Plastic Identification? First Review The Top 4 Considerations. |
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| Before designing identification cards for your organization, please review these items to help you make the best use of your design. |
 Before you begin designing ID cards for your organization, here
are four elements you should review before starting to layout
your creation. After being in the industry for years and
assisting in the design for thousands of companies we realize the
many uses of an identification card. No matter what your reason
for creating an ID card, these elements should at least be
reviewed. |
If you are creating a card for a
specific industry or to comply with the regulations for
identification set by another organization then make sure you are
following their guidelines. One example of this is police
identification cards. Several states have created legislation
that describes exactly what is required and these specifications
must be followed. Another example is for organizations that do
contract work for another entity. Commonly these entities have
suggested some guidelines to follow. Be sure to check any
requirements set by organizations such as these. In a nutshell, we suggest that you limit the amount of personal information for your identification cards. The caveat is for people that need information in cases of emergencies such as police officers, fireman or any dangerous profession or industry. In these scenarios, we even recommend putting any specific medical information that would be beneficial in the event of a medical emergency. Alternatively, most people would not care to show the world their medical conditions at a trade show. Back of the Card The back of the card is commonly not used and this is valuable real estate that you can make good use. Some organizations use the back of the card for additional personal information especially if the card is formatted in a landscape orientation. Some of the best things that we have seen on the back of a card are something that you want your organization to live by such as a company’s mission statement or company’s statement of purpose. Another item that you should consider is a mailing address that the card should be sent to if the card was lost and then found by someone. It’s common that the post office will forward the identification card if it’s simply dropped into a mailbox. Barcodes for time clock or job tracking, and important phone numbers are other things that can be useful to place on the back of the card as well. Additional Uses Also consider what other uses you might take advantage of when it comes to designing your identification cards. By simply adding the appropriate type of barcode, you might be able to incorporate a time clock application. Access control commonly requires a much larger investment for both the ID cards and the hardware required to lock and unlock secure areas of your company, but this too should be considered. When using cards for access control the cards commonly have an RFID chip stored under the plastic of the card itself. In conclusion, the most important factor is the primary use of your identification cards. The card’s benefits range from corporate branding and recognition to having assisting in medical emergencies for individuals in hazardous industries. |
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