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Apple’s Mac desktops and laptops are becoming more and more common in the workplace. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s Macs did not have as many software and hardware options as their Microsoft Windows counterparts. With changes in technology and Macs making up a higher percentage of computers sold selection in both categories has increased noticeably. However, Macs are still not compatible with every software and hardware product on the market and can run into issues with specialty equipment. Because of this you have to verify that what you’re buying will work on the Mac platform. Here is a brief list of ID card printer software and hardware designed to work with Macs.

Mac Compatible ID Card Printer Hardware

DTC1250e ID Card Printer System: a single-sided printer with a compact classic printer design. Despite its small size the DTC1250e is one of the fastest printers in its class. A versatile device it can handle cards of varying thickness, rewrites for temporary/visitor badges, is easy to use, and offers advanced features such as QR codes and AES-256 data decryption. Optional features are Internet connectivity and more advanced card encoding.

Fargo HDP5000 ID Card System: available in single-sided and dual-sided models. Both models are lightweight and offer advanced features. These include layered vibrant printing, Ethernet connectivity, an easy to use interface, and both are easy to clean and maintain. Optional features offer card encoding and laminating.

Fargo DTC4500e: available as a single-sided ID card printer the DTC4500e is a high volume machines that handle a heavy workload. If your business needs to make a lot of ID cards the DTC4500e is a good choice. It’s also fast, easy to use, secure, has Internet access, and offers lamination features for higher quality cards.

Evolis Zenius ID Card System: the Zenius prints single sided ID cards and is capable of printing cards in bulk and is designed for light on demand usage. Aside from this modern and small design it’s also easy to use and maintain.

Evolis Primacy ID Card System: a dual-sided ID card printer that is speedy and reliable without taking up too much room. Its compact design makes it an easy fit in any office and it’s also energy efficient. The Evolis Primacy is also Internet ready, user friendly, and efficient with supplies cutting down on ribbon replacement costs.

Mac Compatible ID Card Printer Software

Due to overall design differences what works on Windows may not work on a Mac unless it is specifically designed to do so. Because of this you need to make sure that the software you buy is specifically noted to be made for Mac usage. When looking for ID card printer software many software choices are still Windows only. Secure ASP cardPresso ID Card is a favourite choice of Mac users looking for card printer software and it comes in several different varieties to fit your business needs. With five different versions available you can have everything from a simplistic system made to design its own ID cards all the way to a system that can import data, access online databases, connect to servers, allow LAN usage, and make use of wireless printing.

As you can see there is a wide selection of capable and well-made ID card printer hardware and high quality software available. When you need a wide selection of Mac compatible products, software, and accessories contact Avon Security Products. Canadian owned and operated Avon has been providing quality products to the public and private sectors for many years.

Are your employees frustrated with their ID cards? Not to worry, the five most common complaints about employee ID cards are easily fixed.

1. My card clip often snags my fabric, and even makes holes in my clothes.

You can easily provide employee ID card options in design and how they can be worn.

Option 1: Rather than using clasps off employees a lanyard, you can buy lanyards with soft fabric, with the employee ID cards attached to the bottom. Also, purchase white or black lanyards: They might not be fashion forward, but they won’t be unsightly either. Print the card in portrait if using a lanyard so it hangs nicer.

Option 2: Use a badge reel that is retractable. The badge reel can attach easily to a pant loop or belt.

Option 3: if you want to continue to use the clip ID, rubberize the clip, so your employees’ clothing is protected.

2. My employee ID card is always getting wrecked so I have to replace it often.

Since weather conditions vary, one card stock will work great in one climate, but lead to cracking and fraying in another. To avoid the hassle, to your and to your employee, of continually replacing ID cards, make sure your card stock is up to the job. Or, laminate your cards; this will make them more durable and easier to handle.

3. “The photo on my ID is embarrassing.

If you take the photos in-house, it’s tough to get a professional-quality photo. However, you can improve the photo on your employee ID Cards considerably with a few simple changes.

Step 1: Set up a nice prep area, with mirrors and good lighting so employees can fix their hair, or touch up their makeup, before the picture is taken.

Step 2: In the photo area, use at least two lights and take the photos using daylight flash. The addition of flash will lessen the chance of institutional – and unflattering – pictures by giving more detail to the photo and make it look less artificial.

Step 3: Set up a monitor facing the employee so he or she can see the photo immediately. This way the photographer and the employee can do the reshoot right then and there.

4. My card contains so much information that it takes me forever to get through security. No one can read it quickly!

Employee ID cards, like most things, will benefit from quality design. Take time to think about how the card functions and highlight only the critical key pieces of information. Function should determine information. If the card is used at human security checks, put the pertinent information in large, bold letters and reduce the size of other information on the card, including things like your company logo. Do a test with redesigned card. Ask some employees to wear the card and see if their experience improves.

