Time for change
The campus wanted to move from a mag stripe only credential to a card with both mag stripe and a contactless chip. “The primary reasons for issuing new IDs is to provide increased security and improved functionality,” explains Diane Brueggemann, technical services manager at the University of Cincinnati.

For Cincinnati, a university with a large population, challenges included logistics and staffing for mass card distribution events. “We were able to overcome these challenges because we included all major stakeholders  –  including student government representatives  –  on the recarding committee,” says Brueggemann.

The university wanted a more secure contactless technology card to upgrade physical access readers and integrate with the local Cincinnati METRO system, says Tim Nyblom, director of the education group at ColorID. “Their overarching goal was to find a single card that could accomplish all of this.”
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The new cards include DESFire EV1 contactless chips that facilitate access throughout the campus’ network of HID readers and Blackboard access control and point-of-sale readers, says Nyblom. 

Team effort
Cincinnati enlisted the help of ColorID to provide cardstock and assist in the issuance process for the university’s 45,000 active cardholders.

ColorID worked with HID Global to provide pre-printed contactless cards that were pre-encoded with custom transit credentials to meet the SPX Genfare specifications for the SORTA system, explains Todd Brooks, director of product management at ColorID.

The ColorID service bureau personalized the initial 45,000 cards adding cardholder photos and personal information. Before shipping to campus, the mag stripes were encoded and two applications were programmed into the DESFire EV1 Chip. Cards were sorted and then shipped per preset preferences established to ease onsite distribution.

The full recarding process took about three and a half months and concluded in the fall of 2015, explains Nyblom. “There were many months of additional planning, testing and creating samples that took place well before the recarding project could begin,” he explains.

“The 45,000 cards preprinted by ColorID consisted of registered students, active faculty, staff and affiliates,” says Brueggemann. To ease the distribution burden, the university held two separate distribution events – one for faculty and staff credentials and a second for students.

In total, the university ordered 65,000 cards from ColorID, with 45,000 being used for the initial recarding project. “The remaining 20,000 cards are Cincy’s base, pre-printed cardstock that will be kept on campus for normal card office distribution,” explains Nyblom.

Following the initial distribution event, all cards are now produced on demand in the card office. For these cards, only the back portion is pre-printed while the front is personalized at the point of issuance. “Cincy chose a reverse-transfer printer, which allows them to print a very high quality card, similar to how a pre-printed card may look,” explains Brooks.

Troubleshooting
Projects the size of Cincinnati’s are rarely without their challenges, but with a comprehensive plan and the support of an experienced vendor, the challenges can be managed.

“The biggest challenge was correctly encoding the transit portion of the cards,” says Brooks. “We spent several months working with all parties involved – including the university, the card manufacturer, the transit equipment manufacturer and the transit authority – to make sure the encoding was done correctly.”

Another challenge was getting all of the credentials on to the card. “Applications have specific methods for encoding credentials on a chip and they may not coincide. You have to determine which applications can be pre-encoded versus encoded in the printer or at the desktop,” explains Brooks. “Since Cincy is issuing randomized ISO numbers, pre-encoding was not a viable option. We pre-encoded the transit portion and then added the access control and the Blackboard application data at the desktop.” The final hurdle came in the form of working with older systems and processes. Cincinnati had multiple legacy access control systems so an individual’s images, biometric templates and ID numbers from the previous cards were held as records in different systems, explains Brooks. This created the need to encode the legacy access application using a desktop encoder.

Many hands, light work
“From a secure suite at our headquarters in North Carolina, our service bureau is equipped to personalize ID cards for projects large and small,” explains Brooks. “We are experienced with a wide range of card technologies, back end systems, hardware and software.” At Cincinnati, the company facilitated and managed a great deal of the recarding project. “Their expertise and experience was essential to making this project a success,” says Brueggemann.

About ColorID, LLC
Over the past 17 years, ColorID has become a highly recommended supplier of solutions for security, identification, access control, biometrics and transaction management.  Though primarily focused on specific North American markets, ColorID also provides these solutions to organizations around the world. The company’s highly knowledgeable and customer-focused sales and product management teams help customers select the best products and services from well-known and innovative manufacturers to meet their requirements. Also, the company’s engineering team provides exceptional support for the life of those products. Contact ColorID at 704-987-2238 or toll free in Canada and the US at 888-682-6567. Visit ColorID on the web at: www.colorid.com or email ColorID at [email protected].

​Fargo unveiled the latest version of the HDP series with the HDP5600 reverse transfer card printer.  You can see it first hand in action at our the following trade shows this April: ISC West, Booth 6039 located in Las Vegas & NACCU, Booth 308 located in San Francisco.  The latest version includes a high definition 600 DPI print head allowing for stunning print quality and micro text for your desktop printer.  Unit has a starting MSRP of $4494.00 for the base model.  Contact us today to test drive your new HDP5600 printer or visit us at our booths at ISC West or NACCU.  

