1. Apparatus for manufacturing an identification card, comprising an image acquisition element for generating a picture signal that includes an image that is representative of a person's face, a vector memory having storage for plural eigenvector signals each one of which represents an eigenvector of a multi-dimensional image space, means for generating a projection signal representative of a portion of said picture signal encoded as a weighted function of said plural eigenvector signals, an image database memory having storage for projection signals each composition signal being representative of a weighted set of said eigenvector signals and each being associated with an image of a specific person's face, a demographic database memory having storage for one or more data records wherein each said data record is associated with a respective one of said projection signals and includes an identification signal for identifying said data record, recognition means for determining whether said projection signal is substantially representative of one or more of said stored projection signals and for generating a match signal responsive to a detected match between said projection signal and one of said stored projection signals, enforcement means responsive to said match signal, for selecting one or more of said data records, and a printer element arranged for recording information representative of said picture signal and said selected identification signal onto a blank data card to generate said identification card.