Making an I.D. card can be extremely simple or fairly complex... It can cost pennies or require an investment in equipment and supplies... It all depends on what you want to accomplish. Here are some considerations you will need to make:

• Name cards or photo I.D.? If you want to produce I.D.'s that only contain text information, such as cardholder name, title, etc., and perhaps a logo, then you can use label-making software (MS Word for Windows, for example) to produce cards, cut them apart, and laminate them using a small pouch laminator. This is definitely the least-cost method. If you want the cardholder's photo on the card, then your best bet for a professional-looking card is a polaroid or digital photo I.D. system. Either system enables you to accomplish the challenging task of sizing the photo correctly, and cutting or cropping it professionally to fit on the card.
• How many I.D.'s will you make? If you don't need very many I.D.'s, you may find it hard to justify the cost of your own equipment and supplies. You should consider using our service bureau to make them for you.
• Cards or badges? Do you need wallet cards or badges that the cardholder wears for immediate identification? Wallet cards must be small, ideally credit card size. Badges must be designed to accommodate a slot or hole for the badge attachment. They can be larger than wallet cards, although the standard for either is credit card size.
• What level of security do you need? Will your I.D. cards need to have a bar code or magnetic stripe? Do you need to have a smart chip imbedded in the card? And what about securing the equipment you will use to make the cards, and your cardholder data base?

Laminator Warehouse offers two different solutions to help you produce professional I.D. cards: Digital Photo-ID systems and supplies. These systems consist of:

• Plastic card printer
• Digital camera
• Software that allows you to design templates and create cards
• Supplies: Printer ribbon or cartridge and PVC cards

PRINTER

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CAMERA

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SOFTWARE

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PRINTER CARTRIDGE & PVC CARDS

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FINISHED PLASTIC I.D. CARD

A digital photo-ID system is installed on your computer, where you are able to take a person's photo, key-in the variable data, and print the card directly on the plastic card printer in a matter of seconds.

• ID Card Service Bureau. Our service bureau is an increasingly popular way to produce plastic cards. You take the photos using any digital camera. Then send the photo, together with any variable cardholder information, to us, and we print the cards using our plastic card printer. It takes a little longer to get the card into the cardholder's hands, but we strive to turn cards around as quickly as possible.