Photo ID cards are essential for a business, whether they be for visitors, contractors or staff. Luckily, Digital ID printing can now be used to print photo ID cards. You need to ensure that you invest in the necessary resources to make high-quality photo ID cards for your home business.
Here are a few tips to get started on making photo identification cards.
1. Assess your needs
Each business has its needs. Therefore, you should assess your business needs in regards to the kind of photo ID cards you require and then choose the appropriate ID card printers.
Do you need a small printer that is not noisy and that can print small volumes of photo ID cards? Do you require additional security features on the cards and what are they? Do you need to print large numbers of cards each month? Do you want double- or single-sided cards? Do you need contactless smart cards or just the normal plastic cards?
Assess your needs and then choose the appropriate printer.
There are direct to card (DTC) and retransfer printers. If your business requires printing a high volume of ID cards or more secure card programs, then the best to use are retransfer printers. DTC printers are suitable for businesses that have small-to-medium-sized monthly printing needs.
2. Check the ease of use of the printers
An easy-to-use printer is likely to produce great results quickly. Choose a printer that is easy to install and set up and can print the cards within a few minutes. It should be compatible with the operating system of your computer.
It should be easy to address issues such as low ribbon notifications, a cleaning cycle prompt and current print status.
3. Choose the right consumables
To print ID cards, you will need consumables such as plastic cards, card printer ribbons, card design software, lanyards and card holders.
Some printers come as a complete package so that when you purchase, you get the printer, printing ribbon, ID card software and plastic cards. If you purchase a standalone printer, you will be required to purchase the consumables separately.
Make sure to choose the right consumables for your printer. For instance, if you desire to make your brand conspicuous, you can use personalized lanyards instead of using ordinary lanyards.
4. Consider the security features you will need on the photo id cards
Most likely you will require security features in your photo id cards. There are various ways in which security is added to the cards, such as a watermark security, holographic image laminate, custom holokote, stretch tile, custom tile, holo patch, smart card encoder or fluorescent ultraviolet security.
Decide which security features you need and buy an appropriate card printer that can provide that level of security.
5. Consider the design of the cards
Determine the information that will be on the cards. For instance, an employee’s photo ID card can have the name of the employee, designation, name or logo of the company, issue date, expiry date, and the security features.
Decide how the photo will look like, whether large or small and the orientation of the card. Determine how the cards will be worn. If using lanyards, clips or badge reels, you will be required to consider the size, shape, and location of the card slot.
There are many security measures a business can take and investing in photo identification cards is a good first step. Protect your venture’s assets by making sure your employees and associates are properly identified when engaging in business activities.
