ID Card Printer Buyer's Guide

To support you in your search, this buyer's guide:

•   identifies pre-purchase questions to help you define your card printing needs
•   introduces the two main types of plastic card printers available
•   highlights card printer features and capabilities to look for as you compare models
•   includes a handy ID Card Printer Buyer's Checklist
•   offers helpful tips for selecting a card printer for your ID program

Given the numerous markets requiring ID card printers (e.g., healthcare, government, education, corporate, etc.) and the variety of card issuance programs that exist for each, it should come as little surprise that not all ID card printers are created equally. ID card printers offer a host of printing capabilities at various price points to satisfy a diverse range of needs. Your first task is to determine which are necessary for your ID program. To define your card requirements, consider the following questions:

How will you use your printed cards?

•   For example, do you plan to use your cards for access control as well as visual identification?

How do you want your printed cards to look?

•   Do you want single-sided cards, or do you need to print onto both sides?
•   Are you willing to pay for full card coverage, or is it OK if your printer leaves a white border around the printed area?

How long do you need your printed cards to last?

•   Do you plan on reissuing cards frequently or on an as-needed basis (i.e., to replace lost or stolen cards)?
•   Will your cards be regularly exposed to direct sunlight or other harsh elements?
•   Will your cards be swiped through a reader on a daily basis?

How many cards do you need to print per year?

•   Will you print large batches of cards at once?

Your answers to these questions will alert you to which technologies, features, and capabilities to look out for as you shop for an ID card printer. Next, we will discuss the differences between the two main plastic card printer types. Then, we will discuss various printer features and capabilities in greater detail.

ID card printers are generally categorized by the printing methods involved, and are classified as either direct-to-card printers or retransfer printers. Depending on the security level of your facility or worksite, desired on-card functionality, and the way you would like your printed cards to look – one of these two printer types will be better suited to your card printing needs.

Both direct-to-card and retransfer card printers use processes called resin thermal transfer (to render sharp black text and barcodes) and dye sublimation (to produce full-color imagery). Direct-to-card printers are named for the nature of the print method they use when applying these processes, which involves the printer’s printhead coming into direct contact with the card surface. 

Cost and savings

Direct-to-card printers are often more affordable than retransfer printers. If you purchase a direct-to-card printer, be mindful of the fact that the printhead can be exposed to dust, debris, and oil from fingerprints when it comes into contact with your cards. This can lead to expensive printhead damage, so it’s important to use caution. If shopping direct-to-card printers, note the duration of the manufacturer warranties, especially as they pertain to printhead coverage. Often, extended warranties are available.

Note: Direct-to-card printers accept standard PVC card stock and require a single ribbon to print. Keep this in mind when reviewing total cost of ownership; using fewer supplies lowers your cost per printed card.

Retransfer printers use a two-step printing method called reverse transfer. This method involves printing to the reverse side of a clear film rather than directly to the card. This film is then thermally fused to the surface of the card. Compared to direct-to-card printers, retransfer printers yield slightly more durable credentials and offer greater print consistency.

Summary of printing capabilities

Retransfer printers yield more fully saturated colors for vibrant, photo-realistic imagery. They also offer “over-the-edge” or full bleed card surface coverage, meaning that there is no white border left on your printed cards. Since the printhead never touches the card surface, retransfer printers are recommended for printing and encoding advanced security cards like smart cards, which have minutely uneven surfaces due to their embedded technology. Since there are two steps involved in the printing method, you may experience slightly slower print speeds than you would with a direct-to-card printer.

Cost and savings

Reliably designed for volume printing and lasting performance, retransfer printers sometimes cost slightly more than direct-to-card printers up front, but they offer greater protection on your investment. All retransfer printers come with a lifetime printhead warranty.

Note: retransfer card printers perform best with composite PVC-PET card stock and use both a ribbon and retransfer film to print. This results in a slightly higher cost per printed card.

Now, let's go over the various features and capabilities of ID card printers. Depending on your present and future card printing needs, some features may add more value to your card issuance program than others. As you read through this list, use the ID Card Buyer’s Checklist (pictured below) to note which features are priorities for your card printing application.

