Student QR ID cards for tutoring centers: how to print and use them instead of phones

At any tutoring center, the classroom door is where the crowd builds up. If entry depends on students opening a QR code on their phone, every day you will meet a student without a phone, with a dead battery, or who isn't allowed to bring one to school. The simple fix many centers ask for: a printed card with the same code.

Why a card beats a phone for some students

• Many primary and preparatory students don't own a phone.
• Schools ban phones, and students come straight from school to the center.
• A dead battery or weak connection blocks the student portal.
• Scanning a card is faster than a student finding and opening an app in the queue.

The card doesn't replace the student portal. Both carry exactly the same code, and the student can enter with either.

How the card works in CenterID

Every CenterID student has a personal QR code. The code is a random value with no meaning outside the system: not a phone number or a name, so a photo of it reveals nothing.

1. 1The student shows the card to the supervisor at the door.
2. 2The supervisor scans it with a phone camera from the scanner page.
3. 3The student's name, photo and grade appear, so the supervisor can confirm it's the card's owner.
4. 4With a subscription, the session is deducted and the sessions left are shown. Without one, the supervisor collects the fee in cash and the payment is logged.

What's on the card

• The center's name across the top.
• The student's photo, so the supervisor can match faces quickly.
• The student's name and grade.
• A short student number, handy for looking them up.
• A large QR code that scans easily.

The student's phone number is left off on purpose, so a lost card doesn't expose their details.

The card is 85.6 × 54 mm, the same size as a bank card (the CR80 standard), so it fits any standard badge holder or lanyard.

Three ways to print the cards

Our advice: start with paper and lamination, and consider a card printer as you grow. The system prints for both from the same screen.

Printing from CenterID, step by step

1. 1From the reception dashboard, open "Print ID cards", or tap the card icon next to any student in the students list.
2. 2Pick students one by one, or filter by grade and tap "Select all".
3. 3Choose a layout: "A4 paper" fits 10 cards per page, "Card printer" puts each card on its own card-sized page.
4. 4Print, and choose "Actual size" or 100% in the print dialog, not "Fit to page", so the size stays exact.
5. 5On paper: cut along each card's border and laminate it so it lasts.

Print one test card first and scan it with the supervisor's phone before printing the whole batch.

Card lost, or photographed and shared?

On the cards page, tap "New code" under the student's card. The student gets a new code, and the old card and any photos of it stop working. Then print a new card; the new code also shows up in the student portal.

The scanner refreshes student data on its own every 3 minutes. If someone scans the old card before that, the server rejects it, the scanner switches to a "code cancelled" message, and no attendance is logged.

Even without a new code, the photo shown with every scan lets the supervisor catch someone using a classmate's card.

Common questions