The Building Blocks for Tracking and Verification Solutions That Add Intelligence to Secure Printing

In the bigger picture of things, it is necessary to know the complete history of an e-Passport, and to make sure that the chip and printed information are correct, readable and consistent. At every stage of production, tracking and record keeping are very important, to deliver audit data if something goes wrong, and to ease the job of the production manager, issuing officer and border control agent. Inspectron's developers continue to work with e-Passport suppliers, inlay and cover suppliers, booklet machine makers and consultants, to produce a range of solutions for the e-Passport business.

Tracking the Inlay

The moment a chip is attached to an antenna, it becomes a unique item. Identifying and recording the chip number, time and date of manufacture, batch number etc. is the starting point of the e-Passport’s life. Inspectron's patent applied for MagVision™ for Passports solution prints a unique barcode on to the inlay as soon as the chip/antenna is confirmed to be active. This barcode contains the chip serial number and other point of manufacture information. The chip inlay is printed with a special ink, so that it can be read at a later stage after it has been hidden inside the opaque cover material.

• Identifies the Inlay/Cover for delivery manifest purposes

• Hidden code does not interfere with other passport security features

• Allows tracing in the case of a dead chip during the e-Passport’s life

Making the e-Passport

An e-Passport booklet is made in stages, which include collating the cover and pages, embossing, sewing, die cutting, and perforating. This is usually achieved with two or three machines. At each stage, it is necessary to identify bad chips, reject bad booklets, record the chip and passport numbers, verify the perforation and produce a list of all good books produced. Inspectron offers a complete range of camera and chip reader solutions, together with a decision making database, which performs all the above requirements.

• Designed for use with UNO Passport Production Machines

• Complete production history for each batch

• Stops production if quality falls below a set standard

• Reporting and audit trail at each stage of production

• Optional key management and other security features

• Delivers automatic re-make files from the perforator

At all stages of machine production, things can go wrong. There may be rejects, operator errors, machine jams, counting problems. e-Passports are expensive, and it is important to avoid unnecessary rejects and waste.

A human operator cannot read a chip, but is often required to account for each booklet during production. Inspectron has developed an easy to use off-line chip reader system, which can verify a chip number, good / bad reading, and feed the results back into the automatic tracking software in use by the production machines.

• Off-line chip testing and verification

• Easy reconciliation of all books for each batch

• Optional camera and barcode readers for complete data capture

 

Complete Lifecycle Tracking

By its nature, an e-Passport is a security device. In unusual circumstances, for example a dead chip, or a suspect data read, it is necessary to perform more detailed analysis of the history of the e-Passport in question. During production, security and commercial tracking are important to ensure accurate accounting of all components used, good or bad. There are often three or more geographical stages in the preparation of an e-Passport: cover production at site A, e-Passport production at site B, and personalisation at site C. At each stage, it is necessary to account for all items used, their history and individual identity. Key management is also necessary when transporting items from one site to another. Inspectron has developed a complete intelligent database solution, called Sentinel Passport, which offers important data tracking and recording at all stages in the progress from inlay to issue.

• Real time recording of each important chip event

• Batch control ensures accurate accounting

• Re-make files for correcting damaged or rejected booklets

• Key management

• Complete history of each chip number

• Goods inwards and delivery manifest tracking

• Open-architecture

• Captures tracking data on any new or existing production machine

• Production statistics

For more information about our e-Passport Lifecycle solutions, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us today on +44 (0)1373 452555 (Europe) or +1 (866) 617-4675 (US/Asia Pacific).