Schools, hospitals, and other organizations have visitors on premises at varying times throughout the day. More than likely, you've decided that you need visitor badges for either security reasons or to more easily identify who is on site at any given time. Depending on what your visitors do on-site, you may need either plastic or paper visitor badges. Let's look at each to get an idea of their viability and uses.
Plastic visitor badges
If you have visitors who need special access to different parts of your facilities or building, you need plastic visitor badges. Visitors can swipe plastic visitor cards through card readers to gain entry to restricted areas after they've been cleared for access. You obviously can't swipe paper badges, mainly because they wouldn't stand up to the wear and tear, but also because they're not designed for access.
Another condition that calls for plastic visitor badges is when you have contractors or vendors visiting your site or facilities often. A contractor on-site several times a week would need the durability of a plastic visitor badge, but more importantly, plastic badges can be tracked with a visitor management system. You have so much more functionality with a visitor management system that produces plastic visitor badges. For example, you can tell at a moment's notice who is on site and whom they are visiting. When you issue paper visitor badges, they're not tied to a system, meaning you have no way of tracking individuals.
Paper visitor badges
There is a time and place for paper visitor badges, specifically self-expiring paper visitor badges. These are an easy way to issue badges that show at a glance when someone's visit to your facility or offices is up. Self-expiring visitor badges either change colors or over time, show an indication of expiration like the word "Void" or "Expired," or lines through the badge. Regardless, after a set amount of time, a self-expiring badge is easy to see at a glance who shouldn't be on site.
Self-expiring paper visitor badges come in several time limitations such as 4 hours, a full day, a week, and even longer. Depending on who you need to issue visitor badges to, you can select the time limit most appropriate. For example, you may have a contractor who will be on site for 30 days working on a special project. You can issue a self-expiring visitor badge that lasts for 30 days, after which it's immediately clear when time has expired.
Enhance safety and security
Regardless if you choose paper or plastic visitor badges, your focus is to enhance the safety and security of your facility and your employees and students. Establish a visitor policy that requires an issued ID badge or card upon entry. This makes it easy for security personnel and others to identify at a glance who belongs and who doesn't.
You can also restrict access to certain locations when you issue visitor badges. If you issue self-expiring paper ID badges, you can tell if someone is still within his or her approved time for being on site. On the other hand, if you issue plastic ID cards, you can restrict access to areas by coding each card individually. Say you have restricted areas that require cardholders to swipe access badges to gain entry. You can restrict such areas from visitors easily with a plastic card.
Another security enhancement of issuing paper or plastic visitor badges is the deterrent effect. When nefarious individuals see they can't stroll onto your property wherever and whenever they like, they're less likely to try to gain unauthorized access. With a visitor management policy in place that authorizes and issues cards to validated visitors, you won't have illegitimate people walking your halls or accessing information they shouldn't.
How to choose between paper or plastic visitor badges
What's most important to your organization? You can handle security with either self-expiring badges that let you know at a glance when someone's time is up or by plastic badges that restrict access to certain areas. It depends on the type of security you need for your facilities which visitor badges you choose.
If you need a simple, straightforward way to identify when someone may be on your company premises, choose a paper, self-expiring visitor badge. But if you have visitors like contractors who need access to certain locations in your facilities, you need something more substantial like a PVC card they can swipe.
If you need to monitor who is on site and where they are, you may need plastic or PVC visitor badges that lets you track visitors. Otherwise, if you need security personnel to see at a glance if someone's visiting privileges have expired, choose a paper, self-expiring badge. Another caveat of self-expiring badges is they can't be passed on to someone else to gain unauthorized access to your facilities, another safety concern to consider.
Final thoughts
Deciding whether you need plastic or paper visitor badges depends on a few factors. One isn't necessarily better than the other; however, each has a specific purpose and will enhance your visitor management program better than the other depending on your needs.
If you're still uncertain which visitor badge to issue, contact an Idesco ID Expert at (212)-889-2530 to discuss your options. We'll guide you to the best solution for your business and your security needs. Always remember, whichever solution you choose, you're guaranteed the lowest price online with Idesco.