InstantCard Web Services

Produce Photo ID Cards Directly from Your Website

InstantCard offers a web-based service which is ideally suited for companies or organizations which need to produce ID cards on-demand. Here are some examples of clients that use our web services API (Application Program Interface):

• A major corporation allows HR staff to order ID cards through their primary HR management software.
• An Association gives its members the ability to order their membership cards right from the Association’s website.
• A Security Installer allows its clients to order their custom-printed access control badges via their website.
• A training organization automatically issues credentials to each student, upon course completion, which are mailed to the student’s home.
• An online university allows students to order their own student ID cards online from their account.
• A cloud-based access control system vendor provides their customers with the option of printing cards with InstantCard, as an alternative to local printing.

In each of these cases, InstantCard offers an easy-to-implement outsourced service. While each case is unique, typical options are described below.

InstantCard Web Services can be set up to Operate in Two Manners:

1. Back-end Processing: All information is managed on the client’s website, including photo uploading. Once confirmed, the card data is sent directly to our servers in a standard language (WSDL/SOAP or REST/JSON) for immediate processing and printing, or
2. Hosted Service: The client’s website can contain a simple link to a custom page on our secure, high-availability server, which will have the “look and feel” of the customers website. All data input and formatting, including picture uploads & cropping, are handled on our easy-to-use website.

QR Codes for Credential Verification

The InstantCard CVS (Credential Verification Service) is an example of how QR codes can significantly enhance the services obtained from your ID badges. Once a badge is issued, employees continue to take training and certification courses. Rather than re-printing the badge each time a new certification is obtained, the QR code allows on-line checking of current up-to-the-minute certifications and qualifications

Visit the CVS website now.

Payment/Delivery Customization

A number of additional options are available, allowing each client to have a truly customized solution. For example, there is an option to allow individuals to pay individually for their own cards via PayPal. Cards can be mailed out with a customized letter, or with pre-determined accessories. Cards can be mailed to a pre-set address, or to the recipient’s home address. The InstantCard service can also encode the magstripe on the ID card, print a barcode or QR code, or encode the RFID/Smart Card chip in the card, if required. Individuals will see an actual image of their card, exactly as it will be printed, in their browser.

Delivery Services

Cards can be sent to a single headquarters location, or to multiple pre-arranged local delivery addresses. InstantCard also offers drop-ship services, so that an individual can enter their ship-to address, and their personalized ID card will be sent directly to them. We are also able to include customized lanyards and badge holders, if required, with each card order. All logistics are thus handled by InstantCard. The InstantCard service can also print a custom welcome letter for inclusion in the drop-shipment. Once submitted, our system queues the card order on our servers, prints the cards the same day, and mails them out directly to the member.

Payment Services

Charging is always on a per-card basis, and payments can be processed in either of two ways:

1. Per card charges are debited against an established corporate account.
2. Individuals pay for cards upon order, via PayPal, at the pre-arranged per-card rate.

By prior arrangement, a monthly invoicing option is available to large customers.

Technical Support Services

We provide your webmaster with simple instructions on how to interface your website with our server. Our technical team can provide advice and guidance, and we can even provide special code for handling such tasks as picture uploading and photo cropping. This is our specialty, we’d love to work with you!

Full documentation is available which provides the detailed commands for communicating with our system. The InstantCard service can be accessed via either (a) advanced APIs using REST and JSON, or (b) traditional APIs using WSDL and SOAP. Click here to see the API documentation.

Program Advantages

Web services can be a very inexpensive, yet high-profile way to build the brand identity of a national association, and to increase the value to members by facilitating their ability to show credentials and qualifications. It can make it very easy to implement a company-wide ID card program, especially for organizations whose members are dispersed geographically.

Above all, it avoids the overhead of setting up an in-house production process which can be expensive to operate and slow to respond to the variable nature of the demand for ID Cards.

Click for more details on web services.