Anyone else notice quality drop recently?
I've seen this too. My new CA has fuzzy edges on the UV layer compared to the older one, and the ghost image doesn't pop nearly as much under 365nm UV light. It's a bummer because the older card had that crisp seal and passes scan perfectly. Could be a bad batch. Hope future runs fix the UV bleeds, it's definitely a step down.
Yeah, I've noticed this too. Not just with CA, but across a few states recently. I think it's a batch issue — UV bleeds more on the new ones, and the ghost image looks washed out compared to older copies. It's noticeable enough under 365nm UV light, which is annoying. Hit up vendor support to check the production date; sometimes they swap it out if it's a bad run.
I noticed the same thing with my MN a few months ago. The new card's main ghost image is way less crisp, and when I check under 365nm UV light, the UV bleeds outside the seal lines. No issues passing scans with a PDF417 scanner though, so maybe it's just a cosmetic dip. That said, I'd rather have a solid pass than perfect UV, but it's still annoying.
I do reviews and can confirm quality varies batch to batch. UV ink degrades if not stored properly before production.
Check the production date code if you can find it.
@98Reviews good point about storage. I'll reach out to vendor support about this.
Yeah I noticed the same thing with my recent order. The microprint is still solid though.
Maybe they changed suppliers for the UV ink?
Interesting... mine from 2 weeks ago looks perfect still. Which vendor are we talking about here?
So I got my new CA from a vendor last week, and honestly the UV is pretty weak compared to my old one from 6 months ago. On the old card the UV layer was crisp — the state seal and the secondary ghost image really popped under a blacklight, and the fine-line text in the UV pattern was sharp down to like 0.5mm strokes. This new card? The UV looks rushed. The seal outline is there but it's fuzzy around the edges, and the background UV pattern (the repeating "California" microtext) bleeds together in spots. It feels like they reduced the UV ink density or the alignment was off during lamination. I'm guessing the UV layer is printed on the front polycarbonate overlay, and on this batch the registration might have slipped.
The temp overlay itself is actually pretty good tbh — the hologram construction looks solid. The main DMV-style seal with the bear and star is clearly embossed, and the rainbow foil shifts properly when you tilt it. No obvious air bubbles or delamination around the edges. But the ghost image on the right side — the secondary portrait — is noticeably less sharp than my old one. On the old card you could see fine detail like individual hair strands and the shadow under the chin. On this new one, the ghost looks slightly softened — almost a bit pixelated if you really stare at it under a loupe. The perforation pattern (the tiny holes that spell out your birthdate vertically along the right edge) is also hit or miss. Some of the holes on mine are clean and round, but a couple near the bottom are slightly oval or have a faint burr around them, which makes me wonder if the laser drill speed or power was dialed differently.
I ran it through a basic ID scanner app and a standalone UV+IR reader. The barcode and PDF417 decode fine on the scanner side — no issues there, data parses, name and DOB match. But the UV scanning mode picked up the weakness immediately. The app flagged the UV intensity as "low confidence" because the fluorescent response was dimmer than expected. My old card always passed UV tests with flying colors. I also tried a simple readability check under a 365nm light, and some of the fine UV text that should glow bright white came out a dull yellow-green — which is a known red flag if a bouncer checks with a good light.
Anyone else noticing this across recent CA orders? Kind of wondering if the vendor changed UV ink suppliers or just rushed a batch. The temp overlay being solid gives me some hope, but the UV drop is enough that I'm hesitant to use it in strict spots. Would love to hear if your new ones have similar ghost image blurring or perforation inconsistencies.