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When a business invests in an employee ID badge system, it can be difficult to know what options are right for that particular company. With so many brands available, along with accessories, printing equipment, software and supplies, it can all seem a bit overwhelming – after all, your time’s worth money.

You may need to justify the expense to yourself or a board of partners, but how long are you willing to stay at risk when it comes to security issues like theft, misplaced inventory or equipment, or the safety of employees and guests? No business can afford to overlook security needs, so what do you need to know to navigate the equipment?

A Long Term Investment in ID Cards

Avon Security Products provides solutions to fit the ID card needs of almost any industry, including emergency services, educational institutions, pharmaceutical companies, airport security, and casino security. We also offer a wide variety of loyalty cards and membership ID cards for businesses that require such services. In serving these companies, we place a special focus on long-term planning.

As soon as new employees are hired, you’ll require the ability to create ID cards in-house at minimal cost. Making a long-term investment in the equipment needed to manufacture ID cards – such as a plastic card printer – will enable your company to accommodate staffing changes quickly and securely. You may also want to consider accessories such as printer ribbons and spools at the time of your initial investment, which are all available from Avon Security Products.

Security Designed by Industry

A wide variety of industries are opting for a better employee ID security and this has resulted in a wider range of services offered. The first step in adequately preparing your business is to design a system that matches the demands of your particular industry. With the help of a consultation from the professionals at Avon Security Products, you can determine the perfect ID card printer tailored to the specific needs of any business.

Benefits of Printing In House

The key to navigating a new security upgrade is your approach to investment. With a focus on long term infrastructure, you can save money and put the use of security technology in the trusted hands of your own company. Rather than make one bulk purchase of individual ID badges and badge holders for your team, why not consider investing in equipment that will enable your company to produce their own ID badges?

Personalizing Your Business

Many businesses opt to follow a unique style guide for their security products that match the image of their personal brand. You may want to consider customizing the right look to fit your employees by choosing among a variety of types of security badges.

Considering the right equipment for your company requires that you determine how ID cards will be used. If your employees require frequent access to security technology, then you’ll want to consider badge reels for a quick and easy way to employ ID badges. This type of badge is also hard to lose, which can help to save money on supplies that might be easily misplaced.

Businesses of all types face challenging transitions in the first year of operation. Jumping the gun on investments could break the bank for a company working within a strict budget. Waiting too long to invest in increased infrastructure could leave a business without the means to operate, resulting in frustrated clients who are all too happy to turn to competitors. One aspect of investment no new business can afford to ignore is security.

If you’re only beginning to consider security for a growing business it can be difficult to know where to start. Business owners tend to hold off on implementing security measures until the protection of valuable goods becomes a concern – but what about the safety of personnel and guests? Here are three reasons that photo ID badges are an excellent way for a new business to apply a serious, yet affordable, first line of defense in company security.

1)     Managing a Growing Staff

Most start-up companies are small enough to personally keep track of staff, but the stage where a company feels like a family often doesn’t last long. When new businesses take off, exponential growth can hit fast and coincide with a dramatic increase of staff. Suddenly, there are new faces all over the office, allowing unwanted strangers to enter the premises unnoticed.

The best way to keep track of a large staff is to invest in an ID card printer to implement an employee management system that will help detect unwanted strangers. With printing equipment available in-house, all new hires can be equipped with security ID badges that same day.

Increased Inventory

Whenever large volumes of inventory are present at an office or warehouse, there’s an increased need for security. With a professional ID security card system, you’ll be able to keep track of all employees, guests, or any other personnel with access to company property. The same technology can be used to track individual items, whether you want to account for every item in your inventory or just your most expensive goods.

Accommodating Visitors

While theft is always a consideration regarding security, it’s important to keep in mind that security ID cards aren’t just for the welfare of the company, they increase the safety of every person that sets foot on your property. New businesses don’t usually need to be concerned about accommodating a large number of guests on location, but some require frequent visits by temporary guests as a part of the services they offer.

A PVC ID card printer will enable you to create security badges on the spot for any visitors at little expense. This system is particularly beneficial because it can be used to issue temporary passes to guests that expire at the end of the visit.

