Laser-Compatible Decals Provide Swift, Secure Solution | Education

3/30/2020 RRD

University’s parking pass process streamlined through digital, print-on-demand option

CHALLENGE

A large Midwestern university — with a total enrollment around 50,000 — was using an outdated, cost-heavy process for issuing temporary and permanent parking passes to students and staff, respectively. Their process consisted of a 3x5 card with pre-printed few lines to hand-write car owner information. The card also included a number as a rudimentary security feature.

The remainder of the process included two clear labels of different sizes for application to the front and back of the card. The pass would then be affixed to the inside windshield. An accompanying letter gave instructions on how to do all this.

This system was time-intensive. Hand-writing passes required logging the information into a system which added more time to the process. The manager of the department wanted a streamlined solution that was entirely digital with print-on-demand potential.

SOLUTION

RRD recommended a single-document solution that did everything the university was looking to achieve. The solution: a laser-compatible decal.

This new process would allow the client to program a system that would print the decal — which was part of an 8½ x 11 document — in one simple step. The document was laminated front and back with a laser-friendly laminate and carried all the instructions on how to apply it to a vehicle. RRD also included UV ink to add a level of protection against counterfeit decals.

RESULTS

More streamlined and easier to use than the system it replaced, the laser-compatible decal now allows the client to track passes more effectively now that the information will be in their system automatically when they issue a pass.

The decal also delivered a professional look, given that the data is now laser-printed, rather than handwritten on each decal. This added layer of legibility has improved campus enforcement’s ability to spot parking offenders.

From this project, RRD obtained additional business from the client in the form of bike tags.