Use Badge Holders to Protect Your ID Cards

If your company or organization uses id cards, identification visibility may be an issue. It is not enough to simply issue id cards to everyone and let them decide what to do with them. If you did that, everyone would just store those id cards in their wallet never to be seen again. If you force everyone to display their id cards, your office or event is that much more secure. At a glance you can tell if someone is authorized to be there or not.

To display id cards, it is recommended that you purchase badge holders. A badge holder protects the id card from damage and keeps the id highly visible. There are a wide range of badge holders to choose from.

Most of you are probably only aware of the basic flexible badge holders that are so common at trade shows and conferences. It is essentially just a clear plastic sleeve with some form of attachment on the back. The attachment can be a clip, pin or even an adhesive surface. This type of badge holder is typically the least expensive which explains why they are so popular. When event organizers are purchasing hundreds or thousands of badge holders, price becomes a major factor. Some of these badge holders also have extra holes to attach to a lanyard or necklace.

Instead of just using plain clear badge holders, many companies are now opting for color coded badge holders. There are a few benefits to this choice. First of all, a color coded badge holder could be more visually appealing, especially if it matches colors on your id card. Secondly a colored badge holder could be used to classify people by job title, department, company, industry or any other criteria. A colored badge holder also draws more attention, which can be helpful when networking in a huge conference with thousands of other people.

Most badge holders are flexible, which means they do not protect your id card against getting bent or folded. For temporary trade show ids this may not be a problem. If you are using custom photo identification, you might need extra protection. Beware that this style of badge holder is usually made with an open face. So your id card could still get scratched or dirty.

People in active professions usually don't want to wear a badge holder. The badge holder would flap around and get in the way. At a construction site or in a factory this could be a very dangerous hazard. For these people, arm band badge holders were designed. An arm band badge holder securely attaches an id card right to your arm. The elastic band ensures that it won't slide around or get caught in anything.

Anyone wearing nice clothing would probaby cringe at the thought of having to wear a badge holder. They could pin the badge holder on and be left with a hole in their shirt. They could use a badge holder with a badge clip that could pull clothing thread loose. They could use a badge holder with a self-adhesive backing which could leave a sticky residue. Instead of taking these risks, they should try a magnetic badge holder. This type of badge holder uses magnets to attach to a pocket or lapel. There is no risk of damaging clothing.

Special badge holders have been designed especially for use with proximity cards. A proximity card is an electronic id card with information that can be read with radio waves. This type of card needs to be protected against both theft and damage. A proximity badge holder locks a card in place once when a strap clip of lanyard is attached. The badge holder is also thin enough that the proximity card is still functional.

A badge holder doesn't have to only hold an id card. With credential wallets you have additional pockets to store anything else you may need: papers, pens, money, other id and more. As the name implies, this type of badge holder is ideal for people who need to carry credentials. Sometimes an id card is not enough and you also need to have official paperwork on hand.

While the most common use of badge holders may be for identifcation at trade shows or conventions, there are many other uses:

• hospital staff identification - in such an environment you need to keep id cards visible and protected from various fluids.
• government identification - when dealing with classified and private information, security is crucial. Badge holders are a great way to keep ids in plain sight.
• hotel staff identification - a hotel wants to ensure that only their staff has access to employee only areas, such as where keys are stored. Guests would also feel more comfortable seeing extra security precautions.
• construction worker identification - security on a construction site can be fairly important. Without visible id cards, people could walk onto the site and take tools or other supplies. It helps keep things running smoothly when you can glance at someone's id and know what their job function is too.
• employee indentification - in office environments, a badge holder adds some basic security and identifies an employee to other staff.
• tradeshow attendee identification - id cards at a tradeshow are more used as a name tag and introduction to who you are. Displaying your id with a badge holder creates a professional appearance. This could improve your ability to network at such functions.

These are just some examples. There are also countless other uses for badge holders. Basically anywhere id cards are used, badge holders could be used to protect those cards and keep them visible.

Since there are so many different kinds of badge holders available, you need to consider some factors before you make a purchase.

• Where will the badge holder wearer use it?

• Will they wear their badge holder outdoors?
• What size of id cards will be used with your badge holder?
• Do your id cards require extra protection?
• Is the appearance of the badge holder important?
• How do you want the badge holder to attach?
• Will the badge holder be used on expensive clothing?
• How long will these badge holders be used?
• Do you need to store something other than an id card in your badge holder?

All of these questions will determine what type of badge holder is best for your purposes. If you go and buy badge holders without taking these things into consideration, you may regret your purchase. You may realize that the badge holders do not protect the id cards well enough or there is some other drawback.