Comparing In-State vs Out-of-State Novelty IDs

Out-of-state, hands down. Here's why, from both a quality and security angle. When you're in Illinois, bouncers see IL IDs literally hundreds of times a night — they know the hologram overlay construction inside and out. I'm talking the exact thickness of the lamination, the way the state seal floats at certain angles, the alignment of the overlapping pattern. A slight misalignment or a hologram that's a fraction of a millimeter off? Instant catch. Indiana and Wisconsin IDs, though, get maybe one or two per shift. So even if the hologram overlay isn't perfect — maybe the lamination is a bit too thick or the ghost image is slightly too opaque — it's way less likely to stand out because nobody has the real thing memorized back to front.

Now let's get into the technical stuff. Ghost image clarity is a big one. Illinois puts its ghost image in a very specific spot — usually a secondary photo shifted to the right, with a faint but perfectly defined outline. If that's off — too dark, too blurry, or the wrong shape — it's a dead giveaway. Wisconsin's ghost image is often placed differently, sometimes on the left or even overlapped with a background pattern, so even if it's not spot-on, it doesn't scream fake the same way. Perforation pattern quality matters too. Illinois uses a tiny, uniform micro-perf that's hard to replicate cleanly — any rough edges or inconsistent hole spacing and you're busted. Indiana's perforations are usually simpler and more forgiving, often just a standard birth date pattern that looks fine as long as the holes are round and don't have burrs.

UV detail accuracy is another area where out-of-state wins. Illinois has complex UV overlays — state outlines, hidden text, sometimes even UV ghost images — that need to glow at exactly the right wavelength and brightness. A lot of cheap fakes mess this up, making the UV either too bright or too dim, or using ink that looks off under blacklight. Wisconsin's UV is typically less intricate and easier to match. I've seen plenty of Indiana and Wisconsin fakes where the UV passes a quick glance test because the bouncer isn't scanning for those subtle flaws. And scanner test results? From what I've seen, as long as the barcode encoding is correct — proper parity, correct data format, and valid check digits — out-of-state IDs scan just fine. The scanner doesn't care about the state; it just reads the 1D or PDF417 barcode. Illinois bouncers might run the ID through a scanner, but they rely more on visual inspection for in-state IDs. For an out-of-state one, they'll scan it, see it's good, and move on without giving the security features a second look.

So yeah, go with Indiana or Wisconsin. They're common enough that the bouncer won't question why you're from there, but rare enough that they won't have the authentic details memorized. Just make sure the hologram is laminated cleanly, the ghost image isn't super crisp, the perforations are neat, UV is close enough, and the barcode scans. That's the sweet spot.

Smart move. Having someone who actually knows the area helps a lot if you ever get questioned.

Also think about your backstory. If you're in Chicago, saying you're from Indianapolis or Milwaukee makes perfect sense. Just know a few basic facts about the city you "live" in.

That's what I was leaning towards. Which is easier - Indiana or Wisconsin?

Indiana is simpler and most vendors do it well. Wisconsin has some tricky features that cheaper vendors mess up. For reliability, go Indiana.

Great point. I'll go with Indiana then. My roommate is actually from there so I can ask him about Indianapolis. Thanks!