A new business really can’t invest in security too soon. No matter how reliable people seem, there’s always room for human error and you never know when criminals are going to try to take advantage. The best way to know what security options are best suited to your needs is to contact the professionals – so why not call us to learn more about our products and how we can best bring increased security to your business.

Seasonal stores of all kinds are an awkward beast, pop-up Halloween shops especially. They need to be opened, completely staffed, stocked, and closed down in the space of about three months. Since the products they sell are so time-specific and often expensive, they can also be like catnip to shoplifters. It is no enviable task, but you need to be responsible for keeping that stock safe and sound on the shelves.

Thankfully, companies like Avon Security Products are here to help. Plastic ID cards can benefit your pop-up Halloween shop in a variety of ways. First – and arguably most importantly – they will help identify your employees. This might seem a strange thing, but oftentimes seasonal pop-ups must bring on a large handful of employees in a short period of time, making it difficult to tell who’s-who on the staff, not to mention remember their names. Thanks to our wide selection of ID card printers, you can quickly snap a photo of your latest employee and print their ID right there on the spot! You can head over to our website to search for ID card printers by brand and find out which of these printers will work best for your store.

Additionally, plastic ID cards can be programmed to give employees access to a variety of areas within the shop, such as (no doubt jam-packed) storage areas. Utilizing plastic ID cards means employees won’t have to fiddle around with keys and doors – and you won’t have to worry about somebody accidentally leaving a back room open! Additionally, our ID card software is compatible with all versions of Windows, meaning that employees can sign in-and-out of your computers using just their ID cards. This is extremely helpful since many seasonal employees are young and might not have a lot of experience handling cash. Knowing who was using a computer or till and when, exactly, a cash out issue occurred will help you track down the problem and person responsible quickly. Of course, you do not want to punish people for a lack of experience, but you are the one responsible for answering for any issues; so why not visit our site where you can learn more about us and the kinds of security services our products offer seasonal shops?

Best of all, nearly every product on offer from Avon Security Products can be rented short-term so that you do not end up spending a large amount of money on technology you’re not going to be using long-term. Our plastic card printer rentals are initially affordable – and cost less each month after the first! This can be seriously helpful during busy holiday periods like Halloween. If you have a period coming up in which you foresee sales spiking, our basic ID card printer rental can print up to 200 single-sided cards an hour, 150 double-sided.

The best bang for your buck, however, is still making an outright purchase, even if your company specializes in seasonal pop-ups. Most of our printers are small and easy to move from between, say, a Halloween shop in early November to a Christmas shop opening up on the other side of town. They are also products that can be used year after year, especially when there is an influx of new staff. Remember, the one thing that shouldn’t scare you at Halloween is losing money!

Just about every major industry makes use of plastic ID cards these days. Given how easy it is for your office or small business to purchase its very own ID card printer that makes a lot of sense – better safe than sorry! Let’s take a moment to look at a handful of industries and see how they implement ID cards.

Construction

ID cards are extremely beneficial to those in the construction industry. You need to keep a number of things in mind: site security, personnel access, equipment usage and protection, employee identification. Given the fact that construction sites are often in heavily populated areas and easily accessible to the public, it is easy to see how ID cards might be helpful. Avon Security Products also offer a number of lanyards and heavy-duty plastic card holders to keep your ID cards intact.

Airport Security

Security is critical at airports, given that the possibility for potential breaches lie around nearly every corner. If you have ever gone through airport security, even on domestic flights, you will have no doubt noticed that the areas accessible by security personnel, airport staff, and flyers are strictly defined. Plastic ID cards are an excellent way of ensuring that only the people who are supposed to have access to a given area. They are also a great way of making “who’s-who” clear amongst airport staff, given that airports employ people doing all sorts of jobs (customer service, technical, security, restaurant, and many more). Visit our website to learn about our ID card printers to get an idea of all the different customization options to keep each and every employees’ job distinctive.