For additional information here is a write up from Fargo:
For Government agencies, universities, corporations and healthcare facilities who need retransfer printing technology to routinely issue High Definition IDs or cards, the FARGO HDP5600 from HID Global is a cost-effective and reliable solution that provides high resolution 600 dpi printing capability for superior text and image quality.

Unlike other desktop card printers on the market today, the HDP5600 features 5th generation retransfer technology, combining feature-rich functionality with proven reliability. The HDP5600 boasts one of the broadest offering of printing supplies available, ensuring you’ll have multiple visual security and durability options as well as an ample array of selections for keeping cost-per-card at a minimum.

The HDP5600 also offers the versatility to meet your card application needs today and in the future. Whether you select the 600 dpi or 300 dpi model, the system’s flexible architecture lets you expand or reduce production capability instantly, with add-on dual- sided printing, encoding and lamination modules. For greater system capacity, an optional dual card input hopper lets you easily manage multiple card types and higher card volumes. And for one-step, inline printing and encoding HID Global offers multiple, field-upgradable encoder options. Because the HDP5600 easily integrates with other products within the HID ecosystem, you can leverage your existing Genuine HID technology investments.

Only one card printer offers 5th generation retransfer technology for every need – from sharp and vibrant photo ID cards to multi-functional, high security applications, the FARGO HDP5600 delivers on the promise of ultimate image quality and printer reliability, affordably.

About ColorID, LLC
Over the past 17 years, ColorID has become a highly recommended supplier of solutions for security, identification, access control, biometrics and transaction management.  Though primarily focused on specific North American markets, ColorID also provides these solutions to organizations around the world. The company’s highly knowledgeable and customer-focused sales and product management teams help customers select the best products and services from well-known and innovative manufacturers to meet their requirements. Also, the company’s engineering team provides exceptional support for the life of those products. Contact ColorID at 704-987-2238 or toll free in Canada and the US at 888-682-6567. Visit ColorID on the web at: www.colorid.com or email ColorID at [email protected].

​ColorID is excited to announce the release of the Fargo DTC5500LMX direct to card printer.  You can see it first hand in action at our the following trade shows this April: ISC West, Booth 6039 located in Las Vegas & NACCU, Booth 308 located in San Francisco.  This direct to card printer is available today and comes in a variety of configurations but out of the box its base model is dual sided printing with dual sided laminating capabilities and is starting at $7499.00 MSRP for the base model.  Contact us today to test drive your new DTC5500LMX or visit us at our booths at ISC West or NACCU.  This latest printer has two amazing new features.  The first being able to produce a full laminated card in under 45 seconds (from a cold start) and the second being the lamination panels cover 95.5% of the card face and is a waste less design.

Additional information here is a write up from Fargo:
For government agencies, universities, medium-to-large businesses and healthcare facilities that need direct-to-card printing capabilities to routinely issue high volumes of IDs or personalized cards cost-effectively, the FARGO DTC5500LMX from HID Global is an affordable, eco-friendly solution that provides high quality card production and features wasteless lamination for an ultra-low cost-per-card. Designed to meet the needs of budget-conscious organizations, the DTC5500LMX includes standard dual card hoppers and support for high-capacity, full-color ribbon and laminate consumables – keeping costs at a minimum while maximizing productivity. For even greater savings, the DTC5500LMX includes dual-side printing and dual-side lamination. And leveraging HID Global’s innovative wasteless lamination technology, the DTC5500LMX canyou’re your high-volume lamination materials cost by up to 50%.

The DTC5500LMX also features HID Global’s new iON technology, allowing the unit to reach optimal operating temperature in just 45 seconds, expediting the printing process. And utilizing robust metal components, the unit’s durable yet stylish housing ensures continuous production, even in the most demanding printing environments.

Built on 20 years of direct-to-card HID Global expertise, the DTC5500LMX combines cost-saving, feature-rich functionality with proven reliability. Beyond its comprehensive standard feature set, the DTC5500LMX offers the versatility to meet your card application needs today and in the future. For one-step, inline printing and encoding, HID Global offers multiple, field-upgradable encoder options. And because the DTC5500LMX easily integrates with other products within the HID Global ecosystem, you can better leverage your existing Genuine HID technology investments.
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About ColorID, LLC
Over the past 17 years, ColorID has become a highly recommended supplier of solutions for security, identification, access control, biometrics and transaction management.  Though primarily focused on specific North American markets, ColorID also provides these solutions to organizations around the world. The company’s highly knowledgeable and customer-focused sales and product management teams help customers select the best products and services from well-known and innovative manufacturers to meet their requirements. Also, the company’s engineering team provides exceptional support for the life of those products. Contact ColorID at 704-987-2238 or toll free in Canada and the US at 888-682-6567. Visit ColorID on the web at: www.colorid.com or email ColorID at [email protected].