Identifying the Need
ISG member Data Equipment provided card issuance solutions to a large resort chain located in the Orlando, FL area that could encode contactless MIFARE and magnetic stripe cards from door access manufacturer dormakaba.
Their new MIFARE card solution offered greater ease of use for customers, as well as more reliability and security, and opened the option to move to smart wristbands and mobile phone access in the future.
However, they also needed a solution for printing and encoding the cards in the same process. If not, they would have to do the encoding offline, which would take longer, and increase their risk of a faulty card issuance. They also needed to implement this new solution at multiple locations.
The ISG Solution
Working directly with dormakaba, Data Equipment provided the Datacard CD800 card printer that could encode their SafLok door access system data to the new MIFARE cards during the print process. The CD800 is an “open card” format printer, used by hotels, casinos, theme parks and cruise lines worldwide. It receives ASCII data from a connected PC, and quickly converts it into printing and encoding information.
Data Equipment also worked directly with a well-known, related Orlando theme park to allow authorized guests to have park access with the same MIFARE cards. They were then able to install this solution at seven resort locations in central Florida, issuing multiple preprinted card versions. Each card is personalized with the guest’s name and a custom barcode, as well as encoding both the magnetic stripe and MiFARE contactless chip.
Proven Results
The resort client was very pleased with the resulting card issuance solution and the enhanced access benefits their guests receive at the hotel and the theme park. Data Equipment was able to provide this solution at multiple locations for them, with the expectation of adding more sites in the coming year. They have installed about 90 CD800 printers so far, issuing well over 3 million personalized MIFARE guest cards each year.