So Many Accessories for an ID Card!
Who would have thought that a small piece of plastic such an ID Card measuring 86 x 54mm would have such an array of supporting products? We have lanyards, badge pins, badge reels, card holders and plastic pockets, all in different styles.
Starting with lanyards, we have cotton lanyards, woven lanyards, plastic lanyards, and even lanyards produced from recycled bottles. The lanyard clips can be made of metal or plastic and you might notice that they come in various fixing styles such as oval-shaped 'lobster' clip and the 'J-clip', named after its resemblance to the letter J. Lanyards can be pre-printed with standard lettering (Visitor, Staff, Contractor, Student, etc) or printed to order with company branding. And of course there's the wide selection of colours.
Then we move on to card holders. These also come in a wide variety of colours and it's common to choose a colour that matches the company branding although there are other reasons for selecting certain colours too. Card holders can be made of hard rigid plastic or soft vinyl plastic and can be biodegradable, antimicrobial or recyclable. You can even buy metal-detectable card holders which contain metal flakes embedded in the plastic; these are particularly useful for people who work in the food industry. Card holders can be in an open-faced or enclosed format whereby you're able to slide the card partially out of the holder as in the case of an access control card. Finally, they can be supplied in portrait or landscape formats and single-sided or double-sided depending on how many sides you wish to make available for display.
Badge reels come in plastic and metal and are often branded for the specific company. They allow you to extend your ID card via a cord, which can be handy when you need to bring the card into close proximity with an access control door reader without having to remove the card from the holder. They are often worn on the belt as sometimes wearing a lanyard is inconvenient. Badge reels are available in various colours.
Badge pins, sometimes known as brooch pins, are a metal pin fixed to a sticky pad which sticks to the rear of a plastic card, allowing the card to be used as a name badge.
And last but not least, beaded metal strings which are chain necklaces that let you hang ID cards around your neck. These can be a cheaper and more disposable option than lanyards, but they don't generally come with a break clasp so it's advisable not to wear them around machinery or where there's a risk that they could get caught. Nevertheless they are secure and affordable.
Actually, that's not the last. We also have magnetic holders that do not damage clothing!
These are just some of the accessories that support a plastic ID card. Now all you need is a photo ID card printer. But that's a post for another day!