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I will first run down the things that you will need. I am going to tell you what you need to make a professional looking state driver lisence, you may not need all of this but it is what is needed to make it look real if you don’t use something that I tell you to it’s your call, your ID may end up looking different than it should.
• Photo editing software (I personally suggest Adobe Photoshop 6.0 or above)
• Prior knowledge of Photoshop is a must
• State identification template
• A scanner if you need to scan a photo of yourself
• Epson printer (c82 or 820) or a laser printer
• Laminator
• Teslin (Type of teslin depends on what kind of printer you have)
• Magstrip encoder (not a nessecity but to make a professional identification card it is needed)
They’re may be other supplies that you need depending on what state you do, and if it has a hologram, that will be explained later in the article.
Okay the first step would be to get a template, these are readily available in more than one place IF you know where to look. Me being the nice guy that I am will help you with that factor. Just search a search engine (google?) www.google.com or any p2p program should be more than sufficient, otherwise you may know somebody who will sell them to you or trade them. There are of course other options, you can make your own, which of course entails tedious work, taking days or even weeks. Or you could scan an ID that you already have and edit it that way.
Okay so let’s say you have your template and you have photoshop, it’s time to get crackin’.
So you need to open up photoshop, and start editing your information. Get your picture in the box and resize the image so you can print.
When it comes time to print it may be a bit difficult.
I am going to assume that you are using single sided Teslin. You will first need to find the coated side of the Teslin paper, now this may take a little bit of experience to figure it out. The correct side is a bit smoother than the other. Just put it in between you fingers and rub the paper until you figure out what side is smoother, if you cant figure it out it’s not a problem, you’ve got a 50% chance of getting it right. You will know weather or not it was right after you print for obvious reasons, the ink will bleed and look really bad. In which case you just flip it over and print it on another position on the teslin.
After you have the right side picked out , you might want to mark the corner with a pen. Then place the teslin in the printer so that it will print on the correct side
Configuring the 8up Template
Now that you are ready to print, you will need the 8up Teslin Template. You can download it here.
After you download it, unzip it and open it in Photoshop. Open your finished template as well. Before you can print, you need to check the resolution of the temp you are using and match the 8up temp's resolution to it. To do this, click on the window of your template to make it active, go to the Image menu and click Image Size. Look at the Resolution. It should have a number like 1200 pixels/inch. That is the DPI of the temp you are using.
Now, switch over to the 8up temp that you should already have open. Go back to Image Size under the Image menu. Make sure the Resolution is the same between the two temps. The 8up temp I have hosted here on this site is already in 1200 DPI, but if you have downloaded it from somewhere else in the past (such as Brainstorm ID Supply), it may be in 600. If it is not the same, type in the number it should be and click OK. Photoshop will then convert the 8up temp to the correct resolution.
Copying and Pasting on to the 8up Template
Activate the window of your front template in Photoshop. Under the Select menu, click All. Go to the Edit menu and click Copy Merged. You should copy it merged since you won't need all those layers just to print.
Switch over to the 8up temp and go back to the Edit menu and click Paste. You should now have a new layer in the 8up temp containing your front temp. Select that layer (if it isn't already selected) in the Layers window. Select the Move tool by either clicking on it in the Tools palette or by pressing V. It will help if you check the box next to Show Bounding Box at the top. If you don't see this option, go to the Window menu and click Options.
There are 8 rectangles on the 8up temp (hence the name). Decide where you want to print the front of the license. When I've got a blank sheet of Teslin, I start by printing the front in the top left. Move the layer to the rectangle where you want it to print. Do this by simply dragging it with the Move tool. It should snap into place inside the rectangle. Hopefully, it will be the correct size, but if it isn't you may need to resize it to fit inside the rectangle by dragging the borders. Remember how you checked the Show Bounding Box option? This is why.
