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Fargo protects Disney kids

Celebration City, Florida, is no ordinary town. It is a 4900-acre planned community that was developed by The Walt Disney Company to be the city of the future. At the heart of the community is the Celebration School, a public institution that is teeming with innovative, high-tech features. Although Celebration School lives up to its billing as the school of the future, officials are still faced with present-day issues like keeping kids safe on the 36-acre campus.

To help ensure a safe, secure learning environment, administrators decided to implement a photo ID card program for students, faculty and visitors. The goal of the program was to create an easy way to distinguish between people who belong on campus from those who do not.

For the program to be successful, three key needs had to be addressed. First, the solution had to provide a high degree of security. Second, it had to be networkable and equipped with a web browser interface so teachers could access information from their desktop PCs. Finally, it had to print durable, long-lasting cards quickly and efficiently.

Personalised card solution

In their quest for a solution, Celebration School contracted Apunix Computer Systems, a Fargo integrator located in San Diego, California. As the two began exploring options, Celebration School discovered that the cards could do more than identify people. They could be used as cafeteria debit cards, to control access to facilities and more. Apunix designed a system featuring a SunSparc 5 workstation, Apunix BadgeMaker software, Netscape Navigator, a video camera and a printer from Fargo.

The technology of the Fargo printer made it ideal for the 'school of the future'. It has an Ethernet interface for use in networked environments and prints full-colour, two-sided cards in only 40 s. In addition, it offers bar coding capabilities for use with the cafeteria's debit card system, plus magnetic stripe encoding that will soon be used to control access to school facilities and elevators.

So far, the system has produced more than 5000 cards on Fargo's super-durable UltraCard stock. The cards feature a full-colour photo and bar code on the front, plus a colour-coded background that identifies the wearer's classification - student, faculty member, visitor, etc. The backs of the cards are monochrome with a magnetic stripe.

Fargo is a division of ISO Photo.

For further details contact Tersia Terblanche, Fargo, on tel: (011) 887 3301.

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