Customer Service

ID cards are an excellent way of signing in and out of the software used by just about any customer service industry. Plastic cards from Avon Security Products are customizable and programmable, as well as compatible with all major computer hardware. Your employees can swipe in and out of work, access your business’ computer systems, and to enter storage and ‘employees only’ areas. Implementing employee ID cards can be useful in bars and restaurants in which servers need to access point-of-sale terminals that are in public, easy-to-reach areas. Ensuring that no employee has access to another employee’s sales makes it easy to single out where possible imbalance and cash out issues arose; visit our website if you have questions about security products and how they might be used in the service industry.

Another great way to use plastic ID cards in customer service is to implement a customer rewards program. Customer rewards programs are great because they incentivize returning to your place of business. Customers can come in, be given or purchase a card, then add ‘points’ towards getting free or discounted products and services.

Emergency Services

Plastic ID cards are practically indispensable these days in the world of emergency services. As with customer service, they ensure that only authorized personnel have access to private areas. Unlike customer service, having that quick and easy access to doors and storage areas can actually save lives. In the midst of an emergency, it is of the utmost importance that crisis experts be able to get where they need to in a heartbeat. No one wants to be fumbling around with keys when lives are on the line!

Whether you are starting a new business, opening a new branch of a previously existing business, or simply throwing a well-attended event, you are going to eventually have to answer the big ‘S’ question – security! You will need to form a ‘wall’ between you and who (or what) you do not want coming through those doors. Security guards and a good bouncing staff go a long way, but, regrettably, they will not solve all your security issues. Magnetized ID cards are one of the most common and effective security systems.

First step: procure an ID card printer. If only it were as simple as picking up a plastic card printer from the nearest electronic store! Indeed, this world is deceptively complex, with numerous companies out there offering a wide array of systems and options for you to consider. Here is a quick rundown on what you can expect when you start looking at ID card printers.

Before You Start

First, ask yourself some preliminary questions. How many ID cards are you going to need? 20? 50? 500? 5000? More? Do you want to print on both sides of the card or just one? Are you using a PC or a MAC? Is this a one-time thing or are you going to be printing cards on a regular basis for visitors and new employees? All these variables effect the type of machine you’re going to need. Keep these questions in mind as you’re browsing for products online. You need to consider the best ID card printer for each individual job – or risk spending too much money on something you don’t need!

Smaller Orders

For smaller orders (<500 cards per year), we highly recommend the Javelin line of printers. These efficient, low cost ID card printers fit comfortably anywhere in the office. They come equipped with Microsoft’s LifeCam 1.3 megapixel webcam for sharp photographs and print at 300 DPI for an equally attractive finished product! Perfect for small to mid-sized businesses.

Mid-Range Orders

But your company is bigger than that, not to mention you’ve got office guests, interns, family members, and temp employees running that revolving door off its wheels. You might need something a bit heavier duty. Javelin’s PRO and Polaroid/Valid P5500S’s ID card systems might be just what you need. These stalwart machines can print in the neighborhood of 5000 cards per year, dual-sized.

Big Time Orders

But perhaps you work for a really big company, or more than one. You’re printing ID cards practically every single day. They need to print fast, and they need to look good. Fargo’s latest ID card printing systems are just what you need. These rugged, yet stylish machines are some of the first to comprise HID Global’s new Professional Select Series of printers. They are able to print hundreds of cards, dual-sided, in a single sitting. No matter how much foot traffic your company, school, or hospital deals with, Fargo’s heavy duty machines will get the job done.

This only scratches the surface of what’s available on the market out there. There are dozens of companies offering their own unique – but not necessarily high quality – services. Be sure to do your homework, know what your company needs, and, of course, ask questions! Contact Avon Security Products any time of the day for all your ID card needs.

We get it. The words ‘ID card’ do not bring to mind the most exciting images. Stiff, unsmiling portrait photographs. Lanyards and cheap plastic laminate. Baffling barcodes and long lines of meaningless numbers. But your company’s ID cards don’t need to be boring and bland. Indeed, ID cards can be a reflection of your employees’ individuality and your company’s willingness to have fun! Here are a few ways you can spruce up your ID cards.

