Printing Technology Takes NJ Licenses to Next Level — Cagle

BITS AND PIECES

This isn’t your father’s Division of Motor Vehicles anymore. Sure, the process is still unorganized, in-efficient and clunky. And yes, the people who wait on you are still bitchy, impatient and indifferent. But while the service component is still severely lacking, our DMV amigos have certainly honed their products, at least in New Jersey.

The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) has unveiled a new generation of licenses and identification cards that trumpet 22 advanced security features. For one, the photos are now digital; instead of the pictures looking like your high school picture from freshman year, the DMV folks (sorry, it’s now MVC) will even retake your photo if you don’t like the first effort. I’m not picking on the old image capturing method, but I did hate getting flash powder on my collar.

The printing technology is mildly impressive. The basic license features a gradient color with fine line background. There are three digital photos on the new ID, including a ghost image that is only visible in UV light. The main image has hidden UV text that shows the holder’s name and date of birth, and there is a hologram of the state seal preprinted in overlay.

Here’s a challenge for New Jersey printers who have acquired the new license: There are other security features that are known only to law enforcement officials. Drop it under the UV light and see what else you can find.

While the change is clearly in response to heightened security measures in post-9/11 America, the new license should drastically eliminate fakes. Plus, bar bouncers no longer have to perform the difficult task of carding patrons in dark, smoky dens of iniquity. Driver’s licenses for minors are now printed vertically, with a date next to the photo that indicates when the holder will turn 21.

Whether the new measures help fight identity theft and fraud, as advertised, remains to be seen. Still, the driver’s license was long overdue for an overhaul, and the MVC has come up with a design and features that have vastly improved the common ID.

EMPLOYER WANTED: Now here’s something you don’t see every day...a facility in search of an owner. But this odd case of public M&A shopping could be a real job saver for several hundred employees.

Cox Target Media is expanding its Florida headquarters, which is on schedule for completion by the second quarter of 2007. Unfortunately, Cox will no longer need its direct mail operations in North Carolina, leaving 300-plus workers in danger of losing their jobs.

Cox is taking the high road, openly shopping the North Carolina facility in the hopes of preserving this direct mail house. According to an advertisement it has generated, Cox is “willing to be creative to make this happen. This is a great situation for anyone in the direct mail, printing, fulfillment or publishing industries looking for additional capacity in a fully functioning facility in a great location.” The deal would also include the production facility.

Interested? Call (727) 319-5482 or e-mail facilityinfo@coxtarget.com for more information. You’re better off calling; this isn’t a used two-color press being offered. A lot of hard-working people are hoping to maintain their employment situation.

BINDERY OF FORTUNE: The March 29 episode of TV game show “Wheel of Fortune” featured a contestant named Mark Foltz from Red Lion, PA, who identified himself as a print manager for a leading book manufacturer.

Not only did Foltz make the show, he was the day’s top winner at $21,840 in cash and prizes, nailing puzzles such as “I slept like a baby” (the $1,000 toss-up), actress Kate Beckinsale (proper name), “combing the beach for seashells” (fun and games) and “super-duper” (rhyme time). Results courtesy www.gameshownewsnet.com. Yes, someone has gone through the trouble of logging game show outcomes. The site was oddly entertaining.

Alas, Sir Mark could not conquer the Bonus Round, unable to solve “giving blood” (can you believe the puzzle subject was ‘event’?) and lost out on a Volvo XC90. But this print manager won trips to Miami and Chile, so he’s probably not all that bummed out. He’ll be sipping Mojitos and enjoying the sand and surf while we’re stuck in traffic.

THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR: Having lost luggage just prior to Consolidated Graphics’ annual meeting last year, and left attending the black suit event in street clothes, it is easy for me to empathize with anyone in a similar predicament. And you never know when someone might have a story to top your own.

A more recent victim, a fellow trade press journalist, was learned of during a March trip to Munich, Germany, for Océ’s Open House. This person found himself at the reception luncheon and dinner in street clothes. During a bit of frustration over the situation, the suitless individual slammed his hotel door in anger. The motion jarred the door’s manual flap lock to swing over and catch the ball mechanism, effectively locking the writer out of his room.

At last report, the door at the Arabella Sheraton was being broken down.

—ERIK CAGLE