Michigan UV blacklight test results
Nice review, man. The microprinting clarity is usually the first thing I check too—if that's crisp on yours, that's a great sign. I've handled a few MI versions and the material thickness always feels hit or miss to me. Glad to hear yours passed the bend test without cracking. Sometimes I think people focus too much on the front and forget the edge treatment matters just as much for the drop test sound. Sounds like you got a solid one.
Just got my Michigan from these guys and ran the UV over it—holy crap, the microprinting clarity is spot on. I was also surprised by the material thickness; it's not crazy thick like some I've seen. Did the bend test on the corner and it held up, didn't crack or feel flimsy at all. The tactile feel is pretty close to what I remember from the real deal. Def passed the drop test sound too, doesn't have that hollow plastic ring. Overall, looks 1:1 to me.
I recently tested the ultraviolet security features on my new Michigan template card using a 365nm blacklight. The Michigan design has some intricate UV elements on both the front and the back that require careful examination. I wanted to verify if the glowing colors match the official templates under proper light settings.
Front UV Patterns and Glowing Art
When I turned on the blacklight in a dark room, the front area of the plastic showed a detailed glowing state outline and the Great Lakes patterns. The UV ink glows a bright green and yellow. The lines of the printing are thin and sharp. On lower quality cards, you often see the UV ink bleeding into the white spaces, which makes the graphics look blurry. On this card, the lines are crisp and the glowing patterns show excellent resolution.
Back UV Features and Lamination Core
The text embedded within the UV layer is legible under a 10x magnifier. I also checked the back of the card under the blacklight. There is a smaller UV ghost image next to the main barcode. This secondary image glows brightly and matches the main photo's silhouette. The lamination core is rigid, and the card snaps back quickly when bent. The barcode scans cleanly on standard apps, and the address data is formatted correctly. The front signature vector matches the overall document layout with correct scaling.
My card arrived on October 8, taking about eleven days in transit. The stealth shipping was secure, with the card placed inside standard mail envelopes. I am pleased with the UV execution on this Michigan card. The glowing elements look correct under different angles. I will monitor if the UV ink fades after a month of storage in my desk drawer. The printing on the front is clean, and the microprinting along the borders is sharp under my jeweler's loupe. I suggest checking the edge bonding as well, as some vendors struggle to fuse the layers correctly.