Adjusting Print Settings
Click Print under the File menu. Click Properties. Now you must adjust the print settings to match the printer and the Teslin (single or double sided). Here are some settings that I recommend for the printer that I use:
Epson 820 - Single Sided Teslin - Front:
* Under Mode, Choose Custom
* Click Advanced
* Media Type: Photo Paper
* Ink: Color
* Print Quality: Photo - 2880dpi
* Color Management: No Color Adjustment
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
* Uncheck Epson Natural Color
Epson 820 - Single Sided Teslin - Back:
* Under Mode, Choose Custom
* Click Advanced
* Media Type: Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Ink: Black
* Print Quality: Photo - 1440dpi
* Color Management: No Color Adjustment
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
* Uncheck Epson Natural Color
Epson C82 - Laser Teslin - Front:
* Choose Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Choose Photo RPM
* Uncheck all print options except SuperMicroweave
* Select PhotoEnhance
* Set Tone equal to Vivid
* Set Effect to High Sharpness
* Turn Digital Camera Correction off
Epson C82 - Laser Teslin - Back (Assuming the back is only black, if not use the front settings):
* Choose Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Choose Best Photo
* Check Black Ink Only
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
Printing the Front
After you've adjusted the settings to your liking, it's time to finish up and print the front. You should still have the Print window open, but if not go back to Print under the File menu. Now all that is left to do is click OK. Just sit back and wait because it will take a few minutes. After it's done printing, let it dry for a couple of minutes before you touch it. You wouldn't want to smear the ink on that great looking novelty you just printed, would you?
Printing the Back
Now it's time to do the back. The procedure is nearly the same as printing the front. The only differences are where you place the back temp layer on the 8up temp to print, the side of the Teslin you print on, and (if you are using single sided Teslin) the print settings that you use.
Follow the steps in this guide the same way you did for the front, until the part about placing the layer on the 8up temp to print. You will want to put the back temp in the rectangle that was to the right or left of the rectangle you printed the front temp from. For example, you printed the front temp by placing it in the top left rectangle on the 8up temp. In this case, you'll want to put the back temp in the top right rectangle. You will need to flip over the Teslin so that the back will print on the opposite side of the front. Use your common sense, and think about how the printer feeds the paper through.
Adjust the print settings if you are using single sided Teslin, or for double sided, check to make sure they are still the same. Now you are ready to print it.
If you did everything right, you should end up with a front and back that look great and are aligned perfectly (or at least very close
The following information was borrowed from an article written by The Jerm
This is a basic guide to encoding the magstripe on driver licenses/ID’s. First, you need to have an MSR206 magstripe encoder. If you don't have one already you can find them easily through an internet search or eBay. It'll run you about $600. Okay, now you need some software. You can download my program for free at http://thejerm.0catch.com. I won't cover how to use the software here. It's pretty self-explanatory but if you run into any problems just read the readme.txt file that comes with it.
Driver License/ID Encoding
If you want to encode an ID there are two ways to go about it:
1. You can read the magstripe from a real ID and then manually edit the tracks. Here's an example of track 1 from an Arizona license:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
Now, if your name is Joe Blow and you live at 123 Fake St. in Tuscon you could easily change it to:
AZTUCSON^BLOW$JOE^123 FAKE ST^
If you just want to change the birth date it can be found at the end of track 2 in this format: YYYYMMDD. Most states follow the AAMVA standard pretty closely. The AAMVA standards document can be downloaded here:
http://aamva.com/Documents/stdAAMVAD...ecs_092003.pdf
2. You can use the built-in ID tracks generator in my program. Unfortunately for most of you I’ve only included the formats for CA and AZ. If you want to do a little work you can create a script for your own state’s format. The instructions for doing that are in the readme.txt file that comes with the program. I’d recommend copying the AZ script and editing it rather than starting from scratch.
AAMVA Format
Here’s a rundown of the AAMVA format with each part color coded for easy reference:
Sample:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
6360260401234567=380719800711=
!!85023 D M601185BRNGRN
Track 1:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
AZ – State Abbreviation. Fixed length of 2 characters.
PHOENIX – City. Maximum length is 13 characters. If city is less than 13 characters it must be followed by ^ field separator. If city is more than 13 characters it is truncated to 13. No ^ needed if city is 13 characters long. Examples:
PHOENIX^
SANTA BARBARA
SAN LUIS OBIS (San Luis Obispo)
ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY – Name. Maximum length is 35 characters. If less than 35, must be followed by ^ field separator. Each name is separated by $. Format is LAST$FIRST$MIDDLE or LAST$FIRST if no middle name is used.