Let Your Employees Have Fun

An ID card photo is not a passport photo. There is no need to make your employees wipe the smiles off their faces and put their hair up. Encourage them to have some fun with it! Who cares if Lisa from accounting has purple hair on photo day? Let Jeff from sales show off those pearly whites. At least, be sure to give them plenty of notice before they have their pictures taken so that they can look their best. After all, they’ll be looking at that picture every day – and so will everyone else! A Polaroid ID card printing machine from Avon Security prints in 300 DPI (‘Dots Per Inch’ – 300 is a lot of detail!) with 16.7 million colours, allowing your employees’ personalities to shine.

Get Colourful

Believe it or not, there is no need for every ID card to be a drab white or grey. There are a lot of other options out there! Red, blue, black, green, vermillion, sangria – an Avon Security card printer can print on any of the colours of the rainbow. You’re not stuck with a colourless, rectangular slab. Use your imagination. An added bonus to this is that making your company’s ID cards a distinctive colour makes them tougher to lose!

Use Your Imagination

Why not come up with a design for your ID cards? Something interesting that shows off your company’s personality. How about a logo or image that represents the company? A background photograph? The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination. And don’t think you’re stuck with just one size. Here at Avon Security we are able to produce ID cards of different shapes and sizes. Obviously, you’re not going to print A4 size ID cards for your employees – although who knows!? – but how about small cards that can easily attach to a keychain? Or thin cards that are just big enough to fit the magnetic strip or barcode?

Customize Your Look

Don’t forget about the “swag.” There are all sorts of different accessories out there to individualize your ID card: lanyards that come in all different colours and lengths; badge reels and clips, neck straps, and necklace-like bead chains that subtly integrate your ID card with your outfit; and colourful luggage tags and holders so that your items stand out. There are also armbands and badge holders in case you want to keep your ID card handy but out of sight. And don’t forget about visitors to the office. Avon Security has a colourful array of lanyards specifically for people just dropping by. Contact us to learn more about the various possibilities!

ID cards might seem insignificant; they’re anything but! They are important tools that are not just integral to your day-to-day office routine, but follow you around all day, too. Don’t feel “trapped” by boring, grey ID cards. Have a bit of fun with them!

The lifeblood of modern cities and towns, the construction industry in Canada continues to grow year after year, building our homes, office buildings, malls – well, just about anything with a door! Because of the intense specialization and large-scale production of a construction site, there are valuable materials and tools involved, as well as (to an outsider, at least) dangerous procedures involved.

All of these things culminate in the need for effective security. With an ID card printer and either a card reader or security guard, you can keep your site safe, as well as reap a number of additional benefits. Here are a few reasons why every construction site should be using ID cards.

Protect Your Materials

This is perhaps the most obvious reason why a construction site would implement an ID card system. Wood and copper might be stolen in the night by intruders who intend to either use the materials for themselves, or sell them. If working on an apartment building, let’s say, then appliances can be a big target for theft – dishwashers, refrigerators, etc. – and ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to the site greatly reduces the risk of theft on these items.

Protect Your Valuables

Of course, tools are a large target for thieves, as they’re often expensive and (usually) easy to walk off with. Sometimes, thieves will even try and make off with large equipment, like loaders, tractors and excavators. And because of improperly locked down perimeters, thieves often have an easy time doing as well. You can change that by putting in place an ID card system, with ID card printers printing badges for all personnel, as well as readers or guards to check each person that walks in for credentials.

Keep The Public Out Of Harm’s Way

Sometimes, it’s not the site itself that needs protecting, but the unwitting public! There are a lot of hazards on a construction site that, to an untrained member of the public, could spell disaster, so ID cards are as much about keeping the public out as they are keeping valuables in.

Manage Access

Within a construction site, you might want to cordon off areas where certain workers are allowed to go and others aren’t – the jobsite supervisors’ trailer or foreman’s trailer, for instance. You can either colour code ID cards to indicate to manned security a level of clearance, or you can code access control right into the card.

