Fingerprint Readers
A reliable and cost-effective biometric solution has long been the Holy Grail for general acceptance and usage of biometrics in access control applications. Apple has led the way with fingerprint ID on phones but this is a relatively simple application in that there is only one fingerprint to compare against. When looking at commercial business applications, for example in leisure facilities, there are often 1000’s of unique fingerprints in the database. It is a much more complex and arduous task to find a match consequently. Given the complexity of what fingerprint readers are trying to achieve it is a huge step forward but there are big differences in reliability and pricing depending on the make and model you use. You should know that between 2 and 4% of the population don’t have a readable fingerprint. This might be due to age or your work meaning that your fingerprints are non-existent or faint. Clearly they don’t work through gloves of any kind and moisture or dirt on the hand can make it difficult or impossible to read. Finally, there is a hygiene issue.
When looking at which make and model to opt for it is well worth spending time considering the pros and cons of each option. We know of many of our clients who have dispensed with their fingerprint readers as the customer experience wasn’t great. Sometimes the readers just don’t read reliably enough or the response times are slow. Customers also need to know for example that their finger needs to rest on the reader for long enough for it to read the fingerprint. It’s not like a contactless card.
For all of the above reasons, at All Right Now we have standardised on the IEVOTm fingerprint readers. They are the market leader for a good reason. They are more expensive but compared to the cost of a poor customer experience and having to replace them we believe it is a price worth paying. As we often say the most expensive project is one that doesn’t work. Matched against the ongoing savings on credentials we believe that this makes the IEVOTm reader a viable option if you are looking for a biometric solution. Please call our offices on 01295-660566 or email us at enquiries@allrightnow.co.uk.
