Generate ID Card in PDF using Image and Data from a Template in Python ReportLab

Interactive Google Colab Practice Notebook

Practice building single ID cards, batch ID card generation from list data, and reading BLOB photo records directly from an SQLite database using ReportLab directly inside Google Colab.

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Template file tk_id_card_temp.py and main file tk_id_card_main.py are the two files we will use. Inside the template file tk_id_card_temp.py, we keep our logo image and static labels, while in the main file tk_id_card_main.py, we inject dynamic ID card data.

We import the template function into the main script:

from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp # import the template

Creating ID cards in PDF by Python ReportLab with image and data using template with Label and Logo

Inside the template file, we place the logo image, header labels, copyright notice, and a background watermark rotated at 35 degrees:

c.rotate(35)
c.setFillColorCMYK(0, 0, 0, 0.08) # light watermark fill
c.setFont("Helvetica", 100)
c.drawString(-1.1 * inch, -0.5 * inch, "SAMPLE") # watermarking
c.rotate(-35)

Template File: tk_id_card_temp.py 🔝

from reportlab.lib.units import inch

def my_temp(c):
    c.translate(inch, inch)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 14)
    c.setStrokeColorRGB(0.1, 0.8, 0.1)
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1) # font color
    
    # Watermark
    c.rotate(35)
    c.setFillColorCMYK(0, 0, 0, 0.08)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 100)
    c.drawString(-1.1 * inch, -0.5 * inch, "SAMPLE")
    c.rotate(-35)
    
    c.setFillColorRGB(1, 0, 0)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 25)
    c.drawRightString(1.7 * inch, 2.3 * inch, 'Identity Card')
    
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 0)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 24)
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 1.7 * inch, 'ID:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 1.3 * inch, 'Name:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 0.9 * inch, 'Class:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 0.5 * inch, 'Gender:')
    c.drawRightString(4.0 * inch, -0.5 * inch, 'Signature')
    
    c.line(-1.1, -0.7 * inch, 5 * inch, -0.7 * inch)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 8)
    c.setFillColorRGB(1, 0, 0)
    c.drawString(0, -0.9 * inch, "\u00A9 plus2net.com")
    
    return c

Main File: tk_id_card_main.py 🔝

from pathlib import Path
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp

output_dir = Path('output')
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
my_path = output_dir / 'single_id_card.pdf'

c = canvas.Canvas(str(my_path), pagesize=(400, 300))
c = my_temp(c)

my_image = 'photos/1.png'
my_id, my_name, my_class, my_gender = 18, 'Kalu', 'Four', 'Female'

c.drawImage(my_image, 2.2 * inch, 0.7 * inch)

c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1)
c.setFont("Helvetica", 20)
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.7 * inch, str(my_id))
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.3 * inch, my_name)
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.9 * inch, my_class)
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.5 * inch, my_gender)

c.showPage()
c.save()
print(f"Single ID Card generated: {my_path}")

Creating Multiple ID Cards from a List 🔝

Our list of student details is structured as follows:

my_students = [
    [1, 'Alex J', 'Four', 'Female', '1.png'],
    [2, 'Ramana K', 'Three', 'Male', '2.png'],
    [3, 'Jack', 'Five', 'Female', '3.png'],
    [4, 'Ronne', 'Six', 'Female', '4.png']
]

Full batch generation code:

from pathlib import Path
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp

output_dir = Path('output')
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
my_path = output_dir / 'batch_id_cards.pdf'
img_path = Path('photos')

my_students = [
    [1, 'Alex J', 'Four', 'Female', '1.png'],
    [2, 'Ramana K', 'Three', 'Male', '2.png'],
    [3, 'Jack', 'Five', 'Female', '3.png'],
    [4, 'Ronne', 'Six', 'Female', '4.png']
]

c = canvas.Canvas(str(my_path), pagesize=(400, 300))

for ids in my_students:
    c = my_temp(c)
    my_image = str(img_path / ids[4])
    c.drawImage(my_image, 2.2 * inch, 0.7 * inch)
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 20)
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.7 * inch, str(ids[0]))
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.3 * inch, ids[1])
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.9 * inch, ids[2])
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.5 * inch, ids[3])
    c.showPage()

c.save()
print(f"Batch ID Cards generated: {my_path}")

Creating ID Cards Using Data & BLOB Images from SQLite Database 🔝

ID cards by using SQLite table with images

Download the SQLite database containing student BLOB photo records:

Creating SQLite database file with images Download student SQLite database file with images

import io
import sqlite3
from pathlib import Path
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from reportlab.lib.utils import ImageReader
from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp

output_dir = Path('output')
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
my_path = output_dir / 'sqlite_blob_id_cards.pdf'

my_conn = sqlite3.connect('student_blob_2.db')
r_set = list(my_conn.execute('SELECT * from student_b'))
c = canvas.Canvas(str(my_path), pagesize=(400, 300))

for ids in r_set:
    my_image = ImageReader(io.BytesIO(ids[4])) # Read BLOB image data
    c = my_temp(c)
    c.drawImage(my_image, 2.2 * inch, 0.7 * inch)
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 20)
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.7 * inch, str(ids[0]))
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.3 * inch, ids[1])
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.9 * inch, ids[2])
    c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.5 * inch, ids[3])
    c.showPage()

c.save()
print(f"SQLite BLOB ID Cards generated: {my_path}")

Reportlab PDF ID cards using SQLite records with BLOB images by using Colab platform. Part - II

Practical Uses of PDF ID Card Generation

Automated ID card generation using ReportLab canvas templates is widely used across educational and corporate institutions:

Student & Employee ID Badges: Generate custom-sized printable ID cards (e.g. 400x300 points or standard credit card format) with photos, titles, and dynamic text fields.
Database BLOB Photo Ingestion: Read photo binaries directly from SQLite or MySQL BLOB columns into memory using io.BytesIO and ReportLab's ImageReader.
Batch Printing Workflows: Loop over thousands of student records to generate multi-page PDF documents where each page represents a ready-to-print ID card.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Invalid Image Source for `drawImage`: When drawing BLOB images stored in a database, wrap binary data with io.BytesIO(ids[4]) before passing it to ImageReader() to prevent file system errors.
Custom Page Size Misconfiguration: Ensure custom canvas dimensions like pagesize=(400, 300) match your target card dimensions, and verify that c.translate(inch, inch) origin shifts fit within printable bounds.
Missing `showPage()` Call in Loop: Always invoke c.showPage() at the end of each student iteration to commit the current ID card page and reset canvas state for the next card.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do I change the size of the generated ID card?
A: Set custom dimensions in the canvas.Canvas(filename, pagesize=(width, height)) constructor.

Q: Can I load images from external Web URLs instead of local files?
A: Yes, fetch the raw image bytes using Python `requests.get(url).content` and pass them to ImageReader(io.BytesIO(content)).

ID Card using Image and Data