1433 N ELM ST$APT 3 – Address. Maximum length is 77 minus the total number of characters of City + Name fields. $ is used to separate address lines. If address is less than 29 characters it must be followed by ^ field separator.
Track 2:
6360260401234567=380719800711=
636026 – Issuer Identification Number (IIN). Every state has a unique IIN. IIN is 6 digits long and starts with 636. A list of some of the IIN’s is included at the end of this guide.
0401234567 – License/ID Number. Maximum length is 13 characters. If number is longer than 13 characters, extra characters are placed at end of track. If license/ID number contains letters, they are converted to 2-digit number (A=01, Z=26). For example, the sample number I used was D01234567 but got converted to 0401234567. License/ID number must always be followed by = field separator regardless of length.
3807 – Expiration Date. Format is YYMM so this example expires in July of 2038 (AZ licenses expire on 65th birthday). Some states may use special codes in place of the expiration month. Codes are as follows:
If MM=77 then license is non-expiring.
If MM=88 the expiration date is after the last day of birth month one year from the month (MM) of birth date and the year (YY) of expiration date.
If MM=99 then the expiration date is on the month (MM) and day (DD) of birth date and the year (YY) of expiration date.
19800711 – Birth Date. Format is YYYYMMDD so this example is July 11, 1980.
= – License/ID Number Overflow. If License/ID number is longer than 13 characters extra characters go here, otherwise a = field separator is placed here.
Track 3:
!!85023 D M601185BRNGRN
!! – Unknown. These two characters don’t seem to conform to the AAMVA standard and the standards document contradicts itself. It’s probably safe to copy whatever’s in this spot on a real ID.
85023 - Zip Code. Fixed length of 11 characters. If Zip Code is less than 13 characters add spaces to make it 13.
D - Class. Fixed length of 2 characters. If only 1 character add space.
(10 spaces) – Restrictions. Fixed length of 10 characters. If not present fill with spaces.
(4 spaces) – Endorsements. Fixed length of 4 characters. If not present fill with spaces.
M – ***. Fixed length of 1 character. M for male, F for female.
601 – Height. Fixed length of 3 characters. Feet and inches. Sample is 6’1”.
185 – Weight. Fixed length of 3 characters. Weight is in pounds. If less than 100 lbs. use 0 for first character.
BRN – Hair Color. Fixed length of 3 characters. Examples are BRN, BLN, RED, BLK.
GRN – Eye Color. Fixed length of 3 characters. Examples are GRN, BLU, HZL, BRN.
There may also be some discretionary data unique to each state at the end of track 3. One more thing, make sure you set the track format to AAMVA under Card Types on the Settings tab or you may get an error when you try to write to a card.
Issuer Identification Numbers
Alabama 636033 Louisiana 636007 Nova Scotia 636013
Arizona 636026 Maine 636041 Ohio 636023
Arkansas 636021 Maryland 636003 Oklahoma 636058
British Columbia 636028 Massachusetts 636002 Ontario 636012
California 636014 Michigan 636032 Oregon 636029
Colorado 636020 Minnesota 636038 Pennsylvania 636025
Connecticut 636006 Mississippi 636051 Rhode Island 636052
District of Columbia 636043 Missouri 636030 Saskatchewan 636044
Delaware 636011 Montana 636008 South Carolina 636005
Florida 636010 Nebraska 636054 South Dakota 636042
Georgia 636055 Nevada 636049 Tennessee 636053
Guam 636019 New Brunswick 636017 US State Dept 636027
Hawaii 636047 New Hampshire 636039 Texas 636015
Idaho 636050 New Jersey 636036 Utah 636040
Illinois 636035 New Mexico 636009 Vermont 636024
Indiana 636037 New York 636001 Virginia 636000
Iowa 636018 Newfoundland 636016 Washington 636045
Kansas 636022 North Carolina 636004 Wisconsin 636031
Kentucky 636046 North Dakota 636034
That’s about it. Good luck!
I realize this guide is getting a bit long but we’re almost done.
