ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002

Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 1: Embossing

Cartes d'identification — Technique d'enregistrement — Partie 1: Estampage

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 09-Oct-2002
• Withdrawal Date: 09-Oct-2002
• ICS: 35.240.15 - Identification cards. Chip cards. Biometrics
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 - Cards and security devices for personal identification
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 1 - Physical characteristics and test methods for ID-cards
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Completion Date: 25-Aug-2014

Relations

• Revised: ISO/IEC 7811-1:2014 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 1: Embossing
• Effective Date: 10-May-2012
• Revises: ISO/IEC 7811-3:1995 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 3: Location of embossed characters on ID-1 cards
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revises: ISO/IEC 7811-1:1995 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 1: Embossing
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 7811-1
Third edition
2002-09-15

Identification cards — Recording
technique —
Part 1:
Embossing
Cartes d'identification — Technique d'enregistrement —
Partie 1: Estampage




Reference number
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
©
 ISO/IEC 2002

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but shall not
be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In downloading this
file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat accepts no liability in this
area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation parameters
were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In the unlikely event
that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.


©  ISO/IEC 2002
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or ISO's member body
in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail [e-mail]
Web www.iso.ch
Printed in Switzerland

ii © ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
Contents Page
Foreword.iv
1 Scope.1
2 Conformance.1
3 Normative references.1
4 Terms and definitions .2
5 Card characteristics.2
5.1 Card warpage.2
5.2 Surface distortions.2
5.3 Card width and height.3
6 Visually and machine readable characters.3
6.1 Character set and type font .3
6.2 Character spacing.4
6.3 Character height.4
6.4 Relief height of embossed characters.4
7 Visually readable characters.4
7.1 Character set and type font .4
7.2 Character spacing.4
7.3 Relief height of embossed characters.4
8 Assigned embossing areas .4
8.1 Identification number line.5
8.2 Name and address area .6
Annex A (normative) Pictorial representation of numeric data.7
Annex B (normative) Farrington 7B Print specifications.8
Annex C (informative) Embossability.20


© ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved iii

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission)
form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC
participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the
respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees
collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in
liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have
established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this part of ISO/IEC 7811 may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 7811-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 17, Cards and personal identification.
This third edition of ISO/IEC 7811-1 cancels and replaces ISO/IEC 7811-1:1995 and ISO/IEC 7811-3:1995. The
user is encouraged to review the entire standard for revisions and updates. The major changes made during this
revision are listed below.
1. The requirements given in ISO/IEC 7811-3:1995 are included in this edition of ISO/IEC 7811-1.
2. Special physical characteristics for embossing formerly detailed in ISO/IEC 7810:1995 have been moved to
this standard.
3. Added an informative annex for a test method for embossability.
ISO/IEC 7811 consists of the following parts, under the general title Identification cards — Recording technique:
 Part 1: Embossing
 Part 2: Magnetic stripe — Low coercivity
 Part 6: Magnetic stripe — High coercivity
Annexes A and B form a normative part of this part of ISO/IEC 7811. Annex C is information only.

iv © ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)

Identification cards — Recording technique —
Part 1:
Embossing
1 Scope
This part of ISO/IEC 7811 is one of a series of standards describing the parameters for identification cards as
defined in the definitions clause and the use of such cards for international interchange.
This part of ISO/IEC 7811 specifies requirements for embossed characters on identification cards. The embossed
characters are intended for transfer of data either by use of imprinters or by visual or machine reading. It takes into
consideration both human and machine aspects and states minimum requirements.
It is the purpose of this series of standards to provide criteria to which cards shall perform. No consideration is
given within these standards to the amount of use, if any, experienced by the card prior to test. Failure to conform
to specified criteria should be negotiated between the involved parties.
ISO/IEC 10373-1 specifies the test procedures used to check cards against the parameters specified in this
part of ISO/IEC 7811.
NOTE Numeric values in the SI and/or Imperial measurement system in this part of ISO/IEC 7811 may have been
rounded off and therefore are consistent with, but not exactly equal to, each other. Either system may be used, but the two
should not be intermixed or reconverted. The original design was made using the Imperial measurement system.
2 Conformance
A prerequisite for conformance with this part of ISO/IEC 7811 is conformance with ISO/IEC 7810 for the ID-1 size
card. An identification card is in conformance with this part of ISO/IEC 7811 if it meets all mandatory requirements
specified herein. Default values apply if no others are specified.
3 Normative references
The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of
this part of ISO/IEC 7811. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or revisions of, any of these
publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this part of ISO/IEC 7811 are encouraged to
investigate the possibility of applying the most recent editions of the normative documents indicated below. For
undated references, the latest edition of the normative document referred to applies. Members of ISO and IEC
maintain registers of currently valid International Standards
ISO 1073-1, Alphanumeric character sets for optical recognition − Part 1: Character set OCR-A − Shapes and
dimensions of the printed image
ISO 1073-2, Alphanumeric character sets for optical recognition − Part 2: Character set OCR-B − Shapes and
dimensions of the printed image
ISO 1831, Printing specifications for optical character recognition
ISO/IEC 7810, Identification cards − Physical characteristics
ISO/IEC 7812-1, Identification cards − Identification of issuers − Part 1: Numbering system
© ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved 1

