ID Cards: Why are they important to print?

There are so many places you go into these days that want you to have an ID badge or card to access certain areas. Schools, government buildings, and aerospace or defense corporations require these for security reasons. To have the ability to enter information into a computer and print an ID card right there on the spot requires a quick printer that can handle these types of jobs. An ID card printer is the method of choice. Priced around $1,500 to $2,000, you probably won’t find this kind of printer lying around someone’s home or small office. Also, the software to run them can cost almost as much as the printer itself. Most companies use ID printers to create visitor passes or badges on a daily basis. There really isn’t a reason for an individual to have one for personal use; unless maybe they would like to print all of their business cards individually laminated. However, the cost of printing them this way would greatly outweigh any usefulness it might have. For the reason of security, most cards have some sort of identifying quality to them, such as a microchip, or magnetic reader strip. The information printed on the front and back is just visual displays of the identifying factors. When the card is put through a scanner, information embedded in the coating on the card or the strip on the back can be read. Some cards have a bar code printed on them which functions just like a magnetic strip or chip; information is read from it by a computer scanner. There is even a card printer which allows cards to be “rewritten” and reused. For example, a student’s status may change a few times over the course of his or her studies and his student ID will need to reflect these changes. These cards are usually printed with a foil that is sensitive to thermal properties, and thus can be updated by rewriting the information in the foil piece. These cards can be changed up to 500 times, which is very cost effective. This helps environmentally too, because it cuts down on the requirement to issue a new card every time a student’s or customer’s status changes. Since the ID cards meant for high security use microchips and high intelligence technology, the printers for these must be non-impact printers. These cards are coated with a film that has been embedded with the information already, so when the film is adhered to the card, it has what it needs without actually “printing” it on the card. This helps in maintaining the durability of the card through daily scanning. Certain software is definitely needed to run these types of printers. There are many forms an ID can take. These programs allow companies to format and personalize the fronts or, even backs, of the badges or cards they issue to visitors or employees. There are cameras manufactured to work with ID software and printers, but really, they aren’t totally necessary to buy. A webcam can be configured to work with an ID printer just as well.

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