The holograms in my opinion are the worst part of the entire process, it may just be me but I am not a big fan of this, for others, it’s the exact opposite, but I will still give you the information. There is more than one method to making holograms, and for the sake of time will not go over them all, maybe in the future I will make another guide including them all, but for right now I will just cover one of them.
Many of you may know what method I will be telling you about, and your sitting there thinking PhotoEZ, well your wrong, I don’t like it, in fact, I hate it, instead I am going to tell you about an easier, cheaper way to make your holograms and here it is.
Reffered to as the rubber stamp method The main reason people rule out rubber stamps in this business anymore, is because they think that the only stamps that can be made are the ones you buy at office stores, and only contain letters, numbers, etc. However- in most medium sized cities, there are stamp shops that are able to produce VERY high-quality, detailed stamps, for around 10-20$ The best way to get your CUSTOMIZED stamp made is to print out the hologram you wish to be made, with the exact sizes. Keep in mind how you will be placing the stamp on your medium of choice, be it teslin, lamination, overlam, or whatever. When you print your hologram image out- be sure its not backwards- and tell the stamp producers this too, so when you stamp your teslin, overlam, lam...etc... it shows up facing you, and not like a normal stamp, that would need to be facing the opposite direction on the actual stamp. lol, i hope this part hasn't confused you- because the first couple of times i had stamps made i had to keep making sure it would come out right before i took it in. I suggest you give the stamp producers an example of how you want it done, on your medium of choice so it comes out right, and not in the opposite direction. To find the stamp producers that can take in scanned images (your printed out hologram) and make stamps out of them- just look in your yellow pages under "Rubber stamps" and call them to make sure they can do this process before you go.
Ok, so that was the easy, no talent method for getting great quality rubber stamps. If you are really good w/ art type stuff- and want a semi-hard challenge, goto the art department at your school and kindly ask the teacher if they had some linoleum-print blocks that you could borrow for a project- along with the proper chizling tools to cut out the stamp. Getting these items assumes that you are in highschool, and you have an art dept. w/ these supplies. If not- you could probably just goto an art store and look for the supplies yourself. (as mentioned above- you need a Special chizzle for linoleum block carving, and the linoleum block itself) although I've never needed to do this before- because I'm still in school Now, with your hologram image that you need to print out from your computer- cut out the parts of it that are colored in with an exacto knife, and leave the white parts solid. You now have a stencil, basically. Draw this onto the linoleum block, and make sure things look good...you may have to do some of the drawing without the stencil in the smaller areas, but its not too difficult once you get the hang of it. After this, carve out the areas on the block where there was white on the original printout. I suggest using a small tool for this- so its easier to get into the little nooks and crannies of the holo. When you get the basic outline of everything around your holo, you now need to put a pvc id, or credit card size object over the holo and place it exactly where the holo should be on the id, when you make it. Carve this blank area out, being sure not to cut into the actual hologram, and after this part is done, you're ready to put the interference gold ink on (i suggest pearl-ex + boss gloss embossing gel- for stamps) and do this by mixing the two things together, putting it all on the cardboard back of a notbook, making sure it gets well "inked" then placing your lam, overlam, teslin's inside over it- so it can be stamped, and then its ready to go. Take note- this second method pretty much only works on the NJ holo- as its the easiest, least complex holo out there, however you can also make your own "offical-looking" stamps with this method too.
The easiest method by far for using stamps is to simply have one made at an stamp shop that can make them from scanned images. If you arent very fammiliar with art shit or linoleum block printing I would'nt attempt the second method. I only included it because i was bored one day during art, and decided to "take" a linoleum block and the chizzels, and make myself an NJ holo. All in all, i prefer this method over PhotoEZ, because they come out High-quality and all i have to do is press down the rubber/linolem stamp on the "ink slab" (back of notebook) and then apply it to the lam, teslin or overlam. I hope you'll at least try the first method, as I'm sure you'll find that the results kick ass.
I realize this guide got quite long and I apologize but I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank everyone who either helped with this text, or created the different methods explained throughout the article.
Once again be responsible with the information held out in front of you.
