Importance

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Abstract

A high-security identification card produced by thermal printing personalized data on a transparent image receiver sheet and laminating the image-bearing surface of the receiver sheet to an opaque card support optionally bearing background printing. During thermal printing of the personalized data, the receiver sheet is supported by a carrier sheet adhered to one side thereof. The carrier sheet is removed prior to lamination by mildly fusing the personalized data bearing surface of the receiver sheet to the pre-printed background information bearing surface of the identification card and mechanically flexing the sandwiched structure to cause the relatively inflexible carrier sheet to break free, at least in part, from the receiver sheet to enable its removal. After removal of the carrier sheet, the sandwiched structure is laminated by heat and pressure applied thereto to cause it to fuse permanently. Preferably, the identification card is itself a composite of an inner opaque or reflective plastic sheet on which the background information may be printed by conventional printing techniques and transparent overlying sheets laminated thereto. Alternatively, the inner sheet may be blank and the out transparent sheets may be thermally printed with the background and adhered to in the same fashion to create a composite, pre-printed blank identification card.

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First Claim