---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
ISO/IEC 7812-2, Identification cards − Identification of issuers − Part 2: Application and registration procedures
ISO/IEC 10373-1, Identification cards − Test methods − Part 1: General characteristics tests
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this part of ISO/IEC 7811, the definition of “identification card” given in ISO/IEC 7810 and the
following terms and definitions apply.
4.1
embossing
to raise characters in relief from the front surface of the card
4.2
unused card
card which has been embossed with all the characters required for its intended purpose but has not been issued
4.3
returned card
embossed card after it has been issued to the card holder and returned for the purpose of testing
4.4
identification number
number that identifies the card holder
5 Card characteristics
Special attention shall be paid to the characteristics of the material affecting its suitability for this purpose,
particularly in respect to its ability to resist crushing and collapsing of the embossed parts when operating in
imprinters.
Cards shall be made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and/or PVCA (polyvinyl chloride acetate) or materials having equal
or better performance such as polyesters, polyethylenes and polycarbonates.
NOTE Refer to machine manufacturer instructions regarding card construction requirements for achieving embossed
character relief heights in compliance with this part of ISO/IEC 7811. At the time of publication there was no agreed test
method for verifying the suitability of card structures for embossing. See Informative Annex C.
5.1 Card warpage
When lying convex side up on a flat rigid surface, the maximum distance from the flat surface to any non-embossed
portion of the convex side of an embossed card immediately prior to issue shall not be greater than 2,5 mm
(0.10 in) including the card thickness.
NOTE The amount of card warpage depends on the card material and the embossing technique used.
5.2 Surface distortions
No raised area shall exceed 0,51 mm (0.020 in) on the front of the card in the area A as shown in Figure 1.
2 © ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
dimensions in millimetres (inches)
front of card
top reference edge
24,03
(0.946)
height
Area
A
2,54
(0.100)
width
Width Height
maximum minimum maximum minimum
85,90 (3.382) 85,47 (3.365) 54,18 (2.133) 53,92 (2.123)
Figure 1 — Embossed card dimensions
5.3 Card width and height
All points on the edges of the embossed card in the finished state, except for the rounded corners, shall fall
between two concentric, similarly aligned rectangles as defined in Figure 1 for maximum height and width, and
minimum height and width.
NOTE 1 Card width and height tolerances given here are different than those in ISO/IEC 7810 to account for changes in card
size due to embossing.
NOTE 2 All identification card standards use the top edge of the card as the reference edge for dimensions, except for this
embossing standard which, for historical reasons, uses the bottom edge of the card as the reference.
6 Visually and machine readable characters
6.1 Character set and type font
The numeric characters of one of the following type fonts shall be used for embossed characters intended for visual
and/or machine reading, either directly from the card or from card imprints (see annex A):
− ISO 1073-1, OCR-A, Sizes I and IV;
− ISO 1073-2, OCR-B, Sizes I and IV;
− Type font Farrington 7B as described in Annex B.
NOTE To ensure system compatibility in the choice of font, the attention of intending users is drawn to the necessity of
agreement with their potential interchange partners.
© ISO/IEC 2002 – All rights reserved 3

---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------
ISO/IEC 7811-1:2002(E)
Print specifications are given in ISO 1831.
6.2 Character spacing
The centreline to centreline character spacing shall be 3,63 mm ± 0,15 mm (0.143 in ± 0.006 in).
6.3 Character height
Maximum height at the printing surface of the embossed characters, encompassing centreline skew and character
misalignment shall be 4,32 mm (0.170 in).
6.4 Relief height of embossed characters
Relief height of imprinting character surfaces above the card surface as measured from the non-embossed surface
of the card to the highest point on the embossed character is shown in Table 1 for unused cards and for returned
cards.
7 Visually readable characters
7.1 Character set and type font
A type font such as the alphanumeric, upper case characters described in ISO 1073-2, OCR-B, Size I, should
be used for embossed characters intended for visually reading directly from the card or from card imprints.
7.2 Character spacing
The centreline to centreline character spacing shall be 2,54 mm ± 0,15 mm (
...