Where to buy and print NFC cards

You source the cards; 9x12 CRM gives every card a permanent code, its tap address and a QR code. You never need a special card, only one with a standard NFC chip.

Pick the chip

Buy cards with an NXP NTAG213, NTAG215 or NTAG216 chip. They work with iPhones and Android phones and differ only in memory (144, 504 and 888 bytes, per NXP's datasheet).

• Our tap address is short (about 40 characters), so NTAG213 is enough. It's usually the cheapest.
• NTAG215 and NTAG216 work just as well; buy them if they're the same price.
• Avoid MIFARE Classic and other access-control chips: many iPhones can't read them as a web link.

Pick the card

• PVC, CR80 size (85.6 × 54 mm, 3.370 × 2.125 in, the size of a credit card) is the standard. Most suppliers and card printers use it.
• Wood, bamboo or metal cards look premium. Metal blocks NFC, so metal cards have the chip in a non-metal area; check with the supplier.
• Stands and stickers: acrylic counter stands and round NFC stickers (often NTAG213) are good for review cards on a counter or table.

Where to get them

• Blank printable cards in the US: ID card suppliers sell packs of PVC cards with an NTAG215 chip that print on an inkjet printer with a card tray. For example, Brainstorm ID Supply sells packs of 50. Good for small runs and samples.
• Printed cards from a print shop: many NFC card printers print your design in full colour, both sides, and can also write the address to the chip. Ask for it.
• Factory direct: overseas manufacturers sell printed CR80 NTAG cards for well under $1 a card with minimums of about 100 to 1,000 cards. Always order samples first and allow for shipping, duties and delivery time.

Ask any supplier: Which chip is it? Can you write a different web address to each card? Do you lock the chips? Can I have samples?

Print them yourself

• Inkjet + PVC card tray: cheapest way to start. Use inkjet-printable PVC cards only.
• Card printer (Zebra, Magicard and similar): prints edge to edge on standard PVC cards, quickly and in volume. Check that the printer takes cards with a chip inlay.
• Keep the design 3 mm (1/8 in) inside the edge, and put the QR code on the back: phones without NFC can scan it instead.

Get the codes and QR files

1. In the CRM, go to Bio profiles → NFC cards → Make card codes. Choose the type and how many (up to 500 at a time). To link them all to one profile now, pick it; otherwise each card is set up with a tap.
2. Download the CSV for the printer: one row per card, with the code and the address to write to its chip.
3. Open the QR sheet to print or to send to the printer with the artwork: one QR per card, each matching its chip.

Write the address to each chip

If your printer doesn't encode the chips, write them yourself with a phone. A free app such as NFC Tools (iPhone and Android) is enough:

1. Open the app and choose Write → Add a record → URL.
2. Enter the card's address from the CSV, for example https://youragency.com/tap/3f9a1c2b7d.
3. Write, then hold the card to the phone.
4. Tap the card with another phone to test it. Each tap shows in the CRM.

Each card's address never changes, so you can lock the chip after writing it: nobody can overwrite it, and you can still move the card to another profile from the CRM at any time.

Write each card's own address. Two cards with the same address count as one card, and switching one off switches off both.