Aptika Makes an Appearance in CardsNow Asia Magazine

Sifting through attendees for potential security breaches and developing a sense of community in cities are very distinct activities, but can easily be carried out by an ID card software solution. That is what Aptika proved in the following business cases.

Saint-Eustache Citizen ID Card
The City of Saint-Eustache is a 70-km2 territory on the north shore of the Saint-Lawrence Seaway and 15 minutes northwest of Montreal, Canada. The population of Saint-Eustache is a little over 40,000.

In the spring of 2007, the city of Saint-Eustache decided to streamline citizen identification and privilege-management processes by introducing a turnkey solution: the citizen ID card. These processes are responsible for managing access rights to services provided by the city such as the library, sporting, leisure and cultural facilities, and municipal events. Card holders also benefit from many privileges such as discounts in selected stores, restaurants, public transportation, and preferred rates on a variety of services and products.

One ID Card To Rule Them All
The citizen's card has a barcode and biometric data and features an electronic signature and a digital picture. The citizen ID card is produced free of charge for residents and at a cost of $50 for non-residents. The ID card stores essential information for the city's points-of-service in order to fulfill its administrative obligations and respond to ID card holders inquiries and needs.

Prior to having the citizen membership card, municipal services all had separate identification management processes. The library operated with its own ID card, and other units required an access certificate or another miscellaneous piece of identification.

How Was This Project Put Together?
The municipality prepared a request for tenders, which was won by Aptika. The City of Saint-Eustache acquired the necessary equipment to carry out the project: the IDpack ID card software solution, Evolis Dualys single-side card printer, biometric devices such as electronic signature pads and CamTracer digital cameras, and related supplies. The City of Saint-Eustache benefited from some additional consulting time to implement the solutions, training to provide city employees with the basics on how to operate these systems, and IDpack GearUp software customization and integration services. This integration process provided the city and its employees with the right know-how, empowering them to manage and operate the ID card system independently.

Memorial Cup Access Control ID Card

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) has held the MasterCard Memorial Cup, an important hockey competition taking place in Canada. The Memorial Cup is awarded to the winning junior ice hockey team among the 60 competing teams. The champions from the three CHL league members, Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major and Junior Hockey League (MJQHL), compete in this tournament that has been around for more than 90 years. This huge event draws thousands of spectators, athletes, event organizers and volunteers, requiring effective event management and airtight security processes.

Registration Setup
Aptika staff overseen event registration processes using the IDpack ID card software solution. The event required double-sided plastic (PVC) cards with the attendee's name and function along with the event logo and dressing on the front. The coordinates to event services such as registration, the host committee, security unit, general information, and transportation services were printed on the back of the card. The ID cards featured color coding for access control and a conditional object to monitor under-aged attendees.

Two event registration offices were operational, both connected to a secured and hosted database. The setup architecture provided speed and efficiency. Registration booth operators were not required to enter badge information in the system as the data was extracted from the main database. Once the IDpack ID card software was setup to extract badge information, one registration booth produced up to 100 ID cards per hour. Booth setups were planned for speed and reliability using Evolis Dualys double-sided printers, CamTracer performance digital cameras on tripod stand, along with laptops to operate IDpack ID card software and capture peripherals such as barcode scanners, signature pads, and fingerprint readers.

Training
The Aptika services also included several training sessions for supervisors to become acquainted with event registration management and more. Booth assistants were also provided with some training to familiarize themselves with the system and provide guidance on proper greeting techniques.

Event registration is an important process involving much planning and attention. “People often ask why register and produce ID cards or ID badges? It's a very good question to which one can find many answers. These may vary according to the nature and size of the event, and the types of services provided on site,” shared IDpack ID card software manager Martin Bourdages. “One obvious reason is to secure the site. IDpack ID card software may be linked to databases containing information about delinquent people involved in criminal activities. Access control can be created for specific places or services like cafeterias, and athletes can be monitored with regard to performance-enhancing substances.”

These examples and many more corroborate the flexibility and efficiency of ID card and ID card software technologies. Aptika has provided similar services for events such as the World Police and Fire Games (24,000 cards), a Canadian Olympic Games Committee meeting, the City of Mont-Tremblant, and many other organizations and events. For more information about these organizations and/or the projects involving ID card technologies, here are a few links to resources:

About the author Aptika is the ID card specialist with over 10 years of experience as an online store specializing in ID card and ID card software equipment, accessories and supplies. It holds a great selection of ID card printers, complete digital photo ID systems, ID card software, digital ID cameras, printer ribbons, photo ID card supplies, PVC cards and ID badge accessories - priced to fit any budget. Aptika, Take control of your security. (https://www.aptika.com/) IDpack ID card software is the most comprehensive and flexible solution for ID card, badge, and label production on the market. It helps organizations enhance their security requirements with access control cards, membership cards, convention badges, student ID cards, employee ID cards, event passes, library cards, and many other identification needs. IDpack is used on more than 15,600 computers worldwide. IDpack. Smart Security. Smart Price.