printer friendly version

High School reduces cost by printing own ID cards

Each year, city councils throughout New Zealand require secondary schools to distribute ID cards to their students. Onehunga High School (OHS) is no exception to this regulation. With a growing roll, OHS boasts a staff of over 70 and a student population of more than 1200.

With its expanding enrollment, the school found it increasingly expensive and time consuming to outsource the task of printing identification cards to its local ID card bureau. Students would often be waiting days for the outsourced ID cards to arrive at the school. "ID cards are used for a range of things, including obtaining student rates on buses, access to the school library and to hire books so it is important that students have their cards as quickly as possible at the start of the first semester," explains IT manager, Zed Karai.

The solution

"Outsourcing did not allow for 'on the spot' changes as students' details changed and it soon became evident that the school needed to produce ID cards onsite." Management at OHS decided it needed an instant, onsite identification card solution for its students and began looking for an ID card printer that was efficient, reliable and easy to operate. The solution was the Eltron P310 card printer. The standalone P310 prints sharp, readable bar codes, ID photos, graphics and text, edge-to-edge, in seconds.

Its easy-to-load, low maintenance design makes it simple for anyone to operate. Green, yellow and red LED indicators provide easy-to-understand printer status. Printer ribbon synchronisation is automatic, eliminating the need for operator intervention. An easy to change, self-cleaning cartridge thoroughly removes dust before printing, minimising missing dots and colour registration problems. "The Eltron Card Printer is a cost-effective, easy-to-use option and has been extremely reliable," Karai reports.

"We can now produce and issue hundreds of ID cards to our students within a couple of days at the start of each year, which ensures students can take advantage of the discounts available as well as gaining immediate access to the school library and its resources. We are also able to change students' details and give newcomers ID cards on the same day they enroll," he concludes.

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