5. Why do I have to wear an employee ID card when I don’t like it? Other employees don’t wear theirs either.

This complaint is easy to fix. Enforce your employee ID Cards policy across the board. Make no exceptions, not even for the CEO.

To get the best ID cards and other employee security products, contact us at Avon Security Products today!

When you plan to buy an ID card printer, your first task is to set out exactly what you’re looking for. There is no point to spending money on a printer that is capable of printing barcodes or adding RFID or SmartCard security options to cards if you’re only looking for a printer to handle high quality, single side printing with no encoding.

When you’re checking out specifications for good ID card printers you’ll discover options include:

Print Capacity

Knowing your print requirements before you buy a new ID card printer is very important, it’s a good idea to consider projected print needs for the years ahead too. Good printers will likely have abilities to print more than 500 cards daily, while government or university-type users will possibly need printers with abilities for very large scale print runs. Optional add-ons to consider include larger card input and output hoppers for greater speed and efficiency on large print runs.

Intuitive Interface

Choosing a printer with intuitive features that include useful LED display and screen prompts make it easy for new employees and temps to operate the machine. Ordering supplies and fitting new print ribbons are a breeze with printers that will guide the operative through the correct procedures.

Print Methods

You can opt for printers to print the card face alone or choose dual side printers. The single side printers are slightly cheaper, while dual side printers will typically provide full color printing on the face and black on the reverse. Different print methods affect the pricing of ID card printers. Standard thermal transfer printers are the most cost effective as they print direct to cards, however there will always be a border around the edge as it is impossible to print the full card using this method. The alternative is reverse printing to cards which will give full card coverage and offers slightly higher quality. If you need to print on different thickness cards, opt for a printer providing this feature.

Laminating

Some of the high volume ID card printers offer laminating abilities, or it’s possible to add single-sided or duplex laminating at a later date.

Encoding

Encoding options for printers include holograms, barcodes, magnetic stripe, smart card, RFID. Printers providing RFID capabilities are more expensive, however this technology provides many benefits including extended read range and options for reading by automated processes. Barcoding is the easiest coding option, while magnetic stripe printers need to encode cards with barcoding already applied and smart card coding gives the highest possible levels of card security. If you’re unsure whether encoding may be required in future, opt for a printer which can be upgraded at a later date.

Avon Security Products can help you find the best ID card printer to suit your business needs. All you need do is provide us with an estimate of the number of cards printed each year and indicate whether you want single or dual side printing, then take time to compare the range of available printers that meet your basic criteria. You’ll discover a wide range of special offers at Avon Security Products, alongside all the supplies you need to keep your ID card printer operating at optimal levels. Contact us today for more information.

Would you like to know how a membership card printer will better organize your business? Whether you need 10 or 10,000,000 cards, you’re a school, a golf club, coffee house or offer a digital service, membership cards can help you make a success of your business.

Showing your customers and clients how much you appreciate them by launching a new membership program will help you to Improve your customer services, promote your sales, services or products and most importantly, make your customers or clients feel exclusive.

How Do Membership Cards Work?

Each card you print off of your membership card printer has a unique number linked to a database. Every time your member visits, the card is swiped reading their unique number. This identifies the card holder whose data is updated in the database according to their card’s activity.

How Do Membership Card Printers Help You Better Organize Your Business?

By collecting data that you can view, your system is providing you with information that can help you to help your customers, according to their behaviour and needs. You can make use of that information for:

1. Specific Targeting

You already have your member’s basic information such as their name and address but when they start using their membership or loyalty card you can get a little insight into their spending habits; this can be used to market to them specifically.

2. Smart Display Marketing Alert

Through monitoring your members general behaviour and use of their card, you can make decisions on where best to display sales items or how to advertise a service. For example, if many members are buying products together like milk and bread often, it makes sense to display them together.

3. Enticing Encouragement

If a member buys some item or service quite often, you can send them a voucher for money off these favorites, increasing their loyalty further.

4. Personalizing Products through Mailing Lists

Make your customers feel even more special by using data information from their cards to tailor advertisements specifically for them. For example, if they subscribe to a gardening magazine you could send them an email about gardening products or services.

What Membership Card Printer Would Suit My Business?

>It is essential that you choose the right membership card printer for your business and great companies such as Avon Security have the expertise you need to get started. Your choice may depend on how many membership cards you need or whether they are dual sided or not. The look of the membership card you choose is vital too as are the uses you want it to have.

