IDs no matter if government or company issued, for fun or a club, have both crucial but also symbolic roles. Allowing access in many different ways, having an ID can be vital for both work and leisure. But how to get one if you shouldn’t have one? Well, have one printed for you!

Nearly a year ago, during H2HC 2024, I printed a few HackerIDs for the attendees. Additionally, the Global Traveler ID was created as an alternative form of identification, close to a corporate ID card. Practically allowing the speakers to identify themselves with their original information, while not having to part with their state issued ID card.

For me the journey of getting there started during covid with my Vaccination Card , printed on an Evolis Pebble 3 from eBay and sadly with a dead pixel on the printer :-(

Preparing for H2HC

After having discussed ID printing for H2HC, I decided to finally buy myself a new toy, a DASCOM DC-7600 card printer. As previously shared here , I brought a bunch of CR80 cards with a size of 85.5mm x 54mm to Brazil. While generally being “plastic cards”, the cards on offer can equipped with Magstripes, NFC, RFID and contacts as for smartcards or memory cards containing an EEPROM. So, many options for a lot of fun :)!

DASCOM DC-7600

The DASCOM DC-7600 has a resolution of 600 x 600dpi, which even allows for printing pictures onto the cards. Technically it is a Re-Transfer printer, which uses a transfer ribbon in addition to the colour ribbon. Being a full Duplex printer, it prints both sides of the cards.
A further argument, that convinced me to get the DC-7600, is the availability of UV ribbons, which allow me to print an individual UV watermark, which, well, is only visible under UV light. To be fair, if tilting the card in bright light, you can also see parts of the print, which makes it even more convincing. Additionally, there are also holographic and metal ribbons, which I have not tried, yet. But they’re on my list!

My Typical Creation Access

My main tool for creating ID cards is Inkscape . I start with either a 85.5mm x 54mm or a 54mm x 85.5mm sheet. After having done my drawing and magic, I use a png export with 1200dpi. This has so far been the most effective setting. And then the second image for the other side of the card!

Sharing is Caring, General

Have a fun idea? Smart idea? Stupid idea? Just drop me a message, and we’ll work out how we can get you hooked up with your custom printed card(s). Printing 65 cards / hour, also larger amounts for events or Hacker Spaces are quickly done! If necessary, the printer is also open to traveling.
It is important to note, that fake government issued IDs or everything resembling them is obviously illegal and I will decline any request going that direction.

Sharing is Caring, Specials

Having kicked off Security-Bits Labs as a business, I finally and formally also want to offer Card Printing Services for those of you, who require slightly more “special” prints. Practically there are valid use cases for “fake IDs”: Should you be working on red team assessments including physical access or social engineering aspects and require a “fake” company ID with your name / face and employer’s design on it, feel free to drop me a message on labs@security-bits.de. We’ll discuss your requirements, how we can quickly verify that your request is legit and then start printing!