Category Archives: Access Cards

Thin PVC Cards – What’s the Lowdown?

Have you ever noticed that some PVC Cards are thinner than others?  No they don’t hit the gym more often – they are just a variation of PVC card stock that is used for different purposes in the ID industry. Thin PVC cards are typically only 10 mil, or 0.010″ thick.

Use Cases:

In one example, thin PVC cards are used to produce professional business cards. Doing so will produce a card that is more durable than its ordinary paper counterpart. Designed properly, it will include high-quality imagery, including photo quality logos and even a personal photograph. Not only do these PVC cards hold up better – a PVC business card will help you stand out from the pack!

Thin PVC Cards that are also adhesive-backed are commonly used with proximity-access cards, such as the HID Prox II Clamshell. Clamshell-style cards are too large and thick for standard ID-card printers. Instead, print first on a thin PVC card, and then affix it to the thicker technology card. Not only does this allow for reuse of expensive proximity access cards, but it allows them to double as photo-ID cards!

Usage Notes:

Our adhesive-backed thin PVC cards can be printed with most any direct-to-card printer, and are just slightly smaller than standard CR80 PVC cards. This smaller size allows the cards to fit neatly onto a proximity card without overlapping the edges. Note that not all ID card printers can accommodate thin PVC cards. They specifically should NOT be used in retransfer-type printers, like Fargo HDP series or the Evolis Avansia. This is due to the extremely-high heat these printer can generate. So be sure to check the usage guidelines for your specific printer model.

Final Thoughts:

We offer a variety of PVC cards in our web-store, including quality products from Evolis, HID Global (Fargo) and Magicard.

Should you have any concerns or questions about your specific needs, feel free to call us toll-free at 888.485.4696 to speak with an ID-printing expert. We’re always glad to help!

Practice Safe Handling With HID and Access Cards

HID Access Cards

HID and access cards are typically shipped to you shrink wrapped and since they can cost significantly more than traditional PVC it is important to follow these tips;

Take care not to scratch the cards when opening the wrapping, especially when using a sharp implement.

Handle cards by the edges, not by the flat finished surface.

Use lint free gloves or finger cots to prevent hand oils from transferring to the
cards, which can cause smudging, fingerprints or other distortions
when printing.

Card image quality may vary even with careful card handling. This can be due to printer setup variations, lot to lot material variations, environmental changes, printer types, background color selections and other variables.
HID and access cards have been quality tested to meet requirements for high quality images. Failure to achieve a desired image quality is typically not the fault of the card.

For more information contact an expert at Safe-Card ID Services today.

 

Proper Access/HID Card Slotting

Access or proximity cards will have slot punch indicators, small dots visible on the card back
which show the only allowable slot locations for the card. While it is perfectly acceptable to slot punch your access cards, we strongly suggest using badge grippers or clamps instead. These attachment devices work the same as slot clips, and better maintain the structural integrity of your technology card.

If you must slot punch the card, carefully center the indicator marks to the punch, and punch only where the indicator marks appear. Any other position may damage the interior circuitry and thus cause the card not to work.

Always test the first card after printing and slotting. Once you are satisfied with the results you can go ahead and print the rest of the batch. For more information contact an expert at Safe-Card ID Services today.

 

HID Global Acquires EasyLobby For Secure Visitor Management Solutions

IRVINE, Calif., – January 3, 2012 – HID Global, a trusted leader in solutions for the delivery of secure identity, today announced the company has acquired EasyLobby, the industry leader in secure visitor management solutions. The acquisition delivers a number of potential synergies with HID Global’s portfolio across its identity and access management business.

EasyLobby is the pioneer and market-leading provider of comprehensive visitor management solutions. The company’s product suite provides enterprise-class visitor registration, tracking, reporting, badge printing, asset and package management, web-based pre-registration, and employee/contractor time and attendance functionality, and is tightly integrated with a wide variety of access control, human resources and other systems. EasyLobby products complement and extend HID Global’s portfolio, and have been deployed across a large and diverse base that is well-aligned with HID Global’s physical access control customer base.

