A growing number of security documents, including the new ICAO `e-passport`, contain digital biometric images. Although the advantages of including biometric images are self-evident, the production of biometric-enabled security documents involves a number of challenges: the biometric image must be compressed, of sufficient quality, and formatted in a way that facilitates interoperability between different systems. This article takes a closer look at the issues involved and offers several recommendations. David Benini is Director of Product Marketing at Aware, Inc.. He is responsible for expanding Aware`s biometrics and imaging software operations, and makes regular contributions to M1 and SC 37 biometrics standards. Aware provides software tools to compress, analyse, and format biometric images in compliance with all relevant standards. Further details can be found at: www.aware.com/biometrics