School ID Card Size and Material Guide

The standard ID card size is called CR80, or ID-1 under the ISO/IEC 7810 standard. It measures 85.60 x 53.98 mm, which is 3.370 x 2.125 inches. In plain words, it is the same size as a credit card or ATM card. Most printers in India round it off and write 86 x 54 mm on their listings.

The standard thickness is 0.76 mm, also written as 30 mil. The corners are rounded, with a radius of 2.88 to 3.48 mm, so the card does not poke or tear shirt pockets.

Stick to this size. Holders, lanyards, wallets and card printers are all built around CR80. An odd size looks creative in a sample but causes trouble for years.

If a designer asks for the ID card size in pixels, do not guess. Pixel size depends on the print resolution the printer uses. Share the mm size and ask the printer what resolution they need.

A laminated paper card is a printed paper sheet sealed inside a plastic pouch. It is the cheapest option, and it fails first. The pouch peels at the edges, sweat and rain get in, and the print fades. In our experience, paper cards made in June look tired by Diwali.

A PVC card is solid plastic with the design printed on the plastic itself. There is no pouch to peel. It handles sweat, rain, school bags and rough use far better. ID card supplier ID Edge says a standard PVC card typically needs replacement every two years. Tougher composite cards can last up to ten years. Since most schools reprint cards every academic year anyway, plain PVC is more than enough.

One warning about thickness. The standard is 0.76 mm, but some low cost listings sell thinner cards. One New Delhi supplier on IndiaMART lists 0.5 mm PVC school cards. Thinner cards bend and crease more easily, so ask your vendor for the thickness in writing.

• Pick laminated paper only for one day events, temporary passes, or very tight budgets.
• Pick PVC for daily student cards, staff cards, and anything worn on a lanyard all year.

Landscape is the horizontal layout. It gives more width for a long school name and a logo strip on top. It also sits well in a wallet, like a bank card.

Portrait is the vertical layout. It hangs naturally from a lanyard. The photo box can be taller, so the face prints bigger. When the card hangs on a child's chest, gate staff can read a portrait card without touching it.

Our simple rule: if students wear the card all day on a lanyard, pick portrait. If cards mostly stay in wallets or bags, pick landscape. Keep one layout for the whole school. Mixed layouts look messy at assembly and at the gate.

A well made card with a bad photo is still a bad card. The official Passport Seva photo rules are a good checklist for school ID photos too. The photo should show the full face, front view, with eyes open. The full head should be visible, from the top of the hair to the chin, with the head centred in the frame. There should be no shadows on the face or the background. The same rules say the face should fill 80 to 85 percent of the photo. Follow that checklist and every card in the stack looks sharp.

Two more checks before you approve a full print run. First, ask for one printed sample and read every word on it: school name spelling, session year, principal signature, phone number. Second, send your school logo as a clean original file, not a photo of a photo. A blurry logo prints blurry on every single card.

Public listings give you a fair idea of the price range. On IndiaMART, one New Delhi supplier lists PVC school cards printed on both sides, with a 16 mm satin lanyard, at Rs 6 per piece. Another New Delhi supplier lists virgin PVC cards printed on both sides at Rs 15 per piece. A Kolkata supplier lists one sided cards at Rs 22 per piece.

Quantity changes the rate a lot. Rayanz Offset Printers publishes a tiered price list: Rs 50 per card for 9 cards, Rs 45 per card for 54 cards, and Rs 35 per card for 100 cards, with delivery charges extra. So always share your full student count when asking for a price. Also ask clearly if the lanyard, holder and delivery are included in the per card rate.

Also ask about time, not just price. At Quick ID Card, delivery takes about one week after photos are finalised, so it helps to place the order before the session rush.

The lanyard is the strap around the neck. The holder is the plastic pocket the card sits in. A 16 mm satin lanyard is a common school choice. Some suppliers bundle it with the card, as the IndiaMART listing above shows.

A holder protects the print from sweat and daily rubbing. For laminated paper cards, a holder is a must. Without it the card dies in weeks. A PVC card can skip the holder: punch a slot at the top of the card and clip it straight to the lanyard.

One practical tip. Pick lanyard colours by class, section or house. Gate staff and teachers can then spot a student's group from a distance without reading the card at all.