A photo id requires the visual representation of the card holder on the card. There are a number of options to obtain the necessary picture to place on the current pvc plastic card standard of today.

An id camera is needed to take a picture that will easily work on your id badges.

A popular type of id card camera is the webcam. The webcam is connected to the pc and takes photos through a computer application. A future cardholder will stand next to a backdrop in front of the camera while the computer operator previews the photo, snaps the picture and imports it into the computer for use. This option works well if all of the employees are in the same location as the employee must come to the computer area for the picture to be taken.

The popular digital camera on the market will also take high quality photos for id badges. The badge maker can mount the camera on a tripod and take pictures of cardholders in any location. Upon return of the camera to the computer, the pictures can be uploaded into a file or into the id card software being used to complete the badge. The drawback to this type of picture is often user related. Most cameras take large, quality pictures. The file size of these photos are too cumbersome for most photo id software. The best size for photo ids is 640×480 pixels or as small as the camera will save the picture.

Cropping and sizing of pictures is time consuming. To alieve this problem, most id card printer systems provided with a camera come with drivers and software to correct the picture dimensions for id card printing.

ID card camera information can be found on our website, www.safecardid.com. For specific questions on id card cameras or id card systems, contact our experts at 888-485-4696.