I wish you luck with whatever the future may hold for you.
• Photo editing software (I personally suggest Adobe Photoshop 6.0 or above)
• Prior knowledge of Photoshop is a must
• State identification template
• A scanner if you need to scan a photo of yourself
• Epson printer (c82 or 820) or a laser printer
• Laminator
• Teslin (Type of teslin depends on what kind of printer you have)
• Magstrip encoder (not a nessecity but to make a professional identification card it is needed)
They’re may be other supplies that you need depending on what state you do, and if it has a hologram, that will be explained later in the article.
Okay the first step would be to get a template, these are readily available in more than one place IF you know where to look. Me being the nice guy that I am will help you with that factor. Just search a search engine (google?) www.google.com or any p2p program should be more than sufficient, otherwise you may know somebody who will sell them to you or trade them. There are of course other options, you can make your own, which of course entails tedious work, taking days or even weeks. Or you could scan an ID that you already have and edit it that way.
Okay so let’s say you have your template and you have photoshop, it’s time to get crackin’.
So you need to open up photoshop, and start editing your information. Get your picture in the box and resize the image so you can print.
When it comes time to print it may be a bit difficult.
I am going to assume that you are using single sided Teslin. You will first need to find the coated side of the Teslin paper, now this may take a little bit of experience to figure it out. The correct side is a bit smoother than the other. Just put it in between you fingers and rub the paper until you figure out what side is smoother, if you cant figure it out it’s not a problem, you’ve got a 50% chance of getting it right. You will know weather or not it was right after you print for obvious reasons, the ink will bleed and look really bad. In which case you just flip it over and print it on another position on the teslin.
After you have the right side picked out , you might want to mark the corner with a pen. Then place the teslin in the printer so that it will print on the correct side
Configuring the 8up Template
Now that you are ready to print, you will need the 8up Teslin Template. You can download it here.
After you download it, unzip it and open it in Photoshop. Open your finished template as well. Before you can print, you need to check the resolution of the temp you are using and match the 8up temp's resolution to it. To do this, click on the window of your template to make it active, go to the Image menu and click Image Size. Look at the Resolution. It should have a number like 1200 pixels/inch. That is the DPI of the temp you are using.
Now, switch over to the 8up temp that you should already have open. Go back to Image Size under the Image menu. Make sure the Resolution is the same between the two temps. The 8up temp I have hosted here on this site is already in 1200 DPI, but if you have downloaded it from somewhere else in the past (such as Brainstorm ID Supply), it may be in 600. If it is not the same, type in the number it should be and click OK. Photoshop will then convert the 8up temp to the correct resolution.
Copying and Pasting on to the 8up Template
Activate the window of your front template in Photoshop. Under the Select menu, click All. Go to the Edit menu and click Copy Merged. You should copy it merged since you won't need all those layers just to print.
Switch over to the 8up temp and go back to the Edit menu and click Paste. You should now have a new layer in the 8up temp containing your front temp. Select that layer (if it isn't already selected) in the Layers window. Select the Move tool by either clicking on it in the Tools palette or by pressing V. It will help if you check the box next to Show Bounding Box at the top. If you don't see this option, go to the Window menu and click Options.
There are 8 rectangles on the 8up temp (hence the name). Decide where you want to print the front of the license. When I've got a blank sheet of Teslin, I start by printing the front in the top left. Move the layer to the rectangle where you want it to print. Do this by simply dragging it with the Move tool. It should snap into place inside the rectangle. Hopefully, it will be the correct size, but if it isn't you may need to resize it to fit inside the rectangle by dragging the borders. Remember how you checked the Show Bounding Box option? This is why.
