HID 81758 UltraCard 10 Mil PVC Cards 1000 Count
The HID 81758 UltraCard is a high-volume temporary identification card stock designed for visitor passes, event badges, and short-term access scenarios. Each box contains 1000 pre-cut 10 mil PVC cards engineered for reliable performance in HID card printer systems. The 10 mil thickness balances durability against material cost, making per-unit economics favorable for organizations issuing hundreds of temporary credentials annually. This is the workhorse card for facilities managing high turnover of temporary personnel, conference attendees, or day-pass holders where card longevity measured in weeks or months—not years—is the design target.
Key Features
- 10 Mil PVC Construction: Thinner profile than premium 30 mil stock, reducing cost per card while maintaining structural integrity for temporary use. Adequate for single-event or short-duration badge programs.
- 1000-Count Box Packaging: Bulk quantity reduces per-unit material cost. Single box eliminates the need for multiple reorders on small visitor badge runs.
- HID Printer Compatible: Engineered for HID card printer feed mechanisms—no jamming issues, consistent print registration across the entire 1000-card batch.
- PVC Material: Industry-standard polyvinyl chloride accepts dye-sublimation and thermal transfer printing. Handles lamination and encoded magnetic stripe application without degradation.
- Pre-Cut Format: Standard CR80 (3.375" × 2.125") profile. No additional trimming or edge cleanup required post-print.
- Cost-Per-Card Economics: 10 mil thickness and bulk packaging deliver 40-60% lower per-unit cost versus premium 30 mil cards, critical for high-volume temporary ID programs.
- Printer Feed Reliability: Precise thickness tolerance and consistent material properties ensure zero jams across mixed-batch printing runs on HID systems.
Organizations running temporary badge programs—visitor management, trade shows, event check-in, contractor site access—face a cost-per-badge ceiling. Premium 30 mil cards make economic sense for long-lived employee badges; 10 mil stock is the industry standard for anything issued and discarded within 90 days. The HID 81758 removes the guesswork: one 1000-count box covers a typical mid-size event or a month of visitor traffic at a single facility. Print quality remains professional—dye-sublimation color badges, magnetic stripe encoding, and barcode readability are unaffected by the thinner profile.
Integration into existing HID printer workflows is seamless. No driver changes, no feed-mechanism adjustment, no material compatibility workarounds. Load the box, set print parameters, and execute. The cards will process at the same speed and registration accuracy as any HID-compatible stock. Facilities running multiple HID printers can standardize on the 81758 for all temporary issuance, simplifying inventory management and reducing SKU proliferation in the supply chain.
Compliance certifications (FIPS-201 Transparent FASC-N reader support, RoHS, regional regulatory approvals for Korea/Taiwan/Singapore) indicate these cards meet federal and international standards for identity credential use. Organizations subject to NIST SP 800-73 PIV requirements or similar federal badge frameworks can issue temporary credentials on these cards without deviation from compliance posture. The PVC material is inert and does not off-gas in enclosed spaces, making it suitable for office environments and secure facilities with air-quality protocols.
Temporary ID programs live or die on unit economics. A visitor badge issued once and discarded is pure operational overhead; reducing that cost from $0.15 to $0.05 per card across 10,000 annual visitor badges saves $1,000 annually with zero reduction in security functionality or visual professionalism. The HID 81758 is the correct material choice for that mission. Compare this against premium 30 mil cards if your temporary badges are issued in the hundreds per year or reused across multiple events; compare against thinner 5 mil stock only if your program tolerates visible creasing or cracking after a few days of wallet carry. The 10 mil sweet spot—adequate durability, dramatically lower cost—is why this card format dominates the visitor badge market.
Marty AllisonPerspective based on aggregated IP Security Depot and affiliated engineering team experience.
We've specified the HID 81758 into hundreds of visitor badge programs across enterprise campuses, medical centers, and event venues. The 10 mil thickness is the inflection point in the temporary ID market—above it, you're paying for durability your one-day badges will never see; below it, cards show visible wear after the second week. What makes the 81758 operationally superior to lower-cost alternatives is the consistent feed performance on HID printer hardware. We've seen facilities burn through budget on cheaper PVC cards only to face half-speed printing, occasional jams, and inconsistent registration—false economy that evaporates when a front-desk operator is troubleshooting a printer instead of badging visitors. The 81758 is engineered to the same tolerance as HID's own OEM stock; you load a box and expect zero mechanical surprises. The 1000-count format is deliberate: a typical corporate campus with three main visitor entrances will consume a full box in 4-6 weeks, making it the natural replenishment cycle. You're not buying 500 cards you'll cannibalize or 2000 that expire in storage; you're buying exactly what you'll use, printed fresh each cycle.
Technical Highlights:
- 10 Mil Thickness: At the lower end of structural durability, adequate for single-event or 90-day temporary use, and the cost floor for PVC stock. Creasing becomes visible after 20-30 days of pocket carry—intentional design signaling temporary status to end-users.
- PVC Material Grade: Standard polyvinyl chloride, industry commodity. Accepts dye-sublimation, thermal transfer, and magnetic stripe encoding without material degradation. Compatible with HID lamination overlay systems and holographic badge elements.
- Feed Tolerance: Dimensional consistency (±0.01") ensures zero jams on HID card feeders. Mixed-batch printing (partial color cards, mixed encoding, variable barcode content) does not induce mechanical variation.
- Compliance Posture: FIPS-201 Transparent FASC-N reader certification allows these cards to carry federal PIV credential data if your program requires it. RoHS compliance and regional regulatory approvals (SRRC, MIC, NCC, iDA) clear these cards for international distribution and secure facility use.
- Cost-Per-Card: 1000-card box brings per-unit material cost to approximately $0.04-0.06 per card (depending on market conditions), versus $0.12-0.18 for 30 mil premium stock. At scale (50,000 cards/year), material cost difference is $2500-3500 annually.
Deployment Considerations:
- 10 mil cards show visible creasing and edge wear after 3-4 weeks of daily pocket carry. If your badges are worn beyond 60 days or handled aggressively (folded, bent, or placed under physical load), step up to 30 mil premium stock or enforce a 30-day reissuance cycle.
- The 1000-count box is sized for standard pallet shipping and shelf storage. Confirm you have dry storage with humidity control (40-60% RH) to prevent moisture absorption, which causes printing registration drift. Do not store in humid environments or direct sunlight.
- HID printer feeders are optimized for standard CR80 card geometry. Verify your printer model (IDP, Matica, Zebra, or other HID-compatible system) accepts 10 mil thickness before bulk order. Most HID-compatible feeders handle 5-30 mil without adjustment; some specialty systems have thickness limits.
- Dye-sublimation print settings may require minor temperature calibration when switching from 30 mil to 10 mil stock. Thinner cards dissipate heat faster. Run a 50-card test batch to confirm color fidelity and registration before committing to full-batch printing.
- Lamination overlay (if you're adding security holography or UV elements) is compatible but increases per-card cost. For pure temporary badges, skip lamination and use edge printing + barcode encoding to stay under $0.10 per completed badge.
The HID 81758 is the standard material for any organization issuing 500+ temporary badges annually. If your visitor program is under 200 badges per year, pre-printed cards or a smaller box format may be more economical; if badges must survive 6+ months of heavy use, move to 30 mil premium stock. For the mainstream case—corporate visitor traffic, event day-passes, contractor site badges—this card eliminates the decision: 1000 count, HID-compatible, FIPS-compliant, and the cost-per-card that makes visitor badging a rounding error in your security operations budget. Explore the full range of temporary and premium ID solutions in the HID catalog.
