8 Designing card layouts

Note: You can use MyID without specifying any card layouts, so you may skip this section if you are not printing smart cards.

You can specify the content and layout of the information to be printed on a smart card when it is issued. Depending on your organization’s requirements, you may need to specify multiple card layouts to enable different types of card or the different roles of cardholders to be visually distinguished. You may also need to print different information on the cards for the different roles held by cardholders.

For example, you may specify layouts that:

• Distinguish temporary cards – for visitors or contractors
• Identify cards belonging to individuals with a high security clearance
• Identify designated individuals, such those with Fire Officer responsibilities
• Incorporate the name of a designated contact for temporary staff

You can define multiple layout templates and you can associate each template with one or more credential profiles and each credential profile with one or more templates. For example:

• If every card is to look identical, you need only one card layout template that you can associate with every credential profile.
• If every role has its own credential profile and you want to be able to distinguish between the roles, create a card layout template for every profile.

• If you are using the same profiles for both permanent and temporary staff but need to be able to visually distinguish between them, you can either:

  • Create two layouts (one for permanent and one for temporary staff) and associate both with each credential profile.
  • Create two layouts for each credential profile.

Each template specifies the layout for one side of a card. To specify a layout for the reverse of a card, save it using the same name as the front with a _back suffix. For example, if the front layout is called TempStaff, save the reverse as TempStaff_back.

Note: The names given associate the correct reverse layout with the selected front layout, but you must still set your printer to duplex mode when printing the cards.

You can use the Default Card Reverse Layout configuration option (on the Devices page of the Operation Settings workflow) to specify a default layout to use for the reverse of any card. If a card has no defined reverse layout, if this configuration option contains the name of a valid card layout, the layout is used for the reverse of the card.

You can specify the appearance and position of both text and images. The content of these elements can be either:

• Static

  • Text that will be printed on every card, exactly as entered in the template. For example, your organization’s name or address.

  • Standard images held on the server. For example, you may want to include your organization’s logo or a background image for your card.

• Dynamic

  • Text held in the database, which may vary from card to card. For example, the card’s serial number or the surname of the holder.

  • Images referenced in the database and associated with the cardholder. For example, you may want to print the holder’s photograph or signature on the card.