We often get quite a few inquiries from our readers on a daily basis about what we would recommend as far as Biometrics hardware, a topic we haven’t really discussed as of yet. It’s really because there are only two clear cut leaders in the biometric fingerprint access control field that could be considered clear contenders and they go after two somewhat different market segments. Those two brands in question are BioScrypt and FingerTec.

For the most part, BioScrypt has been a mainstay in the enterprise level biometric community for a while, offering amazing performance for all variety of fingerprinting requirements. About a year or two ago, BioScrypt was acquired by L-1 Identity Solutions, however their product line remained BioScrypt, so not as many people know about it as you would think. Primarily, it is because BioScrypt is such a well-known name due to the high quality of devices they manufacture. In addition to their merger, they also released their 4G Series of fingerprint readers, which have quickly become a mainstay in the biometric access control field, as well as many other biometric market segments. The Bioscrypt 4G Series of readers cover a wide variety of applications, with the 4G V-Station capable of operating as a stand-alone reader or intergrating it into a controller system. Not to mention, BioScrypt’s line of readers are compatible with many different varieties of popular credential types, such as HID Proximity Cards, MIFare/DESFire credentials and iClass Smart Credentials, some of the most popular credentials in the Enterprise Level industry. With all of these benefits, plus the new 4G Lite series of readers, which can provide very similar performance to their full-size counterparts, it’s easy to see why BioScrypt is the Commercial Enterprise Access Solution, with it’s applications ranging from large scale corporate installations to federal government installations.

On the converse, however, most end users who are looking for biometrics don’t have the financial means to buy readers costing upwards in the thousands. That’s where FingerTec Biometric Readers come in. FingerTec has only been around for a little over a decade, which is a remarkable thing when examining how explosive it’s growth has been. They undertook the task of making what was usually a very commercial, extremely high-end technology in fingerprint biometrics and brought it to mid-level consumers and small businesses that require reliable biometrics for their installations, such as jewelry stores, warehouses and other places where high-risk inventory needs to be protected. FingerTec also tapped another market that has been growing rapidly in the past few years; Fingerprint Biometrics used for Time and Attendance. A large portion of their devices, such as the Fingertec TA102, were designed to address the needs of the modern-day workplace, where time theft is most likely to occur. By using fingerprint biometrics in workplace attendance situations, FingerTec effectively elminated issues such as buddy punching and attendance fraud. Not to mention, FingerTec’s products help save companies thousands of dollars on human resources that were originally used to verify time sheets and process payroll.

Regardless of what kind of solution you’re looking for, there is an option for your intended installation, whether you’re looking for a high-end professional grade biometric fingerprint reader from BioScrypt or an economical-level fingerprint system from FingerTec.