Adjusting Print Settings
Click Print under the File menu. Click Properties. Now you must adjust the print settings to match the printer and the Teslin (single or double sided). Here are some settings that I recommend for the printer that I use:
Epson 820 - Single Sided Teslin - Front:
* Under Mode, Choose Custom
* Click Advanced
* Media Type: Photo Paper
* Ink: Color
* Print Quality: Photo - 2880dpi
* Color Management: No Color Adjustment
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
* Uncheck Epson Natural Color
Epson 820 - Single Sided Teslin - Back:
* Under Mode, Choose Custom
* Click Advanced
* Media Type: Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Ink: Black
* Print Quality: Photo - 1440dpi
* Color Management: No Color Adjustment
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
* Uncheck Epson Natural Color
Epson C82 - Laser Teslin - Front:
* Choose Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Choose Photo RPM
* Uncheck all print options except SuperMicroweave
* Select PhotoEnhance
* Set Tone equal to Vivid
* Set Effect to High Sharpness
* Turn Digital Camera Correction off
Epson C82 - Laser Teslin - Back (Assuming the back is only black, if not use the front settings):
* Choose Matte Paper - Heavyweight
* Choose Best Photo
* Check Black Ink Only
* Uncheck Edge Smoothing
Printing the Front
After you've adjusted the settings to your liking, it's time to finish up and print the front. You should still have the Print window open, but if not go back to Print under the File menu. Now all that is left to do is click OK. Just sit back and wait because it will take a few minutes. After it's done printing, let it dry for a couple of minutes before you touch it. You wouldn't want to smear the ink on that great looking novelty you just printed, would you?
Printing the Back
Now it's time to do the back. The procedure is nearly the same as printing the front. The only differences are where you place the back temp layer on the 8up temp to print, the side of the Teslin you print on, and (if you are using single sided Teslin) the print settings that you use.
Follow the steps in this guide the same way you did for the front, until the part about placing the layer on the 8up temp to print. You will want to put the back temp in the rectangle that was to the right or left of the rectangle you printed the front temp from. For example, you printed the front temp by placing it in the top left rectangle on the 8up temp. In this case, you'll want to put the back temp in the top right rectangle. You will need to flip over the Teslin so that the back will print on the opposite side of the front. Use your common sense, and think about how the printer feeds the paper through.
Adjust the print settings if you are using single sided Teslin, or for double sided, check to make sure they are still the same. Now you are ready to print it.
If you did everything right, you should end up with a front and back that look great and are aligned perfectly (or at least very close
The following information was borrowed from an article written by The Jerm
This is a basic guide to encoding the magstripe on driver licenses/ID’s. First, you need to have an MSR206 magstripe encoder. If you don't have one already you can find them easily through an internet search or eBay. It'll run you about $600. Okay, now you need some software. You can download my program for free at http://thejerm.0catch.com. I won't cover how to use the software here. It's pretty self-explanatory but if you run into any problems just read the readme.txt file that comes with it.
Driver License/ID Encoding
If you want to encode an ID there are two ways to go about it:
1. You can read the magstripe from a real ID and then manually edit the tracks. Here's an example of track 1 from an Arizona license:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
Now, if your name is Joe Blow and you live at 123 Fake St. in Tuscon you could easily change it to:
AZTUCSON^BLOW$JOE^123 FAKE ST^
If you just want to change the birth date it can be found at the end of track 2 in this format: YYYYMMDD. Most states follow the AAMVA standard pretty closely. The AAMVA standards document can be downloaded here:
http://aamva.com/Documents/stdAAMVAD...ecs_092003.pdf
2. You can use the built-in ID tracks generator in my program. Unfortunately for most of you I’ve only included the formats for CA and AZ. If you want to do a little work you can create a script for your own state’s format. The instructions for doing that are in the readme.txt file that comes with the program. I’d recommend copying the AZ script and editing it rather than starting from scratch.
AAMVA Format
Here’s a rundown of the AAMVA format with each part color coded for easy reference:
Sample:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
6360260401234567=380719800711=
!!85023 D M601185BRNGRN
Track 1:
AZPHOENIX^ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY^1433 N ELM ST$APT 3^
AZ – State Abbreviation. Fixed length of 2 characters.
PHOENIX – City. Maximum length is 13 characters. If city is less than 13 characters it must be followed by ^ field separator. If city is more than 13 characters it is truncated to 13. No ^ needed if city is 13 characters long. Examples:
PHOENIX^
SANTA BARBARA
SAN LUIS OBIS (San Luis Obispo)
ADAMS$JOHN$QUINCY – Name. Maximum length is 35 characters. If less than 35, must be followed by ^ field separator. Each name is separated by $. Format is LAST$FIRST$MIDDLE or LAST$FIRST if no middle name is used.
