Make a Better ID Badge

1. No More “Cut & Paste”
Your badge should not be the weak link in your security system. Cheap badges fade, curl and don’t read. “Cut & Paste” badges are easy to fake. With professional badge making systems now costing under $1,500 and the availability of web-based badging services for smaller firms, a single-piece, full-color, direct printed badge is the new standard. Your ID badges are the public face of your security program.

2. Make or Buy?
When should you make your own badges and when should you use our web service? Certainly, any organization ordering 200 or fewer badges per year is best served through an online badge service. In many other cases, however, larger organizations have also found the online solution most economic. Whether you have remote offices, want badge features that are only available with expensive equipment [or online], or realistically assess the true cost of ownership (equipment, inventory of supplies training, and staff), a hard-headed review invariably points to online badging.

3. Good Photos Make Good Badges
The good news is that virtually any digital camera will produce an adequate ID badge photo. The trick, though, is consistency. Use a backdrop. Avoid red-eye. Crop the images in a similar manner. The images do not have to be large. Most ID photo images are less than
100k in size.

4. Make Your Card Forge-Proof
The photo ID card has become the de facto identity document. Make your badges distinctive and thwart forgeries. Add a holographic laminate. Add your logo. Use a unique background photo and change this image frequently. It has never been easier to make a counterfeit ID. The simpler the badge, the easier it is for someone to make a forgery. Let’s be certain that people are who they say they are.

5. Shape Matters
Horizontal badges are the most traditional designs. Vertical designs hang best
from a lanyard.

6. Date Your Badge
Is this credential forever? Keep ex-employees out but recognize the tenure of long-term employees. Add the issue date or expiration date to your badge design. Show the years of service. Make it easy to spot expired badges, at a glance. Each year change colors on your badge or photo backdrop. A unique background photo in another great security feature. Show
a photo of the front of your school or business, a landmark, your sign or, even, your founder.

7. Let’s Laminate
Many barcode or mag-stripe scanners are extremely harsh on badges. A lamination reduces, and sometimes eliminates, the need to replace worn out badges. Unlike the old “Cut & Paste” badges” our professional laminates are virtually impossible to tear off.

8. Don’t Forget the Back!
A badge is carried at all times and the back of the badge can be seen as valuable real estate for your message. Use the back of the badge to show emergency contact numbers or evacuation instructions. Describe the rules for this important security document. How do you handle a lost badge? Where can you get a replacement badge?

9. Easy to Re-Order
We’re human. Wallets are lost. Titles change. As a security feature, many organizations now issue new badges each year. As a result, re-ordering should be streamlined. Securely store images in our database. Badges can be instantly replaced or reproduced without taking valuable employees away from their job or having patrons return to a place of business.

10. Accessories Make the Badge
Use accessories to make sure your badge is handy and secure. But, not everyone is the same. Some like a badge on a lanyard, others on the belt. Both can be a great way to show pride in the company. It has never been easier to personalize a retractable badge reel
or lanyard.