EZBadges.com

A: No. You can order a single badge, if that is all you need.

[Top]

A: Yes. Quantity discounts are automatically applied when you reach certain quantity thresholds within a single order. Please refer to our PRICE LIST for more details. If you plan to order over 100 badges, but not all in a single order, please contact us to arrange a pre-payment plan which will allow you to get the discounted rate, but spread it over multiple orders.

[Top]

A: Yes. When you checkout, you will be given the option to select "Rush Order Processing" for an extra fee (25% of the net order cost, with a minimum fee of $10). Our standard policy is to process and ship most orders within three business days after receipt of order. With Rush Order Processing selected, we will move your order to the head of the line, and ship your order within one business day. Please note that selecting the Rush Order Processing option does not change the shipping method you select. It only affects how quickly we produce and ship your order. If you select this option, but choose UPS Ground for your shipping method, we will produce and ship your order within 24 hours (excluding weekends & holidays), but the order will still be shipped by UPS Ground. So if you need your order within two days, we recommend that you select Rush Order Processing AND Overnight Shipping. All orders ship from our production facility near Portland, OR. So keep that in mind when selecting your shipping method.

[Top]

A: Our printers print the image directly onto the surface of the plastic card. For most applications, the printed image is fairly durable, and should last 1-3 years under normal conditions. However, if the card will be subjected to long exposure to sunlight, abrasion from swiping through a mag stripe or barcode reader, exposure to chemicals, or any harsh conditions such as high heat, humidity, and pressure (for example, being carried in a wallet), you can provide additional protection for the printed image by selecting the Lamination option when configuring your card. When this option is selected, we will apply an additional layer of polyester film to the card after the image is printed. This film protects the image from damage due to abrasion, and reduces fading due to exposure to UV light. There are two kinds of lamination film available: Clear and Hologram. The Hologram film has an embedded holographic image, giving the card a more "secure" look. Even if the card will not be subjected to harsh conditions or usage, the lamination option will extend the life of the card, on average lasting 3-6 years. Please note that if you plan to select the lamination option, you must select "PolyCard" as your card type. The reason is that the standard PVC card material cannot withstand the high heat of the lamination process, and the cards will come out warped like a potato chip. PolyCard is a stiffer, more durable material that won't warp during lamination.

[Top]

A: As you are configuring your badge design, one of the options you will be offered is to include a "slot punch" on your card. This is simply a slot hole punched at the center top of the card which can be used to attach an accessory. Certain accessories require a slot hole to attach to the card. These include strap clips, lanyards, and badge reels. We also offer some accessories that do not require a slot hole, such as vinyl badge holders, magnetic plate attachments, and "Gripper Clips". Also, no punch is needed if you combine a vinyl badge holder with a lanyard, clip, or reel.

[Top]

A: The answer is "maybe". We do offer prox cards as an option. However, you will need to verify that your system can work with standard 26-bit non-proprietary proximity cards. Some access control systems are configured to only work with proprietary cards supplied by the original system manufacturer. Many of these systems can be programmed to also accept the non-proprietary cards. However, you will need to have someone who knows how to do this at your facility. When you select the Prox Card option, you will be asked to provide your "Facility Code" (sometimes called a "Site Code") . The Facility Code is a number between 0 and 255. You will also need to specify the starting card sequence number, which is a serialized number unique to each specific card. Please note that sequence numbers cannot be higher than 65536. If you are already using proximity cards at your facility, you should find out the highest card number of the cards you already have. Typically, this card number is printed somewhere on the card. Then, when ordering new cards, specify the next highest number as the starting sequence of the new batch. We charge a one-time $25 fee for setting up prox card programming. If you do not know your Facility Code, or do not know if you have non-proprietary cards, please Contact Us. If you can send us a sample card that works with your system, we can scan it to determine the format and facility code. When you order cards from us, we strongly recommend that you first order a single card to test with your system to make sure it works properly before ordering a large number of cards. Once the cards have been programmed and printed, we cannot provide refunds or free reprints for cards that do not work with the programming information you provide.

