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Enhance the power of your School ID System using Bar Codes

Anyone who has ever stepped foot in a grocery store has seen countless bar codes printed on boxes, cans, jars and other packaging. In fact, when we hear the words "bar codes," many of us immediately think of shopping. On school and university campuses, however, "bar code" translates into affordability, convenience and accuracy. In fact, with the advent of two-dimensional (2D) bar codes that can store more information than the traditional one-dimensional (1D) variety, student ID cards act as a "portable database": bar codes can store digital photographs, signatures, schedule data, emergency contact information and even biometric data in a single code the size of a magnetic stripe - all at virtually no extra cost.

With the added capacity of 2D bar codes, school ID cards can now be used for applications such as:

Processing attendance and truancy.
Validating student identity for test taking, dorm and sporting facility access, and miscellaneous security uses.
Tracking students for busing and other off-site transportation, as well as during fires and other emergencies.
Determining emergency information such as medical conditions and emergency contacts.

At the same time, adding 2D bar codes along with mobile card readers to a school card system can greatly enhance security by ensuring school officials that individuals walking their campuses and accessing their classrooms and facilities are authorized to be there; and can even save time by making processes such as the taking of classroom attendance more efficient and accurate.

This opens new opportunities both for educational institutions and for card system integrators and resellers.

Raising the Bar (Code)

While a conventional 1D bar code contains a serial or ID number coded in vertical black and white bars, 2D bar can fit significantly more information because they store data in two dimensions - that is, both vertically and horizontally. Each 2D code can therefore contain several kilobytes of data, sufficient to store color photographs and biometric identifiers as well as massive amounts of text.

The other advantage is that each 2D code is self-contained, eliminating the need to be connected to a backend database (a must with a 1D code) while still offering the option to do so. Instead, the information encoded in a 2D symbol can be read with a stationary or portable card reader and used to verify identity simply by visually comparing the decoded photograph or other information with the live cardholder. When mobile card reading devices are used, key student information is available anywhere and anytime, even if a backend system is not available.

In many cases, schools are now using both 1D and 2D bar codes on the same card. The 1D codes can still be used to automate student-related transactions in the library, cafeteria, bookstore, and many other PC-based areas, while the 2D codes can be used for other purposes with or without connectivity to a backend database. This adoption of “multi-technology” cards follows the example of many government identity document issuers, such as driver’s license systems and the military’s Common Access Card.

Low-Cost Alternative

Adding 1D and 2D bar codes to your ID cards adds no cost to the card production system since bar codes are printed at the same time as the ID card. The 2D bar code offers many of the enhanced features of a smart card, such as data capacity, at 1/10 the price. It also offers similar security advantages because the bar code cannot be altered without disabling the encoded information, ensuring that no one can successfully impersonate the legitimate cardholder.

Even incorporating the added security of a biometric identifier is now an affordable option. In the past, for example, fingerprint enrollment systems were custom applications adding tens of thousands of dollars to card production systems. These custom systems tended to be used for large-scale government applications such as national ID cards, voter registration cards and driver’s license systems. Today, however, many off-the-shelf card personalization software packages support biometric enrollment, offering cost-effective high security systems to even the smallest of end users.

In addition, biometrically capable card readers are available at very reasonable prices.

Action Steps

To move from a photo-only ID program to an ID program that incorporates bar codes, start by contacting your local card system reseller or integrator to determine if your existing system supports either of these technologies. Then you can discuss the new functions you would like your student ID cards to perform and how bar codes can help.

Whether you or your customer are a K-12 school, large or small college or university, or any type of business or institution that relies on ID card systems for security, access control, time and attendance, or transaction and personal data processing, more powerful card systems are within your reach.

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