EasyLobby is a strategic acquisition that delivers strong potential synergies across multiple high-value market segments,” said HID Global president and CEO Denis Hébert. “The addition of EasyLobby’s product suite, large installed base and strong customer engagements will enable us to broaden our offering to include trusted solutions for a wide range of visitor management applications. Additionally, this acquisition brings us a talented team with a highly complementary skillset.”

“We are very excited to become part of HID Global, a global company at the very heart of the security industry. This combination adds industry-leading secure visitor management solutions to the world’s most comprehensive offering of physical access control and secure card issuance systems,” said Howard Marson, EasyLobby CEO. “Together, our extended range of products creates a highly differentiated portfolio that will drive new opportunities for our mutual customers and partners, across all geographic regions of the world.”

For more information about Visitor Management give an expert at Safe-Card ID Services a call at 888-485-4696.

Using ID Cards for More than Just ID

Most photo identification cards that are printed with our photo ID card printer systems are used for the purpose of identification. Printed plastic cards commonly have a company logo, card holder photo and specific custom information about the person carrying the ID card. The cards may be full color on one or both sides. This is determined by the type of printer you have and also the type of print ribbon that is used.

Small business typically use plastic ID cards as identification for their employees or group members. Larger businesses and government frequently purchase professional, security oriented ID card printer systems that allow the identification to be used for more than just ID.

Printed plastic cards are commonly known for identification. They also benefit businesses in the areas of physical and virtual access, debit functions, payroll and more.

When you know what you want to use your ID cards for and if you know your budget limit, there are ways to make your card produce information you want to benefit company outcomes. There are many ways to integrate custom data in plastic cards. Some of these methods can be developed with a standard entry level ID card printer and software while others need a specialized system.

Current top of the line identification cards that are used for more than one purpose are the contactless or contact smart card. These cards are more common in other parts of the world and are rapidly making entry into the United States. These cards have the capability to hold a large amount of data that can easily transmit to card readers. The card readers then submit that information to control systems for analysis and further use.

A more common way of storing data on a plastic card is through a magnetic strip that is found on PVC cards. Information can be encoded into the tracks of the magnetic strip. Mag stripe readers can transfer information to control systems when the stripe is swiped through the reader. A common example of this is a credit or debit card swipe at a retail outlet. This system can also be used for transfer, access, loyalty systems and more.

Another method of storing information is available. This is with the use of a bar code printed on the outside of the card. The bar code is not able to store as much information as a contact or contactless card or as a mag stripe card. It is useful for time and attendance or for debit card type functions. It is the most cost effective way of storing information that is not legible to a casual observer of the card.

HID Access Cards – How They Work

An HID proximity card is a card with embedded information encoded inside. The information transmitted can allow door activation or login to a networked computer system. With access card systems, reports can be generated to provide specific details as to which card holders have attempted access and which cards have activated entry.

The HID Prox card holds information embedded inside and has capability within an access system to activate a door or log someone into a computer network. The proximity card does not have the capability of accessing an area within itself. The card within the framework of an access system will provide security and appropriate access to a controlled area.

The card is combined with a card reader, access control panel and a computer to form a complete access system. In combination, the system is able to function as a security officer that allows card holders into specific secured doors at certain dates and times.

The card holds an embedded binary code, which is a sequence of ones and zeros. These are used in a specific sequence to identify a card holder. The coding format is transmitted from the card reader to the control panel for deciphering. The card may or may not have additional code embedded in the card. The access control panel normally does not use extra coding, but reviews the formatted code utilized in the system.

When the controller receives the data, it begins the steps to verify if the cardholder has access to the building. The length of the data string is analyzed prior to proceeding. If the format is different, the control panel will not be able to process the request.
Once the format is verified, the controller can then check the facility code and site code for a match. If this is true, the controller moves ahead to match the card number. A matching card number will move the analysis forward. The information is then reviewed to see if the card holder has authorization to access during the date and time the access request is made. If so, the lock relay will activate and the door or network will unlock for access.

If the HID prox card is not able to successfully move through the above steps, access is denied. The system may provide a specific response from the controller or there may not be any response at all.

The software application processing authentication transactions can be accessed by authorized personnel to updated cardholder information, configure hardware and to generate reports of access attempts and successes.