No longer just a marketing method limited to enterprise level companies, membership cards can help you make a success of your business. For more information on getting the best membership card printer for your business, contact us at Avon Security!

Maintaining the security and safety of any workplace can be difficult, particularly when constant arrivals, deliveries, contractors and visitors to site create a busy environment that’s hard to monitor by CCTV. It’s very easy for anybody to merge into the workforce and walk around the premises. Secure identity and access solutions give employers control over access and protection of assets, while keeping the entire workforce and any visitors safe.

Using proximity cards and keytags allows you to control access to entrances to your building, as well as ensuring controlled access of offices, rooms, compounds and secure areas of the site. Employers remain secure in the knowledge that only card or keytag holders have abilities to gain access to permitted areas and locations.

The major benefits of setting up a system using proximity cards or keytags are:

Scanning

The use of HID proximity card readers in any work environment allows greater security with controlled access to areas of the site. These readers use RFID technology to scan proximity cards and keytags and allow appropriate employees to access permitted areas of the workplace. The cards and keytags are simple to use, providing employees with flexibility and speed of access and reducing overall time spent accessing secure areas. Opt for use of keytags when photographic ID is not required to access internal areas of the workplace.

Regular Use

These security devices are extremely easy to use and a quick swipe of cards or keytags allows employees to gain access to all permitted, protected zones of your site, ensuring worker productivity and site access is maintained at optimum levels. Keytags can be fitted to any key ring or clip and are durable, so easily withstand regular daily use.

Secure Option

Proximity cards and keytags are difficult to duplicate. The technology used by ID card printers cannot be counterfeited. Further, anybody with criminal intentions who should come into possession of cards or keytags will find it difficult to get into your premises as it will be impossible to gauge the doors or areas of the building which can be operated using specific devices. The additional security measures employed within your premises, such as security cameras, would soon alert your team to the presence of strangers with criminal intentions.

Integration with Additional Technologies

These secure options can be integrated with additional technologies, such as photographic identification, hologram printing, custom logos, UV inks, micro printing or smart cards. This allows even greater on site security for all workers needing access to various areas of the premises and makes it extremely easy for site security personnel to identify genuine cards, maintaining secure access to your business premises at all times.

Avon Security Products provide high quality ID card printers featuring all the security printing options needed to generate the proximity cards and keytags required on your site. You can quickly compare and contrast different ID card printers to select the product most suited to the needs of your business.

To maximize your return on investment and ensure your ID card printer continues to produce quality photos and information, it is necessary to perform proper maintenance. While there are many types of maintenance products available, it is important to choose high quality printer cleaning supplies to avoid damaging the sensitive printer components and to achieve maximum benefit.

Save on Supplies Costs with Proper Cleaning

When your ID card printer becomes dirty, the print quality will suffer. Pictures may lose detail, lines or streaks may appear across printed items and in some cases there will be voids in the printing. These types of issues consume your printer supplies and generate cards that are not usable. The expense of these wasted items can be saved by investing in quality printer cleaning supplies and following a regular schedule for maintenance of your printer.

Card Cleaning Rollers

Designed to clean the cards before they pass through the inking system and printer head, high quality card cleaning rollers are essential to maintaining the performance of your ID card printer. If you choose the cheapest brands, the rollers are more likely to break down and allow pieces to pass through the internal mechanisms, possibly causing damage to the printer head, your ribbon and other vital internal components. High quality rollers such as those supplied by Avon Security Products are designed for maximum cleaning and will not disintegrate into your printer under proper usage.

Card-Style Cleaning Kits

Most printers are designed with a self-cleaning feature that can be maximized with card-style cleaning kits. These kits include cards that may be adhesive, or use an alcohol solution to remove any dust and debris from the interior rollers in your ID card printer. To use them, you simply start the printer’s cleaning cycle and feed the card through. Just as lower-priced rollers may disintegrate and cause damage to your printer, so can cheaply-made card-style cleaning kits. High quality printer cleaning supplies ensure that when used properly, they will remove the maximum amount of dust and debris possible while remaining intact throughout the cycle.

Follow a Printer Cleaning Schedule

To maintain the best quality printing possible, you should set and stick to a schedule for cleaning your printer. While you should check your user manual for specific instructions, a good general rule of thumb is to perform the cleaning whenever you have to change the ribbon. This is an excellent system for printers that are under heavy use. For printers that are not used heavily, you may find a two-month cleaning schedule works best since dust and debris can still build up. Be sure to use a dust cover for added protection when your printer is not in use.

Making the relatively small investment in high quality printer cleaning supplies from Avon Security Products will help you get the most out of your ID card printer while cutting down on repair and wastage costs. View our full product lineup or contact us to help you find the best solution for your printer.

