is graphic/text on the stamp just to make sure contact has been made at all points. Peel off the paper from the stamp and it'll look fan-fucking-tastic, like it's come out of an alps printer. Just make sure you don't have too much pearlex on the stamp.

[rhexis]

What is the benefit of using TXP? Is it a certain feel or optic property? If I just use normal laminate and maybe rough it up with the rough part of a sponge for that worn in look will it be that much different that anyone on the planet could tell them apart?

[anthony8975]

Some lamination shows up under a blacklight differently than txp and txp is what some states officially use for their ids. Texas being one of them. Also there is a certain amount of gloss showing on txp that is less of butterfly gloss pouches. I got my txp for $0.50 a sheet so it came out basically the same as gloss butterfly pouches

[Kmaster]

If the backside of the id isn't printing exactly on target, it might be because the 8 up template is not centered. It is easy to make your own 8 up temp in photoshop, then print on a non perforated sheet of artisyn and use a die cutter, as others have said.

[JohnSmith]

So i successfully made the stencil using photo-ez but now I'm having trouble using the stencil to make the hologram. Does anybody have any suggestions for a good way to do it? Also how do i mix the right amount of pearl ex with the speedball? Thanks

[anthony8975]

trial and error is all i can tell you. it took me about 2 days of non stop trials to get the exact micture. some batches come out better than others if you do not measure precisely to the 1/8 of a teaspoon

[rhexis]

security overlays on pvc cards are usually slighly smaller than the card itself, correct? Or perhaps it is different for different states?

[quest1426]

Does anyone know where to get a Mexican ID or license template?
I have Socials but the id thing is where I am going to next and I need this template for my first novelty project. By the way, I have read this entire thread and I appreciate all of the knowledge shared in here. Especially since I do not have to do many things blind now.

[quest1426]

After reading and checking everything out, I think that scamming sites are charging too little for the novelty id's to be remotely real to begin with. It takes quite a bit of work for some states and there is a lot of time and skill that is put into it. I think that if someone were to create great novelties for every state, the price would be a bit higher wouldn't it? that is like giving away time, effort, and all of the money that went into it in the first place.

[Kmaster]

Anthony- trial and error is the only way I agree, but just as a reference point what is your transparent base and pearl ex ratio formula?

[anthony8975]

i honestly just look at it and pour a little at a time. have a sheet aside to test out mixture on before using on actual id. im wanting to bet 4:1 baseowders and uv and pearl equal amounts

[getdowngetdirty]

Originally Posted by anthony8975

getdowngetdirty - what is clear that i could use to puff out the TXP? i was thinking silicone but it would melt under the pressure and heat of the laminator and would spread throughout the actual ID and not hold the digits to the birthday

I think I thought up a perfect solution - get an embosser and emboss the bday onto a blank pvc card and line it up so that when you lay it over the id it is lined up where it needs to be. then put it through the lam with the carrier and all with the id and since txp forms to what its against it should be puffed out. the tricky part should be making sure that it lines up on the pvc card the same way it does on the id, because the id will also shape to the edges of the pvc card. obviously the font used on the embosser won't match and may or may not be close to the font on the real IDs you are trying to make but you might be able to get your own embosser made.

[getdowngetdirty]

Originally Posted by rhexis

What is the benefit of using TXP? Is it a certain feel or optic property? If I just use normal laminate and maybe rough it up with the rough part of a sponge for that worn in look will it be that much different that anyone on the planet could tell them apart?

put it this way, MOST bouncers will know within 2 seconds of looking at the gloss on your ID that it's fake. no matter how good your temp is, it will simply NEVER look real using gloss...TXP gives the ID properties that you can never acheive with gloss like flexibility, thickness, and durability. and it simply makes it look real. you can't alps it or thermal transfer it which makes it pretty tricky to holo it up and you can only laminate it once so when you use it you gotta line up the magstripe, the stock, and both laminates all at once.

[JohnSmith]

So i bought the PL45 from arcadia and the pouches and I just put it through and it got stuck. Anyone else having this problem?

[getdowngetdirty]

Originally Posted by JohnSmith

So i bought the PL45 from arcadia and the pouches and I just put it through and it got stuck. Anyone else having this problem?

I'm assuming you didn't use a carrier?

[biz9lljames]

sounds like he didnt use a carrier.

Has anyone been purchasing from opposite225.com? I'm curious as to the quality of his services. Thanks in advance.

Also, been meaning to test out the UV powder/ pearl ex combination used to stamp on the ID. Ive never had a use for it before but i want to see how well it takes care of our UV problem.

Has anyone used opposite225.com's powders for this?

Also, What kind of transparent base is usually sprayed on the ID first? 3m??

Any information is appreciated.

Thanks.

And also, in the next 1-2 months i'll be posting all of my equipment on ebay. It will include printer, laminator, die cutter, scissors, carriers, leftover supplies and two zip drives filled with templates, programs and fonts. THIS IS NOT ME OFFERING ANYTHING FOR SALE. I AM MERELY INFORMING OTHERS OF A SALE THAT WILL OCCUR ON ANOTHER SITE AT ANOTHER TIME.

[rhexis]

Texas question....

I was reading through a certain pdf that said that the diagonal golden bars over the photo only show up when the id is being photocopied. Can anyone verify this? I have a temp that includes these bars and now I'm wondering if these should be printed at all.

[JohnSmith]

I used the carrier. It felt like it was too thick too go through and I had to manually pull it through most of the time

[rhexis]

Anyone know what the deal is with hxxp://idlaminations.com ??

They want some kind of id code to order ...

[JohnSmith]

My PL45 stopped heating up today and I'm not sure why. I've only used it for two days. Does anyone know how to fix it or can I return it to Arcadia?

[dudewheresmytardis]

Originally Posted by rhexis

Texas question....

I was reading through a certain pdf that said that the diagonal golden bars over the photo only show up when the id is being photocopied. Can anyone verify this? I have a temp that includes these bars and now I'm wondering if these should be printed at all.

Could you send me this pdf? I'm working on a tx template as well.

[fleshlight]

Anyone know how to go about getting a roll cut? The rolls about 3 feet wide and I'd like to get into into a more managable size, with 8 1/2 x 11 sheet size being ideal. Anyone?

[JohnSmith]

So i'm thinking about investing in the magnetic encoder from arcadia but I don't want to spend 400 bucks without knowing a little bit about it first. Has anybody used this model? Is it easy to reprogram a scanned card onto another card? If anybody has used this encoder before i'd appreciate a review on it. Thanks

[getdowngetdirty]

Originally Posted by JohnSmith

So i'm thinking about investing in the magnetic encoder from arcadia but I don't want to spend 400 bucks without knowing a little bit about it first. Has anybody used this model? Is it easy to reprogram a scanned card onto another card? If anybody has used this encoder before i'd appreciate a review on it. Thanks

Don't get it, get an msr-505

[getdowngetdirty]

Originally Posted by fleshlight

Anyone know how to go about getting a roll cut? The rolls about 3 feet wide and I'd like to get into into a more managable size, with 8 1/2 x 11 sheet size being ideal. Anyone?

Yeah what are you trying to cut