Streamlining Card Issuance
Facing a variety of challenges on campus, ability to connect services tops list
- By Craig Sandness
- Jul 01, 2016
TODAY’S COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FACE A VARIETY
OF ID CHALLENGES ON CAMPUS WITH SECURITY TOPPING
THE LIST OF CONCERNS. INCREASINGLY, THE ABILITY
TO CONNECT SERVICES, RESOURCES AND OTHER
VALUE-ADDS TO THEIR CAMPUS ID HAVE ALSO GROWN
IN IMPORTANCE AS USERS LOOK TO CENTRALIZE
RESOURCES AND LOWER OPERATING COSTS. THINKING
ABOUT ID SOLUTIONS HOLISTICALLY CAN LEVERAGE
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR INCREASED SECURITY,
COST SAVINGS AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
WHILE ALSO SEEING GAINS IN STUDENT AND STAFF
SATISFACTION.
One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to choose an ID issuance
solution that allows the card issuer to combine multiple issuance steps
into a single and seamless process—all from within the same printing
device. With sophisticated microprocessors at their cores, some of
today’s card printers offer internal card encoding systems that are
capable of performing multiple operations simultaneously, yielding
card throughput efficiency and speed and reducing hardware costs.
INLINE ENCODING EFFICIENCY
With a variety of ID card printers on the market today, universities have
a wide selection of options from which to choose. Many are feature-rich
with personalization capabilities that increase a card’s print quality,
durability and even card output speeds. Often overlooked, but just as
vitally important, is a printer’s ability to personalize
the outside of that card while simultaneously
encoding the internal technology of
the card, all from within the same device.
Typically, a card office would use a desktop
card printer to add color and text to a
card’s exterior and then, once the card is
extracted from the printer’s output bin, the
pre-printed/pre-programmed ID number is
transferred manually to the cardholder’s
record in a computer database. This twostage
process is both time-consuming and
increases the potential for keying errors. Too
often, errors aren’t even discovered until the
cardholder attempts to enter a facility and
their new card are denied access.
With today’s newer ID card printers with
inline encoding capabilities, universities can
seamlessly print visual personalization while
encoding student or faculty data via one or
multiple card technologies.
AN EASY UPGRADE TO
NEW CARD TECHNOLOGY
Today, campuses are in the midst of, or preparing
for, a giant technology upgrade when
it comes to both the security and functionality
of their ID card. What was once acceptable
technology, like magnetic swipe, has since
been proven to be susceptible to easy counterfeiting.
To address this risk, universities are
looking for the most secure, cost-effective and
efficient solutions that offer backwards compatibility
with legacy card technology and
hardware still on campus.
The card office, already concerned with
card issuance time, is now faced with the task
of rebadging an entire card population, which
may be in the tens of thousands, on campus.
Every bit of time that can be saved issuing
a card is crucial and adds up to significant
savings in operating costs. By leveraging
advanced ID card printers and encoder solutions,
universities can reap the benefits of
true ID card issuance efficiency and upgrade
from current unsecure credential technologies
to smart cards that support multiple
applications such as paying for meals or
checking out books.
Lastly, universities can further increase the
efficiency of their ID issuance solutions by
opting for a printer with features like simultaneous
inline, card lamination which increases
card durability and translates to less replacement
cards needing to be issued. A dual input
hopper is also useful when printing multiple
card types, such as printing IDs for student
versus staff.
The takeaway is to look for secure issuance
solutions that promote the most convenience
and efficiency for your campus needs while
providing an enhanced level of security.
Printers that offer inline card encoding
enable multiple functions of large ID card
batches to be performed inside the printer, in a
single issuance step that significantly reduces
administrative burden and hardware costs.
Additionally, by combining printing and
encoding within a single printer, universities
can rest assured that their campus or studentspecific
data is properly included on each user’s
card, decreasing return visits by students and
further increasing the security of the card issuance
program. Students will appreciate the
time saved waiting in line for their new ID card
on the first day of school and the increased
functionality of those
cards throughout the
school year.
This article originally appeared in the July 2016 issue of Security Today.