TWAIN
Glossary
TWAIN
How many ID cards do you
want to make per year?
TWAIN is a not-for-profit organization set up in 1992 by companies in the imaging industry to establish and maintain a standard for software that linked image-processing computer programs like ID badge software and "image acquisition devices" such as ID card cameras.
The specifications written in TWAIN now serve as a guide for scanner and camera companies creating new drivers for their products. Drivers are software programs that need to be installed on computers to run digital cameras and are usually available at no charge from the cameras' vendors on their web sites.
Companies such as Adobe, HP, Epson, and Fujitsu make their scanners TWAIN compatible as a matter of course. If you wish to buy an ID camera or photo ID card system, it is good to know that companies like Logitech (with its Clicksmart brand) and Synercard (with its Imago digital video camera) follow this protocol as well.
Of course, the best insurance of compatibility is to buy a complete ID badge system from an established vendor of ID card systems; this way you know that ID card printer, ID card printer ribbon, ID card software, and the blank ID cards themselves will all work together to produce the security ID badges you need.
