How To Not Break Your Proximity Card While Slot Punching

ID card printer, IDP printers and accessories

Slot punching ID cards are an easy and efficient way to attach an ID card to ID accessories. However, if you are not careful enough, you can end up breaking your proximity card or even your ID card printer. Therefore our experts in IDP printers and accessories explain how to slot punch your proximity cards. 

Why Slot Punch Proximity Cards? 

Slot punching ID cards make it very easy to use the cards with ID accessories like badge reels and lanyards, thereby helping to keep the cards visible while people are in your building. In addition, scanning or swiping cards can be made easy as badge reels and lanyards help keep the cards close at hand. 

Slot Punching Proximity Cards 

It is very easy to slot punch ID cards. To slot punch your proximity cards, you will just need a card slot punch and some carefulness. You need to be very careful while slot punching proximity cards as these cards will have copper antennas within them. If you are careless and slot punch in the wrong area, you may cut through the antenna and your card will no longer work. To avoid this, manufacturers mark where to punch on the card. You should take care to slot punch in the designated spot to avoid damaging the card. 

In most of the proximity cards, the slot punch location will be marked with small dots and if you are unable to find these markings on your proximity cards, you should get in touch with an ID card professional in your area to get help with slot punching the card without breaking it. Alternatively, you may also order your proximity cards pre-punched from the manufacturer when you order the prox cards. However, ordering pre-punched cards might not be a feasible idea if you plan to print on the card yourself. This is because printing on a pre-punched card can damage the printhead of your ID card printer. 

As said above, slot punching ID cards can be a good option to attach your proximity cards to ID card accessories like lanyards or badge reels. But, if you do not wish to slot punch your proximity cards, you can always place them in ID badge holders. These badge holders can then be attached to badge reels or lanyards, thereby helping you to avoid punching the cards.