After the ID card is scanned and other information is entered into the system, a customized visitor badge is printed. Visitor badges can include any information that was scanned or captured during check-in, and customized to meet specific needs. There are many sizes and types of visitor IDs, including adhesive, clip-on, self-laminating, expiring, and badges that can be inserted into a plastic sleeve. While employee badges are generally hard plastic, visitor badges tend to be more temporary, using paper or card stock. They can also be produced with a black-and-white or color printer. An inexpensive option for black-and-white badges is a thermal printer that does not contain ink cartridges.
For higher-volume applications and/or situations where more permanent visitor badges are desired for frequently-returning guests, there is the option of direct-to-card (DTC) printers. Although these previously were prohibitively expensive for visitor management applications, the latest low-cost monochrome DTC printers offer an economical way to print higher-quality badges than can be created with thermal printers. Monochrome DTC printers combine quality, reliability and ease of use, while providing organizations with a solution that is cost-effective to own and operate and offers a low total cost of ownership.
With these components in place, a visitor management solution should enable a lobby attendant to complete the check-in process and print a visitor badge in about 20 seconds per visitor. Any number of visitor badging systems can be stationed in different locations in an enterprise, including remote field offices, and they can all share a database over the network for centralized monitoring and reporting.
The next element to consider in a visitor management system is analytical tools. Today's visitor systems include report wizards that enable users to generate customized reports in seconds, and store and disseminate this report data immediately. Leveraging visitor management analytics offers many potential benefits. For instance, users can identify trends and their implications, and assess operational areas where processes may need to be improved. Users may also want to automatically track and compile information about certain types of visitor by location, or they may want to verify contractor arrival and departure times to make sure they are meeting agreed-upon deliverables.