This printing method is also particularly suitable for RFID cards, as the unevenness of the cards is not important here due to the integrated RFID transmitter. This enables brilliant printing results and over-the-edge card printing. In contrast to the thermal transfer printers, the card is first printed on a special carrier foil, the so-called re-transfer film. This film is in turn applied to the cards with high heat. What is a re-transfer printer? Re-transfer card printers are specially designed for an excellent, colourful print image (Dascom DC-7600, Evolis Avansia, Matica MC660, Fargo HDP6600 etc.).
No over-the-edge printing, even if the manufacturers call it that.Upgradeable with coding options and turning station (depending on manufacturer).Special ribbons such as scratch off or for a signature field (depending on manufacturer).There is a wide range of different, monochrome printing ribbons as well as ribbons for colourful printing. Here, printing is done directly from the ribbon onto the plastic card using heat.
These are the all-rounders among the card printers (Authentys 300, Hiti CS200e, Evolis Primacy, Zebra ZC series etc.). How does a thermal transfer printer work? A print in black, white, gold and silver is possible on all card colours and does not change the appearance and colour image.Ī colourful print as well as a print with re-transfer card printers is only perfectly possible on white plastic cards. The card colour and the printing inks mix, so that a blue print on a green card, for example, suddenly appears brown-grey. However, the printing inks may appear differently on coloured plastic cards than desired. This takes just 2 minutes, but it protects your card printer and is important for warranty claims. This can be repeated several times with one and the same cleaning card until the printer is dust free and ready for use again. In most cases a special c leaning card is inserted into the printer to clean the mechanism and the rollers. The printers usually report this automatically as soon as a cleaning is due. In order to obtain a consistently good print image and to guarantee a smooth card feed, cleaning should be carried out after approx. These are also often found on plastic cards. Over time, dust and particles settle in the printer. Why are there special cleaning kits for card printers? Re-transfer printers require 2 ribbons to be loaded in a certain way - but this is also very uncomplicated and done within 1 minute. You only have to open the cover or the front flap of the printer, the old ribbon can be easily removed from the printer and a new one can be inserted just as easily. The manufacturers have made this as simple as possible.
For this purpose we recommend the software Cardpresso. However, if you want to encode your plastic cards, whether magnetic stripes, RFID cards or chip cards, you need a special program and of course the corresponding encoding stations in the printer. No, you can print directly from all common programs such as Word, Corel Draw, Photoshop or Open Office.
For all other printers, the appropriate printer driver is installed either by means of the supplied CD, USB stick or as a download.
For plug-in printers, it is not even necessary to install a driver. How do I connect my printer? Card printers are connected to the printer in the same way as conventional paper printers, using a USB cable or network cable. If you can connect and operate a normal paper printer, you will have no problems with card printers. However, there are a few special features that you should consider and know before buying such a device: Printing plastic cards is in principle just as easy as printing on paper.