Making the most of a student ID card

Apr 1, 1998 12:00 PM, AC&SSI Staff

For over a century, Howard Payne University has prepared its students for life-long learning by upholding traditional values. There is nothing traditional, however, about the technology used in the production of its student identification cards. Last fall, the private liberal arts school replaced its old ID card system with a new system that produces durable, secure and attractive cards for multiple ID applications.

"This system makes it much faster and less labor-intensive to produce cards than our previous system," says Bill Fishback, vice president of financial affairs at the Brownwood, Texas, school. The new system allows the school to capture each student's image digitally on a disk, add color graphics, and in a short time produce a durable card with built-in security features.

"Before, we were using a system that required photographing four images on a sheet of film, manually cutting out each photograph and laminating each card. It took a long time to make cards that ultimately didn't last very long," explains Fishback. "Now, we have the technology to produce a card with an expected 10-year life, and so far, no read failures."

The new technology makes use of the 3M Secure Card, which is different from the cards the school previously used because it is not bonded by adhesive layers. Digital images are printed on the reverse side of a receptor film layer and then thermally fused to a white security substrate. The result is a one-piece card with layers that cannot be separated without obvious damage and will not peel or delaminate at the edges. Images on the card will not wear off, discolor, blur or fade.

The university is producing fewer cards with the new system, and therefore, says Fishback, the cost per card is lower. "We haven't had to replace a single card that has gone through the laundry," Fishback says.

Previously, the university had to absorb the cost of wasted film during card production. Since the film was designed to produce four photo IDs at once, they either had to wait until four students needed cards, or waste up to three photos per sheet.

HPU is using both bar codes and magnetic stripes for card reads in food service debiting for six different meal plans, attendance checking at chapel services twice a week, and in the Walker Memorial Library to check out any of its 145,000 books, periodicals, government documents and audio/visual materials. "This system provides a cleaner bar code than we had in the past," says Fishback. "Two different bar codes had questionable dependability and didn't read well because of the adhesive. With these cards, the clarity and readability have really improved."

Capitalizing on versatility

Future uses for the versatile card include purchases from the campus bookstore, and in vending and laundry machines. Students will spend "Jacket Bucks" (athletic teams are called the Yellow Jackets and Lady Jackets) from a flex account into which they have deposited money. Eventually, Howard Payne may use the card for access to dorms to replace the touch-pad locks on doors, which are not holding up, Fishback says, and for access to some of the campus buildings, such as the music practice rooms. This not only helps the students to have more flexible practicing hours, but also to feel more secure than in an otherwise open building.

Off-campus applications for the card also are in the works to help attract student business to local convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. "Local businesses and entertainment centers will use either a stand-alone reader that the university could download information to, or a direct, on-line connection via modem to the student's account," says Fishback.

This summer, the university will use the new card system for meals and attendance during campus activities such as sports and church camps. "I think it will make a nice souvenir for the kids to remember their experience at Howard Payne University, as well as a nice recruiting tool for us," Fishback says.

The school creates its cards in-house using an Atlantek Model 60 printer. "The system is user-friendly," Fishback says. "We can choose our own backgrounds, and with the color graphics available through the software, we are limited only by our imaginations." The students also like the digital photos because they can see the pictures before they are printed.

Security features

In addition to its multiple applications, Howard Payne University's student ID card has three features that confirm its authenticity.

* A logo is printed on the security substrate layer. When the card is tilted and viewed in ambient light conditions, the logo changes in color and intensity. The effect is virtually impossible to replicate, making photocopy attempts easy to detect.

* The card's retro-reflection feature reveals a much brighter logo when viewed with a focused light source, such as a flashlight, particularly at night.

* Finally, an ultraviolet image of the same logo is embedded within the surface area of the receptor film. The feature can be viewed with a black light only.

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