Track Worker Attendance

It can be difficult, especially with a large staff spread out over a large area, to keep track of everyone’s attendance and punch-in/out time, but with an ID card system you can easily have access to that information. This cuts down on time theft, and increases accountability. If for just this reason alone, ID cards provide a return on investment. Take the Polaroid ID card printing machine for instance, which is a incredibly cost-effective security solution: it can save you much more in efficiency than what it’s worth.

Allow Visitors

Finally, an ID card system can be like a visitor management system, in that it allows you to print access cards for visitors like investors, students, day workers, employee family members, etc. You can code these cards to limit access to risky areas of the site, keeping visitors both authorized and safe.

A construction site just runs more smoothly with ID cards, which can help protect materials and tools, help manage access, help track employee attendance and act as a visitor management system. Before you build anything, start by building a robust security system first!

A pen and paper can be powerful tools, especially in the hands of a writer or politician, but these basic instruments fail to cut the mustard when it comes to security. In prior times, if you wanted to grant access to a visitor, whether into a business, healthcare facility or school, you’d do so using the pen and paper system, a crude way for receptionists to document the comings and goings of guests. It was time-consuming, mildly laborious, and it didn’t altogether improve security.

Well, thankfully there are better solutions nowadays. Armed with either visitor management software, or simply a card printer capable of producing visitor ID cards, your business can better its visitor experience while also heightening security. Whether signing guests in through a registration kiosk, through the company intranet or simply giving them cards to wear during their visit, here are five reasons that your business should implement a visitor management system.

A Safer Work Environment

By requiring a visitor check-in, a business is able to screen potential intruders. You could even require existing government ID to be shown upon entrance, and then match that info to certain registries, weeding out people that could cause harm to your place of business. Or you could simply rely on your ID card systems to print a “Visitor” card, which will help security visually identify them as a temporary guest.

Gathering Data

Data, such as a guest’s frequency or duration of visits, can help build customer or client info, or help you determine who attended a specific event or meeting. If you’re a company that bills by time, it can also be helpful in the billing process.

Providing Supplemental Materials

Let’s say a guest visits who requires certain supplemental material, like an info binder, a business proposal, or even a map of the premises; when implementing a visitor management system, you can flag certain visitors on your system, and let reception know what materials they need. This further streamlines the visitor process, making for a more comfortable and welcoming experience.

Welcoming returning Visitors

One of the immediate benefits of moving your visitor away from pen and paper, and toward a more sophisticated visitor management system, is that you don’t have to waste time re-processing frequent visitors. You can simply give them a visitor ID card that they can either flash reception or security, or swipe at a kiosk. These cards are simple to print with Avon Security Products’ ID card printing machine from Polaroid or one of our other fantastic machines.

For a company that sees a lot of guest traffic, it pays to have a more sophisticated system of visitor management in place. You can welcome guests through speedily, efficiently and safely, as well as collect useful data. If your business is considering upgrading its visitor management system, check out Avon Security Products and read up on our visitor management solutions.

Branding is a large part of business, as any entrepreneur or business-minded person will tell you; whether selling retail, or business-to-business, it is what differentiates you from competitors and allows you to stick out in a sometimes saturated market. And people come at it from all different angles: some grow their brand organically through years of kept promises and reliable prices, while others kickstart their brand with exciting social media campaigns.

Every brand, however, shares two commonalities – a name and a logo. No matter how you engineer your brand, or the years of work you put into creating a loyal customer base, you need a to reinforce your brand by sharing your name and logo. It is the quick, visual shortcut that allows people to think of your business over others. This is why promotional products – that branded merchandise businesses give away to get their name out there – are so effective. What not many people will tell you is that, armed with just an ID card printer and a logo, you effectively have a license to print promotional products that will reinforce your brand

When you print an ID badge, aside from printing a security item, you are essentially printing a brand reinforcement – that is, if you customize your cards to display your business’ name and logo. When you print your business’ name and logo on an ID card, it’s just one more way to reinforce your brand, both among employees and to customers and clients. Among employees, wearing a badge that bears the company insignia reinforces company unity, which in turn conveys a strong branding message. For customers and clients, it’s a subtle, effective display of your logo and name, a little visual reminder of your branding that sticks with them well after they leave your premises. You can think of ID card printers as machines that create tiny billboards – but, you know, billboards that so happen to keep your business secure.

