Printer authentication via proximity cards?

[dgsmith]

We've recently acquired a quantity of new printers that have the capability for HP Access Control proximity readers to be installed. Whilst this sounds useful, the cost of the readers from HP is somewhat prohibitive.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has gone down the route of card touching/swiping for printer authentication, how this works in general and whether there is any knowledge for alternative (cheaper) readers that may work for HP printers? The cost for the HP units are over £100 per reader but there are extremely cheap £2 ones ebay, though one would wonder if the HP machines would even be compatible with them!

[MatthewL]

£100 per reader is quite cheap, the ones I had were around £170 each and they are a RFIdeas multipurpose one.

 

They can be programmed to different types of proximity cards.

 

Often companies who lease copiers will include the card reader in with the quarterly rental to make it cheaper.

[dgsmith]

The HP one is about £130 and the rfideas one is about £100, but prohibitive in terms of what money we have left over and into 4 figures to fit to all the new printers. I was keen to know if anyone has used, or has knowledge on the cheap few quid ones which apparently run on the same frequency and how the general setup on the printers is. They are in effect just like generic keyboards I guess, just with a different way of processing the data, but it'd be encouraging to know of anyone who has used, with success, an array of budget end readers within their printers.

[MatthewL]

You need to be very careful as there over 30 different types of proximity and if you start mix matching readers they can all read slightly different.