How to Make Your Own Staff ID Cards
How to Make Your Own Staff ID Cards: A Step-by-Step Guide with Free Templates
From schools and offices to healthcare and retail, staff ID cards are more than just name tags. They're essential for security, professionalism, and brand identity. For UK businesses of all sizes, looking for a cost-effective way to get started, this guide will show you how to make your own staff ID cards!
Whether you’re running a large or small business, charity, or educational institution, enjoy high quality ID cards! Design, customise, and print professional staff ID cards on your own.
Why Use an In-House ID Card Printer?
Choosing to print staff ID cards yourself, rather than outsourcing, offers several clear advantages.
One major benefit is simply that printing the cards in house saves time. Instead of waiting days for delivery, you can produce cards instantly, which is especially useful for onboarding new students, staff or replacing lost IDs.
Second, it gives you complete control. You decide how your cards look, what security features to include, and how data is handled. However, with a good ID printing company, like CardHero, you will also get to enjoy these benefits.
Finally, it can be cost-effective. Once you have the equipment, the cost per card is significantly lower long-term compared to using a third-party printing service, depending on how large the volume of ID cards printed is.
For many organisations looking to issue staff ID cards UK wide or locally, an in-house solution is both practical and scalable.
What You Need to Get Started
To make your own staff ID cards with a printer, you'll need a few key components:
-
A professional ID card printer (view the experts top picks here!)
-
Design software (we include free design software with every printer!)
-
High-resolution staff photos
-
Your company logo in a high quality format for best results, and brand colours or artwork you wish to use.
-
Any staff id card templates you wish to use or reference.
Designing Staff ID Cards: Templates Make It Easy
Don't worry! You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create great-looking ID cards. Using editable staff ID card templates makes the process fast and foolproof. These templates are already sized correctly for ID card printers and include placeholders for:
- Staff photo
- Full name and job title
- Company logo and colours
- Employee ID number
- Expiry or issue date
- Barcode or QR code (optional)
👉 View our free staff ID card templates here
Create the artboard size depending on the size of your blank ID cards. If you're printing standard sized, these will be CR80, commonly known as credit card size. The dimensions for these are 85.6mm x 54mm or 3.375 inches x 2.125 inches.
If you are printing another sized card, the product description will contain the specific sizing for you to use. Additionally, confirm that the ID printer is compatible with these.
Printing Staff ID Cards with an ID Card Printer
Once your design is ready, it's time to print staff ID cards. This is where a dedicated card printer makes all the difference.
Start by loading your blank PVC cards into the printer. Choose your print settings (single-sided or double-sided, full colour or monochrome) and run a test card. If you purchase a direct to card printer, a thin white border on the outside the card is normal. A retransfer printer however, will not have this issue. This is due to the printing process that differentiates them.
Most printers also support encoding features such as magnetic stripes, barcodes, QR codes, or even RFID chips for access control. If your business requires secure access or time tracking, this functionality is essential.
Unlike DIY methods that rely on office printers and laminated paper, this setup ensures your ID cards for staff are waterproof, tamper-resistant, and built to last, and professional looking.
Managing Data and Batch Printing
If you're printing cards for a larger team, you don’t need to enter each staff member’s details manually. Most ID card software allows you to import a spreadsheet with employee names, titles, photos, and other information. The software can then automatically populate each field in the template and batch print every card with just a few clicks.
This approach is ideal for HR departments, schools, or organisations that onboard new staff regularly and want to keep their staff ID cards printing process efficient and accurate.
Card Holders, Accessories & Presentation
Once printed, your cards are ready for use. For daily wear, consider issuing card holders, badge reels, or branded lanyards. These help prevent damage, ensure staff display their IDs clearly, and reinforce your brand presence.
Good presentation matters, especially in industries where professionalism and trust are important, like healthcare, education, retail, and public services.
When to Use Professional Printing Services
There’s no doubt that printing in-house gives you control and speed, but it’s not always the best option for every situation. For example, if you need high-volume printing for a one-off event, or you require advanced features like holograms, custom card shapes, or dual-technology encoding, you might benefit from outsourcing.
At Lesar, we offer both in-house solutions and professional staff ID cards printing services across the UK—giving you the flexibility to choose what works best for your business.
👉 Request a quote for bulk ID card printing
👉 Browse our range of ID card printers and supplies
For detailed technical support or specific product recommendations, we offer extensive resources and guidance. Call us on 0333 7000 123, or contact our friendly team of experts here!