How to make novelty ID Cards

First, let’s start with what you will need to produce novelty ID cards. You will need a Photoshop editor. For example, adobe Photoshop 4.0 is one of the best out. Usually a $550.00 program if you bought it from a store. Next you will need a good printer. A very good one is the Epson Stylus Color 800, its great for printing pictures. Also, you will need Publisher97 from Microsoft, Lets not forget the paper, use an expensive kind, don’t go cheap, this is a very important part of the id. A good kind is" Epson Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper", good for 1440 dpi printers, like the Epson stylus 800 printer prints at. The last main item is a scanner; Hewlett Packard makes a great and not to expensive one called the "ScanJet 5P".

Now you will need good glue that is specifically for paper. A very good kind is "Rollataq Adhesive" found at your local arts and crafts stores. You'll also need an old VCR tape for the black strip on the back of the id. Get a laminator, don’t be cheap and use an iron or anything like that. Also, you will need 10mil lamination; you will have to order it from a company because they just don’t sell this at the local craft stores, look in the yellow pages for this. 

NOW, LET’S GET STARTED..

Using publisher97 makes it very easy to change the stats unlike adobe. This is really good for printing the backgrounds then sending it through the printer again to print the fonts and all your info.  First, you want to find the exact size your id is going to be. Then you want to open up Publisher97 and insert the template (i.e. the id picture) in to the picture frame to that same size. Then you want to place a picture frame over the place that the actual picture on the id should go. That is where you are going to be inserting the picture that you scan every time you make a new id. Make sure you already edited the template in adobe Photoshop, what i mean is get rid of all the stuff you don’t need. Like, anything that is not on a real id, for example leave sex, height, weight, etc. but get rid of everything like the stats, for example, 5'6, 160, blue etc. Now save that as your new template for the background.

Now for the hard part, keep your fake id template open and try to match up as best as you can the fonts from a real id (to whatever template your making your novelty fake id from) to the fonts in Publisher97. Once you have a close match then place text boxes next to the Height, Weight, Name, ID#, and so on, where ever you would normally have info put in on a real id. You will have to fool around with this a while trying to make the boxes fit right and the information your typing into its proper form (Bold, italic, underlined, or whatever colour the font might be). Once you have all your text boxes complete and in perfect alignment you’re going to have to cut and paste them into a new publisher file. Just select all the text boxes when doing this, do not select any picture frames! When you paste the text boxes into a new publisher file they will be in exactly the same place as when you cut them out. So don’t move them or you will have to start over!!! Now save it and you have your font template? Now open up your background pub. File again and just print the background on your high quality ink jet paper, put the same paper back into the printer and print the fonts over the background, your id should look like a real one now just not cut out and laminated.

Now we must glue and cut out the novelty ID card. Leave a little bit of room around the edges of your id when cutting, like about a 1/4 of an inch or so. Now, cut a piece of white paper the size of your id out from the good printing paper and glue it to the back of your id. Make sure you don’t use to much glue!!! Use just a little but get it everywhere especially along all the edges. Let it dry for about 20 minutes. Now you’re going to have to get out that VCR tape; cut a piece off about 6 inches. Very important, put glue but not a lot on one side of the VCR tape, be skimpy on the glue. Now glue it to the back off your id, about 1/4 from the top of the id. Let dry again for about 15 minutes.

Do not be careless and get glue on both sides of the VCR tape, this looks bad after laminating. A good idea is to have a universal place where your VCR tape goes on all your novelty ID cards. In layman’s term, make sure the VCR tape is placed in the same place on all your id's that you make. This way you and your buddies can all go out to the same bar at the same time. Now, get out that 10mil lamination and laminate your id. Make sure have something good to cut out your id with. 10 mil is thick lamination and scissors will not cut straight. Any office supply store will have cutting boards for around $40 that will do a good job. Next we must think about the trimming the corners of your fake id card. Get out your ATM card or some kind of card that has round corners. Match up the edges and use toe nail clippers to cut the corners. Now get a finger nail file, and smoothly round over the corners. Now you have your self a legitimate id. Also you might want to scratch the front of your id on the cement a little bit to make it look used and DONT BEND THE CORNERS!!!

REMEMBER PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, YOU WONT GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME SO JUST KEEP PRACTICING -  GOOD LUCK!