HID Global card printing selected for French International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

Established in 1953, The ISIC Association is a non-profit organisation that created the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), which is issued in over 130 countries.

The ISIC card is the only internationally recognised student ID card. Cardholders receive preferential access to over 42,000 products and services, including travel, restaurants, museums and sports clubs. ISIC Global is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with offices worldwide.

Secure card issuance solution

ISIC France sought to launch a rapid, cost-effective and robust online secure card issuance portal solution, to provide high-quality, multifunctional student ID cards to the grandes écoles universities.

Key selection criteria

• Capable of securely printing high quality and durable personalised electronic student cards that would last for their entire time at the university
• Print, laminate and encode smart cards in a single process with encryption support
• Provide next-generation card personalisation software to design ISIC France’s online portal for issuing and managing student ID cards
• Ease of deployment and administration
• A scalable and upgradeable solution with the ability to issue large volumes of ID cards quickly

HID Global was selected based on these stringent criteria and its long-standing relationship with ISIC France.

HID Global AsureID 7 card personalisation

ISIC France launched its secure online portal using HID Global’s AsureID 7 Card Personalisation Software Development Kit (SDK), which enabled them to efficiently print and manage secure student ID cards, as well as provide updates to grandes écoles universities, such as card issuance dates and printing status of cards in process. HID Global’s FARGO HDP5000 and FARGO DTC4500 printer/encoders produce durable and highly functional student ID cards, based on the university’s requirements and budget. On average, 15 printers are used to produce a maximum 15,000 cards a day.

By utilising HID Global’s customisable, high-definition and direct-to-card printing capabilities, ISIC France now has the most advanced, easily upgradable and scalable solution on the market, ensuring it can provide universities with the latest, most secure technology available. HID Global partnered very closely with regional secure card issuance experts, SELP and ISLOG to meet ISIC France’s requirements.

ISIC France now provides a hassle-free, on-site badging service to the grandes écoles universities

“HID Global is a globally trusted brand and continues to be at the forefront of the card personalisation industry with solutions that successfully meet our needs for securely issuing high volumes of student ID cards,” said Lilian Leclercq, Director with ISIC France Products/Technologies

On-site university badging service

ISIC France now provides a hassle-free, on-site badging service to the grandes écoles universities. It offers seamless customer service to over 126 French universities, issuing approximately 150,000 student ID cards every year via its flexible, reliable and scalable online portal. The improved, faster customer service made possible using FARGO printers/encoders is particularly advantageous during peak periods, such as the start of a student year, when high volumes of ID cards need to be printed. Multifunctional, durable ID cards give students a single card solution for a wide range of applications, including access to doors, data, library resources, car parking as well as cashless payments and vending machine purchases. This offers students a convenient and secure campus experience.

Cost savings and customisable printing

HID Global’s printing solutions also provide ISIC France with significant cost savings, without compromising quality. The retransfer technology allows for a wide variety of card materials; a dye-sublimation image can be imprinted onto an intermediate transfer film that is then retransferred to the card surface. This is a key aspect of HID Global’s high-definition, secure printing solutions and higher throughput speeds greatly increased card yield. With the customisable printing options, ISIC France is able to offer made-to-order imaging, for its co-branded programmes, and shorter cycle times.

“HID Global’s latest FARGO printer/encoders solutions and AsureID card personalisation software helped us provide a fast, secure and high-quality printing solution to the grandes écoles universities for issuing student ID cards in short time periods. This is thanks to the ease of integration, high throughput speeds, retransfer print technology, secure encoding and lamination,” said Lilian Leclercq. In addition, student ID cards are being used for time and attendance purposes.

ISIC France and HID Global are now planning to implement a mobile ID access solution, so students can use their smartphones to supplement or even replace their current access control cards.