How to make staff ID cards
Most businesses make staff ID cards rarely enough to forget how between batches. This is the whole job in six steps, from deciding what goes on the card to taking it back when someone leaves, whether or not you own a card printer.
Start with what the card is for
A staff ID card can do one job or several: show who someone is at a glance, open doors, release printing, get a discount at the café, or tell a visitor from an employee. Decide which jobs yours has to do first, because they decide the rest. A card that only has to be looked at can be printed on plain PVC. A card that opens doors has to be encoded for your access control system, which means the right card stock and usually a conversation with whoever installed the doors.
Decide what goes on the card
Less is better. Everything printed on a card is readable by anyone who finds it, so print what a person checking the card needs, and nothing else.
- The organisation's name and logo, large enough to read across a room.
- The person's photo, big: it is the one thing a checker actually compares.
- Their name as they use it, so a preferred name rather than a legal one if they have one.
- A staff number, and a barcode of it if a library, printer or time clock will scan it.
- An expiry date for contractors and fixed-term staff, at least.
- A QR code or link to check the card, so anyone can confirm it is genuine and still valid.
Leave off home addresses, dates of birth, signatures and personal phone numbers. The back of the card is the place for “if found, please return to” and any conditions of use.
Design for the card, not the screen
Staff ID cards are almost always CR80, the size of a bank card: 85.6 by 54 mm. Portrait suits a card worn on a lanyard; landscape suits one kept in a wallet or tapped on a reader. Keep text high-contrast and the name readable at arm's length, and if colour runs to the edge of the card, design with a millimetre or two of bleed so a slight shift in the printer does not leave a white sliver.
Build the design as a template with fields, not as a picture with a name typed on it. Then every card comes out the same, and a reprint in two years matches the original. That is how the CardOffice card designer works.
Collect the photos without a photo day
Email each person a link and let them take their own photo on their phone, against a plain wall, facing the camera. Check each photo before it is printed: a dark, tilted or filtered photo is far cheaper to retake than to reprint. The guide to ICAO photo rules has the one-line instructions that prevent most rejects.
Keep one record per person
A spreadsheet is a fine start: name, preferred name, staff number, department, email and expiry. What matters is that each person has one row, each staff number is unique, and the list is kept up to date when people join and leave. Larger organisations connect their staff directory instead, so starters appear and leavers drop off on their own.
Print them, or have them printed
Without a card printer, order the cards printed and couriered: there is nothing to buy and nothing to maintain. With a card printer, or if new starters need a card on their first morning, print them yourself. Most small and medium businesses issue too few cards a year to justify a printer; the guide to what ID cards cost works through where the line falls.
Issue, record and take them back
- Record who has which card, with a serial number, so a found card can be traced and a lost one replaced without guesswork.
- Make contractor and visitor cards look different, in colour or layout, so the difference is obvious at a glance.
- When someone leaves, revoke the card as well as asking for it back. A card that can be checked online stops looking valid the moment it is revoked.
- Consider a digital ID in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet alongside the plastic: it can be issued in seconds and withdrawn remotely.
Frequently asked
What size is a staff ID card?
Almost all staff ID cards are CR80, the size of a bank card: 85.6 by 54 mm, defined as ID-1 in ISO/IEC 7810. Card printers, holders and lanyard clips are all made for that size.
What should be on a staff ID card?
The organisation's name and logo, a large photo, the person's name as they use it, a staff number, an expiry date for contractors and fixed-term staff, and a QR code or link so the card can be checked. Leave off home addresses, dates of birth and signatures.
Can I make ID cards without a card printer?
Yes. Order them printed and delivered: you design the card and send the names and photos, and the cards arrive by courier. CardOffice does this from $12.50 to $15.00 a card before GST, with no minimum order.
Can I print ID cards on a normal office printer?
You can print on paper or adhesive sheets and laminate them, but they wear quickly, curl, and are easy to copy. PVC cards from a card printer or a bureau last for years and can carry a magnetic stripe or chip.
How do I make ID cards for contractors and visitors?
Give them their own design, in a different colour or layout, and an expiry date on every card. A card that can be revoked and checked online stops being valid the moment their work ends, even if it is never returned.
Rather we set it up with you?
Bring your list of people and your logo to a consultation, and we will build the first card design with you and show you both ways of getting the cards printed.