Lost ID cards are a serious problem for many organizations. As well as the hassle of replacing the card, lost ID cards also raise potential security concerns. Therefore, it’s essential to reduce the risk of card loss as much as possible. ID badge holders are an essential part of this strategy.

Benefits of ID Badge Holders

ID badge holders allow people to keep their cards on their person at all times. With their cards securely held in ID badge holders, people have their hands free to carry out tasks. There are many styles of ID badge holders available, including badge reels and lanyards, so every type of organization can find a solution to card loss that suits the particular needs of their industry.

Why Choose ID Badge Reels?

Badge reels are a professional choice for office workers. They allow employees to quickly pull out their badges when they need to present them for identification purposes. The badge reel then automatically retracts to put the badge back into place. Badge reels with custom logos represent the company and present a professional image. Choose a high quality bade reel that securely attaches to the employee’s clothing to reduce the risk of card loss.

Why Choose ID Card Lanyards?

Lanyards are a great choice for gym employees or anyone who works in an active job. A lanyard holds an ID card in a holder that can be worn around the neck on a strap. Lanyards can quickly be put on and taken off. Some lanyards also have a safety feature that allows the strap to break away quickly if it becomes caught in equipment or machinery. Choose a lanyard with a customized strap as a visible representation of your organization.

Customizing ID Badge Holders

ID badge holders can be more than just a practical solution to card loss. They can also help to present a professional image of your organization. Choose a customized design for your ID card holders to help make your employees or members easy to identify while they are wearing their ID badges. Use your organization’s colors or feature the logo prominently on the design of the badge holder.

Protect your organization against card loss by issuing every employee or member with a badge holder. Let everyone in the organization know how important it is to use their ID badge holder at all times to reduce the risk of losing a card. Design attractive badge holders that everyone is proud to wear and you could dramatically cut the rate of card loss in your organization.

For more information, or to order ID badge holders for your company, contact us today!

When you have a great business, you want to have people experience you, love you, and keep coming back to you for more. There are tons of marketing efforts that you should consider employing, but when it comes down to building relationships with your consumers, customer loyalty cards often reign king.

Everybody loves getting something for free, even if it means they’ve spent a few dollars to earn that reward. Customer loyalty cards improve brand recognition and repeat business by putting your company at the forefront of shoppers’ minds. Companies both large and small, have historically benefited from the use of customer loyalty cards after experiencing stagnation in sales when other marketing efforts have flattened.

Restarting Stagnant Growth

According to Loyalty360, coffee giant Starbucks pointed to the implementation of its loyalty program for a 26% rise in profits in 2013 which came about from a boost in revenue that landed at $3.6 billion. Electronics superstore Best Buy also employed a similar strategy where it increased the points in its rewards program by 25%, thus boosting the company’s online sales in an effort to better compete with sites like Amazon.

Positive Return on Investment

Marketing efforts come in many sizes when it comes to expense. Some can be very costly, and measuring return on investment can be cumbersome at best. Customer loyalty cards however, are markedly affordable in terms of the revenue they can provide your company, and the return on investment is pretty easy to measure in cold hard numbers. Once you’ve laid out the structure and expectations of your customer loyalty cards’ program, you can easily put metrics in place to understand how much you’re putting into your program and how much money you’re getting back in return. This method of marketing costs significantly less than a lot of options, but the rewards are often far greater than expensive alternatives as well.

Retention Realizes Rewards

When people have a choice between two different stores, if all else is equal, they’re more likely to choose the one that will reward them for their visit. It doesn’t matter if you’re offering a certain percentage off of purchases for members of your program, or if you give away a free item after so many visits, repeat customers are more common when they have a reason to visit your establishment.

Reinforcing their Reason for Shopping

Customer loyalty cards have a large impact on the purchase of things that customers need to invest in anyway. Whether it’s a daily cup of coffee or a bag of dog food, people respond positively when they’re being rewarded for adhering to their normal routine. No matter what you sell or what kind of service you provide, you can benefit by positively reinforcing the behaviours that make up your target demographic.

Competing Doesn’t Have to Cost a Fortune

As a small business, it can be tempting to feel like you have to undercut the competition just to compete in the marketplace. Keep in mind that you still have bills to pay, and if you get caught up in the game of quantity versus quality, you can find yourself shoveling a lot of product out the door for lower-than-desirable prices just to get attention from consumers. Customer loyalty cards allow you to keep your prices at fair market value while rewarding shoppers for their patronage on infrequent and easy-to-budget-for occasions.

Are you interested in learning more about how customer loyalty cards can help boost your bottom line? Contact our team at Avon Security Products, and let’s talk about your company’s goals!

