Guide To Printing High-Quality Cards
There is a whole range of smart cards available on the market; everyone has different requirements for their ID card and ID card design. How can you make sure your ID card design comes out just as high-quality as the client requires? Well, there is a science to printing high-quality ID cards, and we are going to let you in on the secret. Here’s your ultimate guide to printing high-quality ID cards.
ID Card Printing Guide
- ID Card Printing Technology
The first thing you need to be careful about is the technology you are using to print your cards. Here’s a rundown of what you may need for a high-quality print.
- Direct–To–Card ID Card Printers
Your first stop is the direct-to-card printers; these are easy to use and give a satisfactory result. These printers use a dye-based ribbon that contains three colour panels. The printer uses heat to add each colour ribbon to the card. Direct-to-card printers are ideal for ID card printing as they can deliver 16.7 million colours with 300 dpi resolution.
- Retransfer ID Card Printers
Next in line is the new age technology called the retransfer ID card printers. These are ideal for security and access cards as the machine never comes in contact with the card, so there is no damage to the data. Apart from that, you get edge-to-edge results with retransfer printers. The car comes out perfect every time you print.
The design is first printed on a laminated film and applied to the card through heat and pressure. This process is ideal for smart cards, security cards, and cards that aren’t flat, such as punched cards.
- Types Of ID Card Printers
Next up is the type of printer you need to ensure the high quality of your ID cards.
Single-Sided ID Card Printers
- These can only print one side of the card.
- They are affordable and easy to use
- Prints in colour as well as in monochrome.
Dual-sided ID Card Printers
- As the name suggests, you can print on both sides of the card.
- The printing process is smooth and automated.
- These printers are versatile and flexible.
- These printers give you room to add more information than single ones.
- Encoding Options
The quality of the ID cards depends on their looks as well as the usage of the card. Hence, encoding is a must feature.
- Contact Smart Card: these need to come in range of the radio frequency acceptor, and you are good to go. No contact is required for the data to be read.
- Contactless Smart Card: the data is stored in an embedded chip. The card needs to be inserted in a reader to access the data.
- Magnetic Stripe: Such cards have data stored on a magnetic stripe.
- Security Features
Printing high-quality cards means the security feature remains intact and usable.
Laminating Card Printers: For high-quality ID cards, lamination is a must. The lamination film is applied after the card is printed. It enhances the durability of the card. Lamination reduces the risk of tampering and counterfeiting the ID card.
All in all, high-quality ID cards must have it all, from perfect colouring to design to all security features intact. Make sure you visit reputable ID card retailer either local or online.