How to Create Library Patron Cum Institute ID card in Koha LMS

Koha has a lovely feature in which you can create printable patron cards.  Most academic librarians use this feature to make a simple patron card for the library because they get the ID card separately for the Institute.  

Here we will try to make an attractive corporate-looking Institute Identity cum library patron card.

Size of Card

Generally, we use the most popular Identity card size 86*54mm. This is the same size as an Aadhar card, PAN card, or Voter Id card. We will use the same but will keep the design vertically instead of horizontally

1st we need to design a header image for the patron card. You can copy the image of the header from your institute's website and resize it. (Preferably remove the background of the image)

Header Image for Front Side

Remember the Header’s width and length should be suitable for your ID card otherwise, it will not look good. If the header image of your institution’s website is not suitable (after resizing) for your identity card then it is recommended that you should design it yourself. Canva is a good website to provide the tools to design header images

Now prepare the backside image for the ID card. I just created the following image.

Image for Backside

Upload Images 

Tools → Patrons Card Creator → Manage Images 

Upload both images one by one and give the name of the images (e.g. Header, Backside Image)

Create a new Layout or edit one (For the Front side ID card)

 Tools → Patrons Card Creator → New → New Layout 

In the 'Image 1' section select the 'patron image' as the image source and In the 'Image 2' section select the 'other image' and choose 'header' (or image name which was uploaded for the front side) as the 'image source'. And fill the value in the boxes as given in the below picture 

*Click on the below image to enlarge the view

Create a new Layout or edit one (For the backside ID card)

 Tools → Patrons Card Creator → New → New Layout

In the 'Image 1' section select the 'other image' and choose 'backside' (or image name uploaded for backside) as the 'Image source.  You can leave blank the 'Image 2' section. Further, fill in the value in the boxes as given in the below image.

*Click on the below image to enlarge the view

Create a new Template or edit one 

Tools → Patrons Card Creator → New → Card Template

Create ID (Patrons) Cards

Tools → Patrons Card Creator → New → Card Batch

Add patrons, Select the template and layouts for both sides, and finally export the batch in .pdf format.

Now Patron Cards are ready to Print