[Top]

A: Our system will accept most common image file types for background images, logos, and cardholder photos. These include .bmp, .jpg, .png, .tif, .pcx, and .wmf files. Please note, however, that there are some variations within each of these file types that can cause problems with our system. The color format should be set to RGB (not CMYK, Indexed, Grayscale, etc.). You may need to open the file in a graphics application (for example, Photoshop) to determine these settings (and convert to RGB, if necessary). We also recommend that if your graphics application gives you the ability to do so, save the file in "Baseline" or "Standard" format (not "Optimized", "Interlaced" or "Progressive").

[Top]

A: Our card printers print images at 300dpi. Ideally, any images that you upload for your badge design should be saved with a resolution setting of 300dpi. Generally, a setting of 150dpi or higher produces acceptable quality prints. Images copied from websites generally are intended for on-screen viewing only—not printing, and usually have a low resolution setting of 72-96dpi. If you use this type of web image in your card design, when printed, the image may appear blurry or pixilated, especially if you increase the scale (size) of the image after uploading it. We strongly recommend that you do not use images originally configured for web use. Whenever possible, try to obtain a version of the image which is formatted for use on printed documents with a resolution of at least 150dpi (preferably 300dpi). There is no need to configure image files with resolution settings higher than 300dpi. This just makes the image file very large, and takes longer to download. But it gives you no added benefit to go above 300dpi.

[Top]

A: Currently, our system is only fully compatible with Internet Explorer (version 5.0 and newer) running on a Windows PC. You can access our website from other browsers and operating systems, and most of the features will work properly. However, some of the critical design and order processing features of the site may not function properly. We request that you please only access the site from a Windows computer using Internet Explorer. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

[Top]

A: When we first created this website, it was quite a challenge to create a full-featured ID card design application that could run completely from within a web browser, with no special software to install. At that time, the available development tools to provide the needed functionality were only fully compatible with Internet Explorer browsers running on a Windows PC. As other browsers have become available, and have increased in popularity, the development tools which would provide compatibility with these other browsers have become available. However, the cost to convert much of our original back-end code to make it compatible with other browser types would be substantial. And at this time, we cannot justify the cost to make this change. We are aware that not all of our customers choose to use a Windows PC, or Internet Explorer as their browser, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

[Top]

A: In most cases, no. We are aware that some governmental agencies or large corporations have restrictions on using credit cards for this type of service. If this applies to you, and you need to purchase more than 50 badges, please contact us to discuss other payment options.

[Top]

A: Yes. Our service is intended to be used for legitimate business or organizational purposes only. We reserve the right to reject card designs which are obviously intended for fraudulent or illegal purposes. We do not accept orders for "fake IDs". We will reject any design which purports to have been issued by any governmental agency (foreign or domestic), which contains any governmental seal, or which grants any type of government-controlled permissions (for example, gun permits), unless proper authorization can be confirmed. Legitimate agencies who wish to use are services are welcome to place an order with us. Upon receipt of your order, we will contact you to confirm that you have proper authorization to obtain the credentials. We will also contact customers ordering cards which we determine to be of a "sensitive" nature, such as credentials for emergency services personnel, utility companies, delivery companies, etc. The bottom line is that legitimate customers are welcome to use our services. Questionable orders will be checked out. And non-legitimate orders will be rejected.

[Top]

A: No.

[Top]

A: Yes, for those customers who have a large number of badges to order, we provide a way for you to upload your cardholder database and photos as a batch. Instructions on how to do this can be viewed here.

[Top]

A: Yes. When you create a cardholder record, it is stored in your account, and can be retrieved later to reorder badges. To access this feature, you need to do the following. After logging in, click on the "Badging Mode" menu and select "Expert Mode". Next, click Production. When you get to the "Produce a Badge" screen, click the button near the top of the screen labeled "Retrieve Records from Database". This will display a list of all the previously saved records in the database. Search through the list until you find the record you wish to use. When you click on the name, a preview image of the cardholder's badge will appear on the screen. If you need to make changes to the stored information, or upload a new photo, click the "Edit Badge" button. You can then make the needed changes, then click "Update Badge" to save the changes. Select the records you want to re-order (hold down the CTRL button while clicking to select multiple records), then click the "Add to Cart" button to send the badges to your shopping cart.

[Top]