1433 N ELM ST$APT 3 – Address. Maximum length is 77 minus the total number of characters of City + Name fields. $ is used to separate address lines. If address is less than 29 characters it must be followed by ^ field separator.
Track 2:
6360260401234567=380719800711=
636026 – Issuer Identification Number (IIN). Every state has a unique IIN. IIN is 6 digits long and starts with 636. A list of some of the IIN’s is included at the end of this guide.
0401234567 – License/ID Number. Maximum length is 13 characters. If number is longer than 13 characters, extra characters are placed at end of track. If license/ID number contains letters, they are converted to 2-digit number (A=01, Z=26). For example, the sample number I used was D01234567 but got converted to 0401234567. License/ID number must always be followed by = field separator regardless of length.
3807 – Expiration Date. Format is YYMM so this example expires in July of 2038 (AZ licenses expire on 65th birthday). Some states may use special codes in place of the expiration month. Codes are as follows:
If MM=77 then license is non-expiring.
If MM=88 the expiration date is after the last day of birth month one year from the month (MM) of birth date and the year (YY) of expiration date.
If MM=99 then the expiration date is on the month (MM) and day (DD) of birth date and the year (YY) of expiration date.
19800711 – Birth Date. Format is YYYYMMDD so this example is July 11, 1980.
= – License/ID Number Overflow. If License/ID number is longer than 13 characters extra characters go here, otherwise a = field separator is placed here.
Track 3:
!!85023 D M601185BRNGRN
!! – Unknown. These two characters don’t seem to conform to the AAMVA standard and the standards document contradicts itself. It’s probably safe to copy whatever’s in this spot on a real ID.
85023 - Zip Code. Fixed length of 11 characters. If Zip Code is less than 13 characters add spaces to make it 13.
D - Class. Fixed length of 2 characters. If only 1 character add space.
(10 spaces) – Restrictions. Fixed length of 10 characters. If not present fill with spaces.
(4 spaces) – Endorsements. Fixed length of 4 characters. If not present fill with spaces.
M – ***. Fixed length of 1 character. M for male, F for female.
601 – Height. Fixed length of 3 characters. Feet and inches. Sample is 6’1”.
185 – Weight. Fixed length of 3 characters. Weight is in pounds. If less than 100 lbs. use 0 for first character.
BRN – Hair Color. Fixed length of 3 characters. Examples are BRN, BLN, RED, BLK.
GRN – Eye Color. Fixed length of 3 characters. Examples are GRN, BLU, HZL, BRN.
There may also be some discretionary data unique to each state at the end of track 3. One more thing, make sure you set the track format to AAMVA under Card Types on the Settings tab or you may get an error when you try to write to a card.
Issuer Identification Numbers
Alabama 636033 Louisiana 636007 Nova Scotia 636013
Arizona 636026 Maine 636041 Ohio 636023
Arkansas 636021 Maryland 636003 Oklahoma 636058
British Columbia 636028 Massachusetts 636002 Ontario 636012
California 636014 Michigan 636032 Oregon 636029
Colorado 636020 Minnesota 636038 Pennsylvania 636025
Connecticut 636006 Mississippi 636051 Rhode Island 636052
District of Columbia 636043 Missouri 636030 Saskatchewan 636044
Delaware 636011 Montana 636008 South Carolina 636005
Florida 636010 Nebraska 636054 South Dakota 636042
Georgia 636055 Nevada 636049 Tennessee 636053
Guam 636019 New Brunswick 636017 US State Dept 636027
Hawaii 636047 New Hampshire 636039 Texas 636015
Idaho 636050 New Jersey 636036 Utah 636040
Illinois 636035 New Mexico 636009 Vermont 636024
Indiana 636037 New York 636001 Virginia 636000
Iowa 636018 Newfoundland 636016 Washington 636045
Kansas 636022 North Carolina 636004 Wisconsin 636031
Kentucky 636046 North Dakota 636034
That’s about it. Good luck!
I realize this guide is getting a bit long but we’re almost done.