Owning a printer comes with responsibility. Just like other electronic equipment like computers and television sets, printers are supposed to be handled with care for them to function efficiently. A good ID card printer should function efficiently in terms of the quality of print and the speed. The printer should be able to produce good quality copies in the resolution of the images and texts and also the easy of operating them.

In order to know if the printer is functioning well, it is also important to understand the technology behind the printing process. Printers use a vast of different materials such as ink, powder toner, and electrostatic charges among other things. The ink jet printer technology for example is based on tiny nozzles that spurt fine ink of mist on paper.

Signs That Your ID Card Printer Needs An Upgrade

There are several indications that necessitate the upgrade of an ID card printer:

• In cases where the ink jet printers become notoriously slow and reduce the quality of their printing, they need replacement. For example, if you want to print multipage copies for a client but you end up waiting for the ink jet printer to slowly produce the copies, then you need to upgrade your printer. The printing speed therefore determines if you have to upgrade your ID card printer or not. The printing speed is measured by the number of pages it prints per minute as well as the number of characters it prints within a minute.
• Apart from the printing speed, you should monitor the monthly duty cycle of the ID card printer to measure how effective it is. The monthly duty cycle is the rating of pages per month that the printers produce. If the duty cycle of the printer began at 1000 pages per month, monitor it and see how many pages per month the printer s producing. A good functioning printer should have a duty cycle far much beyond your needs making it easy to operate. The printer will undergo wear and tear especially if the duty cycle is lower than your needs, and therefore you prematurely wore it off by over working it.
• Furthermore, a good ID card printer should be compatible with the Operating System of every computer. There should be an efficient OS-to-printer communication, where it is easy to read data from any computer, mobile device of USB devices. If the printer has problems with the OS-printer communication, then it needs upgrading to enhance efficiency.
• The resolution of the printing quality is also an issue that needs upgrading. Resolution refers to the dots-per-inch that the printer produces, which translates to quality. Consider the number of individual dots of ink sprayed within a square inch of a printed paper. If the resolution starts to decrease, that ID card printer needs replacement.
• The power supply is another consideration. A printer which has a worn out power supply, one that is unstable, or under powered can lead to the malfunctioning of the ID card printer. It should have a good power supply of about 450 watts. If there is a problem with its power supply, sometimes just repairing the problem can only stabiles it but its voltage power will drop, reducing the efficiency of the printer. It will therefore call for the upgrading of the printer.

In case you have experienced any of the above signs which call for the upgrade of your printer, then you need to contact the best photo ID warehouse to get the expert help as well as acquire a better printer for your services. To learn more, contact us at Avon Security Products today!

There are a lot of reasons your organization may be implementing ID cards. In most cases, you want your ID cards to include a name, picture and other important identifying details about the person carrying the card. This is usually done for safety and security purposes, but finding the right ID card templates to fit your needs can be a bit more challenging. Here are some of the places you should look for templates

The Printer Manufacturer

If you have already purchased a machine capable of printing, laminating or otherwise creating ID cards, there is a good chance the manufacturer of that machine has already put together some basic templates for you to choose from. Some of these printers include a CD with an application that allows you to design your own template, or others may send you to a related website so you can choose from a wide range of up to date template options.

Avery

This labeling giant and office supply provider is known for their awesome templates for all shapes and sizes of labels and other printed material. They have also added ID card templates to their list of available products. Just go to their website, sign up for a free membership and you will be able to explore a variety of preset options that you can use for your office or school.

Online Search

A quick search online turns up tons of free template options that can be downloaded at any time. Each website has its own unique designs that you can choose from and modify to your liking. If you are looking for free ID card templates, this is the best way to find something that meets your expectations without spending a large amount of money.

ID Creator

This is a dedicated ID printing service. They have a lengthy list of templates to choose from, and allow you to import all of your employee or student data directly into their system. Once your information is uploaded, they will print the cards for you and ship them to you all at once. This can be a simple way to let somebody else handle the details after you have chosen the overall look of your new ID cards.

ID Software

Since ID cards have become a mainstay among many office complexes and large businesses there are several dedicated software programs out there to help you create your IDs. This ID programs are typically designed to work hand in hand with the rest of your office productivity software so that you can quickly and easily choose a template and enter all of the necessary information.

There are tons of ID card templates available online and through specialized ID printing services. Your choice of templates will likely depend on the type of ID printer you plan on using and how much you want to spend to get the perfect card. Start by looking at the templates that are designed specifically for your printer, and then branch out to see what other options are available. To learn more about ID cards and the best printers in the industry, contact us at Avon Security today!