The CI Solutions Print Service is a Windows-based background service that connects the Badge Web Application to a locally connected card printer.

It:

• Receives print jobs from the Badge application

• Manages a local print queue

• Sends jobs to the printer

• Reports job status and errors back to CI Solutions

System Requirements

Installation Directory

The service creates and uses:

C:\ProgramData\CISolutions

Do NOT manually modify or delete files in this directory.
Only do so if directed by CI Solutions Support.

Network Architecture 

The Print Service uses two communication paths:

Local Communication (Browser → Print Service)

• URL:http://localhost:5000

• Scope: Local machine only

• Purpose: Sends print jobs from browser to Print Service
  This traffic never leaves the workstation and should NOT be exposed externally.

Cloud Communication (Print Service → CI Solutions)

• Endpoint: https://cardintegrators.com

• Port: 443 (HTTPS)

• Direction: Outbound only

    Used for:

• Job status reporting

  • Printer health monitoring

  • Dashboard updates

Domain Requirement

IT teams should allow:

• cardintegrators.com

Recommended:

• *.cardintegrators.com

Firewall & Network Requirements

DO NOT:

• Open port 5000 to the internet

• Allow inbound connections from other machines

• Attempt remote access to the Print Service

How the Print Service Works

Step 1: Job Intake

Browser sends print job to:

http://localhost:5000

Step 2: Queue & Print

The service:

• Queues jobs

• Sends to printer

• Retries automatically if needed

Step 3: Status Reporting

The service sends updates to:

https://cardintegrators.com

Browser Requirements

Supported Browsers

Chromium Policy (Windows) — Allow Local Network Requests (Managed Environments)

• Google Chrome 

• Microsoft Edge 

Common Browser Issues

• Mixed Content Restrictions - The Badge app (HTTPS) communicates with a local service (HTTP). Some environments may block this.
• Browser Extensions - Ad blockers or privacy extensions may block localhost communication.
• Chromium-based web browsers that need to allow end users to allow "Local Access". Badge may need to be added to the computers' allow list globally

Example:

Navigate to policy key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome

Create policy: If it doesn’t exist, create a new String Value (REG_SZ) named LocalNetworkAccessAllowedForUrls.

Add URL pattern(s): Set value data to the domain(s) needing access, e.g. http://cardintegrators.com

Recommendations

• Use latest Chrome or Edge

• Disable blocking extensions for the Badge app

• Ensure localhost commmunication is allowed