ID Card Printers: Improving Security and Productivity in Businesses

ID cards, also known as identity cards, are documents that verify a person’s identity. They contain information such as a person’s name, photograph, date of birth, and other relevant personal details; and are widely used by individuals, organisations, and businesses as a means of identification and verification.

Starting from enhancing security to increasing efficiency, and providing access to restricted areas, ID cards serve several benefits. These tiny documents also help prevent identity theft and fraud by ensuring that only authorised persons are given access to certain resources or areas. At the same time, ID cards help maintain records and facilitate communication between employees and customers.

Several businesses including government agencies, hospitals, schools, retail stores, restaurants, and financial institutions require employees to carry identity cards. Also, they are a great tool for tracking attendance, timekeeping, and payroll processing, regardless of the size of your business.

To print professional-looking ID cards, specialised devices known as ID card printers are used, These devices come with advanced technology, high-quality printing material, and specialised software to print cards that are not just visually appealing but durable too.

From manual printing to modern-day efficient printers, ID card printers have made a remarkable journey. Earlier, ID cards were manually written, which was not only time-consuming but labour-intensive too. The evolution of ID card printers has refurbished the way ID cards are produced. Earlier, ID card printers were large and bulky machines and were used primarily in industrial settings. These devices were expensive to purchase and maintain and the printing process was slow and vexing. With technological advancements, these devices transformed into small and efficient printers, that can carry out multiple applications. Modern-day ID card printers are advanced and carry out a range of printing technologies like dye-sublimation, thermal transfer, and inkjet printing. If you are looking for ID card printers for sale, thermal transfer technology is the most preferred solution of the three. ID card printers in today’s world are compact, lightweight, and easy to use, making them ideally suited for businesses of any size. They are also budget-friendly and offer multiple features like magnetic strip encoding, smart card encoding, and holographic printing.

In this blog, we have talked about the importance of ID card printers for modern businesses.

ID Card Printers: How are they Beneficial for Businesses?

Modern-day ID card printer come in different sizes and types starting from small desktop models designed for personal use to large-scale industrial printers for high-volume printing purposes. These devices ideally use thermal transfer printer technology wherein the wax-based ink ribbon is melted by applying heat mechanism to print designed images or texts on the card.

• Security: Since ID cards add an extra security layer to businesses, having an ID card printer allows businesses to protect employee information. This reduces the chances of outsiders making counterfeits, restricting their access to workplaces. Also, since ID cards can be printed quickly with IC card printers, the need to create temporary badges, that don’t contain identifiable information, gets eliminated.
• Easy Printing: Modern ID card printers are easy to use. All you need to do is, understand the basics of the device and you are good to go. Understanding more about the features of your device will allow you to experiment with redesigning if required.
• Cost-effective: For businesses of any size, especially the ones that are growing and hiring employees continuously, ID card printers are an excellent investment. You can purchase all-in-one printers to print personal information. These devices support features like barcodes and holograms. Although they are a bit costly, the one-time payment is still a cost-effective option compared to outsourcing your printing needs back and forth.
• Time-saving: Finding the right vendor for your ID card printing needs requires research and negotiations, which is a time-consuming process. Contrarily, owning an in-house ID card printer can eliminate this hassle. You simply need an efficient employee who can contribute some time off of their schedule to take care of the ID card printing needs in your business setup.
• Easy Do-overs: Owning an plastic card printer allows you the convenience to experiment with different designs and concepts. With this, mistakes will also be both time and cost-effective as you can reprint the ID cards instead of investing time consulting a printing vendor. You can print a sample first to check if it meets all your printing requirements and prints the final ones that support your business’s branding needs.

How to Choose the Right ID Card Printer?

The availability of numerous options for photo card printer makes it confusing to choose the best one to meet your business needs. Consider the below-mentioned factors if you are looking to purchase an ID card printer for your business.

• Print Volume: The first step would be to get an estimate of the number of cards you would be printing in a day. If you have medium to high-volume printing needs, it is recommended to invest in a device with higher specifications that would save labour and supply costs.
• Printing Sides: You need to determine if you have single-sided or double-sided printing needs. Single-sided ID card printers are used for cards that contain limited information like a photo, name, barcode, or number. Dual-sided ID card printers allow printing on both sides of a card. These printers are perfect if you need to print a significant amount of information on the card. Double-sided printing makes an ID card appear uncluttered and sophisticated.
• Laminating: Laminators help protect ID cards from fading and wearing off and hence offer better durability compared to non-laminated cards that have a lifespan of up to 1 to 2 years (if used daily). There are ID card printers that offer lamination. Therefore, for enhanced durability and security, purchasing an ID card printer that offers lamination is always an added benefit. For extra security, adding different holograms can be beneficial.
• Encoding Options: Nowadays, most ID card printers offer encoding options, which help with user identification beyond the photo, for example, barcodes. Inculcating 1D or 2D barcodes can help you encode bulk information. Similarly, there are magnetic stripes attached to the back of an ID card too. These can store data on the magnetic material and is readable when swiped past a magnetic card reader.
• Budget: While purchasing an ID card printer, make sure you have a pre-set budget while evaluating the prices. Check for the features it offers while selecting the model.
• Dimension: Another essential factor you need to consider while purchasing an ID card printer is its size. You would not want your device to consume extra space, cluttering your office. Therefore, consider the space where you would be placing your device and the dimensions of the device before purchasing.

Wrapping Up,

Now that you’ve chosen your device, you need to consider where you would shop for an ID card printer.

POS Plaza is Australia’s leading online reseller of premium point of sale (POS) hardware, consumables, accessories, and bundles, all available at competitive prices. Starting from the Evolis Zenius Classic Single Sided ID Card Printer to Evolis Primacy Duplex Double Sided ID Card Printer, you name it, we have it all, Browse through our inventory and purchase the perfect ID card printer at affordable prices from our online store.