Card with embedded image

A method of making a hologram on a card, the card having a length, a width, a top side, top outer surface, a bottom side, and a bottom outer surface, the card consisting of a metallic foil layer sandwiched between a plurality of layers of thermoplastic materials, and optionally one or more colorants or printed features, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) forming a first assembly including a layer of metallic foil with at least a first layer of pattern-conforming material overlying and directly contacting said metallic foil, said first layer of pattern-conforming material comprising a thermoplastic which is solid at room temperature;
• b) supplying the first assembly to an inline process having at least two stages, a first stage of the inline process including passing the first assembly through a first set of rollers, thereby embossing a pattern onto said metallic foil using a laminating plate disposed underneath the metallic foil and simultaneously laminating said first assembly under pressure applied along an axis normal to a first plane defined by the length and width of the card and at a first temperature to cause portions of the first layer of pattern-conforming material to flow within and conform to the embossed portions of the metallic foil and for the metallic foil to be set to the embossed pattern, the pattern comprising rectilinear elements defined by lines orthogonal to one another in a planar section disposed normal to the first plane, said orthogonal lines including one or more first lines parallel to the normal axis and one or more second lines parallel to the first plane;
• and
• c) forming a second assembly including at least a second layer of pattern-conforming material, said second layer of pattern-conforming material comprising a thermoplastic which is solid at room temperature;
• and
• d) stacking the first and second assemblies with the second layer of pattern conforming material of the second assembly in contact with and underlying the metallic foil and, in a second stage of the inline process, passing the stacked first and second assemblies through a second set of rollers, thereby laminating the first and second assemblies under pressure and at a second temperature less than the first temperature for maintaining the setting of the embossed pattern embedded between the first and second layers of pattern-conforming material, for causing portions of the second layer of pattern-conforming material to flow within and conform to the embossed portions of the metallic foil without disturbing the embossed pattern, and for securing the first and second assemblies so they constitute all the layers of said card with the metallic foil sandwiched between the first and second pattern-conforming material layers and with the top outer surface and the bottom outer surface each having a uniformly flat disposition, wherein the optical characteristics of the metallic foil and any layers disposed between the top outer surface and the metallic foil or between the bottom outer surface and the metallic foil are selected to enable the embossed pattern to be visible from at least one of the top side or bottom side of the card.