The holograms in my opinion are the worst part of the entire process, it may just be me but I am not a big fan of this, for others, it’s the exact opposite, but I will still give you the information. There is more than one method to making holograms, and for the sake of time will not go over them all, maybe in the future I will make another guide including them all, but for right now I will just cover one of them.
Many of you may know what method I will be telling you about, and your sitting there thinking PhotoEZ, well your wrong, I don’t like it, in fact, I hate it, instead I am going to tell you about an easier, cheaper way to make your holograms and here it is.
Reffered to as the rubber stamp method The main reason people rule out rubber stamps in this business anymore, is because they think that the only stamps that can be made are the ones you buy at office stores, and only contain letters, numbers, etc. However- in most medium sized cities, there are stamp shops that are able to produce VERY high-quality, detailed stamps, for around 10-20$ The best way to get your CUSTOMIZED stamp made is to print out the hologram you wish to be made, with the exact sizes. Keep in mind how you will be placing the stamp on your medium of choice, be it teslin, lamination, overlam, or whatever. When you print your hologram image out- be sure its not backwards- and tell the stamp producers this too, so when you stamp your teslin, overlam, lam...etc... it shows up facing you, and not like a normal stamp, that would need to be facing the opposite direction on the actual stamp. lol, i hope this part hasn't confused you- because the first couple of times i had stamps made i had to keep making sure it would come out right before i took it in. I suggest you give the stamp producers an example of how you want it done, on your medium of choice so it comes out right, and not in the opposite direction. To find the stamp producers that can take in scanned images (your printed out hologram) and make stamps out of them- just look in your yellow pages under "Rubber stamps" and call them to make sure they can do this process before you go.
Ok, so that was the easy, no talent method for getting great quality rubber stamps. If you are really good w/ art type stuff- and want a semi-hard challenge, goto the art department at your school and kindly ask the teacher if they had some linoleum-print blocks that you could borrow for a project- along with the proper chizling tools to cut out the stamp. Getting these items assumes that you are in highschool, and you have an art dept. w/ these supplies. If not- you could probably just goto an art store and look for the supplies yourself. (as mentioned above- you need a Special chizzle for linoleum block carving, and the linoleum block itself) although I've never needed to do this before- because I'm still in school Now, with your hologram image that you need to print out from your computer- cut out the parts of it that are colored in with an exacto knife, and leave the white parts solid. You now have a stencil, basically. Draw this onto the linoleum block, and make sure things look good...you may have to do some of the drawing without the stencil in the smaller areas, but its not too difficult once you get the hang of it. After this, carve out the areas on the block where there was white on the original printout. I suggest using a small tool for this- so its easier to get into the little nooks and crannies of the holo. When you get the basic outline of everything around your holo, you now need to put a pvc id, or credit card size object over the holo and place it exactly where the holo should be on the id, when you make it. Carve this blank area out, being sure not to cut into the actual hologram, and after this part is done, you're ready to put the interference gold ink on (i suggest pearl-ex + boss gloss embossing gel- for stamps) and do this by mixing the two things together, putting it all on the cardboard back of a notbook, making sure it gets well "inked" then placing your lam, overlam, teslin's inside over it- so it can be stamped, and then its ready to go. Take note- this second method pretty much only works on the NJ holo- as its the easiest, least complex holo out there, however you can also make your own "offical-looking" stamps with this method too.
The easiest method by far for using stamps is to simply have one made at an stamp shop that can make them from scanned images. If you arent very fammiliar with art shit or linoleum block printing I would'nt attempt the second method. I only included it because i was bored one day during art, and decided to "take" a linoleum block and the chizzels, and make myself an NJ holo. All in all, i prefer this method over PhotoEZ, because they come out High-quality and all i have to do is press down the rubber/linolem stamp on the "ink slab" (back of notebook) and then apply it to the lam, teslin or overlam. I hope you'll at least try the first method, as I'm sure you'll find that the results kick ass.
I realize this guide got quite long and I apologize but I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank everyone who either helped with this text, or created the different methods explained throughout the article.
Once again be responsible with the information held out in front of you.
I wish you luck with whatever the future may hold for you.
