More and more colleges and universities are streamlining to using a single university ID card across a multitude of applications. Today’s technology allows your university student photo identification cards to be multi-purpose cards. A single university identification card can be used for applications such as food service and university bookstore account management, access to computers and other technology, access control to athletic facilities, tracking library check-out, medical center ID, as well as at-a-glance photo ID.

Across the country, the push for efficient automated payment programs is creating demand for university student ID cards which can store cash value and track account balances. The use of a magnetic stripe or smart chip allows schools to use university student identification cards as stored-value debit cards for campus food service, the university bookstore, parking, campus laundry facilities and other on-campus retail venues. This automation makes the purchasing process fast and efficient by reducing lines and wait times, can cut back on labor needed to staff cafeterias and bookstores, and reduces the losses and risks involved with cash transactions. 

Stored-value debit cards are simply cards that are funded by traditional means such as checking accounts, funds transfers, credit cards or cash and are used to deduct money from a non-bank account. Stored-value cards use a smart chip or magnetic stripe to store information about the funds that have been prepaid to the card.

One of the keys to creating a safe campus is controlling who’s in your campus buildings. Using magnetic stripe, proximity card or smart card technology, your university student ID cards can control access to your campus buildings, such as dorms, or even specific areas in your campus buildings, such as labs. An access control system will allow you to control who enters controlled areas–an ID card is the means to do this.

A university ID card that includes a magnetic stripe, proximity technology, or a smart chip can control access to technology as well as to physical areas through-out your campus. For example, a student needing to use your university’s computer lab can scan his student ID card to gain access to the IT building after regular class hours, scan it again to enter the lab, and then insert it into the computer in order to log on. When the student completes his work he scans his card to enter his dorm building, and finally, to enter his dorm room. Similarly, stored value cards can be used by university faculty and staff for parking, food service, and other retail opportunities, as well as gaining access to areas authorized only for them.

One of the most common uses of university student ID cards is tracking university library check-out. Barcodes or magnetic stripes are typically used to track library assets. The same process can also be used with other university check-outs such as audio/visual equipment or athletic equipment.

Advantidge recommends the following ID card printers for University ID Card Mag Stripe Encoding:

• Fargo DTC550 For versatile, reliable card production that encodes magnetic stripe in the same pass as card printing.
• Zebra P110i Reliable, compact and easy to use printer with 3 Track HiCo/LoCo Magnetic Encoder.
• Zebra P120i High-tech materials and new electronics in an affordable dual-sided card printer with magnetic encoding.
• Magicard Enduro Single or dual-sided card printing with ISO magnetic encoding.
• Magicard Rio2e The preferred printer for secure access control single-sided cards with magnetic stripe encoding.
• Evolis Pebble4 For any type of application that requires single-sided printing of id badges with magnetic encoding.
• Evolis Dualys3 For any type of application that requires dual-sided printing of id badges with magnetic encoding.
• Nisca PR5350 For high speed, low cost dual-sided printing with magnetic encoding.

To learn more about our custom bundled solutions for colleges and universities please click on the following link:

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