IQ Structures bags Czech contract for ID card feature

Anti-counterfeit technology company IQ Structures has been selected by the Czech government to provide a security feature for the national identity card, after a multi-year tender process.

IQ Structures' winning technology – which according to the company was selected from a competitive process involving "major global players" – will feature on newly issued cards starting sometime during 2023, according to the company's chief executive Petr Franc.

He told SecuringIndustry.com that the security feature on the Czech ID will appear to the user as a set of holograms covering all critical information, and will combine transparent and metallic holograms.

"The graphics will be based on Czech national motifs, with the Czech lion taking centre stage," he said. IQ Structures has previously won tenders for national ID and passport programmes in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

A key feature of the feature is that it is micro-segmented, so no one can remove or tamper with the holographic layer. Any attempt to do so ends up disintegrating the hologram into thousands of miniature parts, according to an IQ Structures press release.

It is very difficult to fool officials because the various security technologies – which include security printing, UV and optically variable ink (OVI) printing as well as tactile surface embossing and the hologram – are integrated into a single design unit that is easy to visually distinguish, according to the company.

"We are extremely pleased with this victory, because the selection process was very thorough," said Franc. "The protective strength, technological maturity and the ability to deliver safely were examined in detail. We have won a number of awards over the years, but none of them were based on such a thorough analysis of different safety products."