Campus ID News
Card, mobile credential, payment and security
FEATURED
PARTNERS
CR80News logo original 2022

What the heck is CR80News?

CampusIDNews Staff   ||   Jan 01, 2002  ||   , ,

Resources to build your campus card program.

Perhaps the best way to answer the question, “What is CR80News?” is to explain the term CR80. For those who do not recognize it, CR80 is the industry name for the accepted standard ID card size. At any given time, nearly all of us are carrying a number of CR80-size cards on our person. Bank cards, drivers licenses, campus ID cards, employee badges, key cards, library cards– the list goes on and on.

Thus, the name CR80News came to life for this publication that focuses on the implementation and application of card technology. Pretty straightforward it would seem–but the name quickly came to take on a more symbolic meaning. As we researched the CR80 term, it’s origins proved incredibly difficult to pinpoint. It seemed each source we spoke with and each reference we read had a different concept of the term’s creation. No one, it seemed, was really certain.

This seems a fitting parallel for the information that CR80News will provide its readership. While card technology is pervasive in our wallets and our work responsibilities, reliable information on the obstacles, issues, and technologies is scarce. Like the term CR80, everybody has ideas, but the truth is often illusive.

While we do not claim to know it all, we do commit to work tirelessly to compile valuable, useable information from a wide variety of sources. Additionally, we will strive to present it to you in concise and user-friendly formats.

For those of you who are curious, the most likely origin of CR80 seems to be that it was the code used to identify the size selected by the Addressograph Corporation for one of the earliest ID card manufacturing machines. Addressograph is remembered for its machines that stamped names and numbers into metal tags–from military ‘dogtags’ to the precursors of the modern credit card.

There is an interesting story in how this early card technology ended up intertwined with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list of toxic sites … but we will save that one for later.

Enjoy the publication, and please provide your feedback and suggestions as we strive to make this a true resource for the campus card industry.

Chris Corum, Editor

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

RECENT ARTICLES

Harvard's Crimson Cash ends

Harvard’s Crimson Cash ends as laundry and printing move to other payment methods

Last summer, Harvard announced that it was phasing out its decades-old Crimson Cash declining balance program. Citing declining usage and the prevalence of open system debit and credit cards, they began a yearlong multi-step elimination plan. This month, the final stages of this plan will be complete, and the one of higher ed’s pioneering declining […]
Jeff Bransfield, Assa Abloy, discusses iDFace Max terminal

New facial recognition reader stores 100,000 templates, ideal for dining and athletics

A new facial recognition reader from Assa Abloy’s Control iD line can store 100,000 templates on the device, enabling standalone usage or integration with existing security systems. In a conversation with CampusIDNews, Jeff Bransfield, Regional Director of Digital Access Solutions for Assa Abloy, introduces the iDFace Max. The new seven-inch facial identification terminal is receiving […]
SNHU building
Jun 11, 25 / ,

Second largest university replaces outdated hardware with Allegion readers

While most people know Southern New Hampshire University as a private, online institution, it does have a physical campus. Its 3,000 students need ID cards, and its facilities require security and other transaction-related services. In terms of total enrollment, SNHU is the second largest accredited higher ed institution in the country. With more than 175,000 […]
CIDN logo reversed
The only publication dedicated to the use of campus cards, mobile credentials, identity and security technology in the education market. CampusIDNews – formerly CR80News – has served more than 6,500 subscribers for more than two decades.
Twitter

Attn: friends in the biometrics space. Nominations close Friday for the annual Women in Biometrics Awards. Take five minutes to recognize a colleague or even yourself. http://WomenInBiometrics.com

Feb. 1 webinar explores how mobile ordering enhanced campus life, increased sales at UVA and Central Washington @Grubhub @CBORD

Load More...
Contact
CampusIDNews is published by AVISIAN Publishing
315 E. Georgia St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
www.AVISIAN.com[email protected]
Use our contact form to submit tips, corrections, or questions to our team.
©2025 CampusIDNews. All rights reserved.