Microprinting lines on South Carolina ID

South Carolina puts microprinting in two locations on the current DL design, and checking whether a vendor has reproduced both correctly requires at least a 10x loupe — the text is too small to read with the naked eye.

First location: bottom edge band

Along the bottom edge of the card, just above the machine-readable zone, there's a thin horizontal band containing repeating "SOUTH CAROLINA" text in characters approximately 0.3mm tall. It's visible as a line of texture to the naked eye but individual characters require magnification to read. This is the more prominent of the two microprint elements and the one most vendors attempt to reproduce.

Second location: border microtext

The decorative border that frames the card face also contains microtext along its inner edge. This is harder to spot because it blends into the border design, but at 10x you can see the repeating text pattern running along the border line. On a genuine South Carolina card both elements are clearly legible at 10x magnification with good lighting.

Vendor comparison

The bottom-edge band is the easier element to reproduce and most vendors I've tested at least approximate it. IDGod's SC card has a visible band in the correct position — at 10x the characters are present but slightly heavier than on genuine, giving the appearance of bold text where the genuine uses regular weight. Recognizable but not identical.

The border microtext is where most vendors fall short. On KingOfFakes' South Carolina card, the border has the correct decorative framing but the inner edge texture doesn't resolve into legible characters at 10x — it looks like a textured line rather than actual microprint. OldIronSides had the same result: the border looked right visually at normal distance but the microtext wasn't reproduced.

Practical context

Microprinting is a feature that only matters under deliberate examination — standard bar or venue inspection doesn't involve a loupe. But if you're assessing production quality or doing a thorough vendor comparison, the microprint accuracy tells you how carefully a vendor has replicated the complete card design versus just the visually obvious elements. For South Carolina specifically, IDGod is the strongest current option if microprint accuracy is a criterion in your evaluation.