Long term durability update

The polycarbonate states feel identical to real ones now

So I've been meaning to do a long term durability update on the IDs I've been carrying. A lot of people ask which state holds up best over time, because the material really does vary. Honestly, in my experience, polycarbonate states — the ones with raised tactile features — handle daily wear way better than the thinner PVC ones. But even within that, the lamination and overlay construction makes a huge difference.

Starting with the hologram overlay – so the ones I've had in my wallet for about six months? The overlay on the PVC states started peeling at the edges after a few weeks. The polycarbonate ones, though, the overlay is embedded right into the material, so there's no edge to catch. But even there, I've noticed the ghost image clarity kind of changes over time. On one state, the ghost image is a faint duplicate of the main photo, and after a few months of pocket carry it started looking a bit washed out — like the laser engraving was slowly fading. On another state, the ghost image is actually a separate microprint area, and that held up way better because it's not just a surface layer.

The perforation pattern is another thing that really shows wear. For instance, the state with the state shape cutouts as perforations? The holes themselves started getting ragged after about three months. Edges got fuzzy, and when you hold it up to the light, they're just not as clean anymore. On the other hand, the state that does the perforation as tiny pinholes in the shape of a symbol – those actually stayed crisp, probably because the holes are so small there's less stress on the material. The UV detail accuracy is something you don't notice until you hit a club with a blacklight. I tested both after heavy use: one state's UV layer had started flaking off in small patches near the corners, probably from the flexing when I sit down. The other state's UV was still perfectly intact, but the pattern itself was a bit too blurry to begin with – the state seal in UV didn't have those fine line details you'd see on a real one.

Scanner test results are honestly the real kicker. After all this time, I'd expect some degradation in the data stripe or the barcode. One of my IDs – the PVC one – the barcode started failing on scanner tests after about five months. The reader would pick it up maybe 60% of the time. The polycarbonate one still scans perfectly every time, but I think that's more because the printing method – laser engraved vs. thermal transfer – is more durable. The magnetic stripe on the back is a different story – on both types, the stripe gets scratched up from being slid in and out of card slots. I've had to re-encode one of them twice because the data started getting garbled.

So honestly, the long term durability really comes down to which specific state you choose, not just the general material. Some states have better material than others, but even more important is how the security features are constructed. I'd love to hear what other people have experienced after six months or a year – which states are still holding up for you?