And the branding reinforcement doesn’t stop with the card itself. Branded lanyards have long been used by businesses as a promotional product, worn by employees and given away as branded merchandise (swag, to the younger generation!) to potential customers and clients. At Avon Security Products, we offer a variety of custom lanyards. Flat, tube-shaped, nylon, woven – we’ve got a lot to choose from, whether you’re ordering them for your employees or to give away at an upcoming trade show. They represent yet another opportunity for you to reinforce your company branding by getting your name and logo out there.

Check out the custom lanyard section of our website to learn more about creating one. There we have the preferred and acceptable file formats listed for printing your logo, name or message onto a lanyard, as well as artwork specifications and the different types of lanyards you can choose from. Of course, don’t feel like you have to go it alone; our support team is always here to chat and lend a helping hand. Just engage with the support chat box in the lower right corner, or drop us a line!

While social media marketing has become increasingly popular, businesses still understand the need for physical marketing – getting your name and logo out there, in the real world, where it can make an impression on people. Thankfully, one of the hidden perks of using ID cards is just that: a bit of physical brand reinforcement.  Of course, our ID card systems do their regular job impeccably as well, which you can read all about on the FAQs about our products online.

An ID badge is a pretty tough cookie, but even it is no match for the wear-and-tear effects of time. For a card that gets used day after day, constantly being pulled and tapped, swiped and stuffed into a pocket, it does a remarkable job keeping its shape. But after a while, you might start to notice a worn down edge here, or a thin crack there. Whether your work uses a PVC card, or a thicker clamshell card, if you want to get the most out of your investment, it’s wise to protect those cards in one way or another.

You want to encourage people to use their ID cards as frequently as is necessary, but you want to also ensure those cards last as long as possible. There are a few solutions you have at your disposal – from the minute a card comes hot out of the card printer try using one of these protective measures.

Badge Holders

The idea here is pretty straightforward – protect your card from the weathering effects of contact by sheathing it in a clear pouch. From the simple vinyl holders we sell at Avon Security Products for a very affordable 49-89 cents a card, to some of the more sophisticated rigid plastic badge holders we offer, these remain a popular option for businesses to protect their ID cards.

Lanyards

Often coupled with a badge holder or clip, the humble lanyard serves a function all its own when it comes to protecting cards. Namely, it gets that card up and out of the wearer’s pocket, which is so often a source of damaging friction. Allowing the card to sway freely around the wearer’s neck, a lanyard can greatly increase a card’s lifespan. And as an added bonus, you can customize a lanyard to further promote your business (a benefit that, unfortunately, is tricky to execute on some of these offer protectors).

Lamination

Long the protectors of driver’s licenses, membership cards and children’s flash cards, lamination pouches are perfect for keeping your ID card safe as well. We offer great prices on lamination pouches at different sizes, including Credit Card Size, Government/Military Size and Giant Tag size, making them a handy accompaniment to the ID card systems we offer.

Armband Holders

For those working in active or industrial workplaces that still need a quick, effective way to display their ID cards, armband badge holders are perfect. Whereas a lanyard dangles and sways, which could potentially be a hazard around machinery, an armband badge holders stays tight against the arm, allowing the wearer free movement. We offer reflective armbands as well. These are perfect for those working in construction, airport ground crew, police or warehouse.

Printer Covers

This last one isn’t for the card, but rather the system itself. It’s all well and good to cover up the individual cards, but you shouldn’t neglect the potential damage dust can do to your printer. We offer waterproof, anti-static nylon dust covers for your printer, which you can find on our website – or you can contact us to learn more anytime.

Aside from the hassle of having to reprint cards every an employee snaps theirs removing it from their wallet, these protective measures will save you money in the long run. Not only that, but they lend an extra feeling of credibility to the business – not only are you committed to security, but you’re also sensible about your investment. It’s a good look for a business. Check out the various card protectors we offer by visiting our website, or, as always, chat with our support.