Buyer's Checklist

ID card printer features in this list:

Some ID card printers take up more space than others, particularly those that are expanded to include various modules (e.g., modules for dual-sided printing or lamination). If space is a concern, check the specs as you shop and note the footprint or overall dimensions of the card printer. To accommodate tight spaces, some ID card printers offer optional same-side input and output card hoppers that consolidate access points needed to operate your card printer.

When shopping for an ID card printer, look for a model that is compatible with your operating platform. The majority of card printers and card printing systems are Windows-based. If you need a Mac-compatible card printer, make sure that the model you’re considering includes a Mac driver that works with your operating system (OS) version.

At a minimum, your ID card printer will offer USB connectivity. Standard USB is a great solution for small print operations with a single-station print center. If you need to extend your card printer access across a network, giving printer access to multiple users, look for a printer with Ethernet connectivity. For remote access to your card printer, or to connect multiple computers to your printer wirelessly, find a model with optional WiFi connectivity (often available as a field upgrade).

Single-sided ID card printers print onto one side of the card, while dual-sided or double-sided ID card printers are capable of printing onto both sides in one process. Reloading single-sided printed cards into a single-sided card printer to print to the reverse side of the cards can lead to expensive printhead damage, so it’s wise to invest in a dual-sided printer (or a single-sided printer with an optional duplex printing module) if you know that you will need to print to both sides.

There are a number of elements that you can add to your cards to enhance the design or protect them from counterfeit copying. Standard direct-to-card or retransfer printers can produce some of these, but more advanced visual elements typically require a card printer with laminating capabilities.

Using a laminating printer (advanced)ID card printers that support ribbons containing UV or F panels are capable of printing with fluorescent or UV ink. To produce this visual effect, simply check your printer’s specs for compatibility and be sure to order the appropriate ribbon type. No matter which card printer you use, you can always apply holographic adhesives to your cards by hand after printing. You can also print onto card stock that includes an embedded hologram. In addition, some manufacturers offer branded technology, such as Magicard’s Holokote® secure watermarking, built into the printer itself. Such technology allows you to add stunning visual effects to your credentials at no additional cost.

With a laminating card printer, you can select from a variety of security overlays (also called overlaminates) featuring holograms, guilloche patterns, microtext, hidden imagery, or optically variable ink (OVI). Custom holographic laminates are by far the most secure method available for fail-safe card protection from tampering, fraud, and counterfeiting.

Lamination protects your printed plastic cards from daily wear, abrasion, dye migration, and color-fading from UV rays to extend overall card life. Lamination is especially useful if you plan to issue cards with magnetic stripes or barcodes that will be read or swiped on a routine basis, or if your cards will be worn outdoors or exposed to harsh conditions. See below for examples of how lamination can protect your ID cards. Lamination also deters tampering and increases the overall security of your credentials.

For maximum card security, you can laminate your cards using custom, secure overlaminates that feature covert (hidden) or difficult-to-reproduce, overt design elements. Some ID card printers feature built-in single-sided or dual-sided lamination, while others can be upgraded for lamination with the addition of an optional lamination module. Although lamination increases the cost of your card printer up front, you will see savings over time since laminated cards last longer and are less likely to bend or break, reducing the number of cards that you have to reissue.

You can encode your cards to include secure and confidential personalized data. Encoded data can be used for more secure ID authentication, or to expand the capabilities of your plastic cards to include secure access control, time and attendance tracking, cashless payment, rewards points tracking, public transportation ticketing, and more. Available encoding methods for ID card printers include barcode printing (1D and 2D barcodes, and QR codes), magnetic stripe (like the strip on a credit or debit card), and contact or contactless smart card encoding (embedded microchip technology).

Barcodes are the most cost-effective encoding option on the market, especially for high-volume printing, but also the least secure. Any ID card printer can produce them using the black resin panel of a ribbon.

Contact and contactless smart card encodingMagnetic stripes or “mag stripes” are more secure and relatively inexpensive, but offer limited storage space (for information such as an account number, ID number, or balance on a gift card) when compared to a smart card. They are also subject to wear because they need to be swiped to access the encoded data. One important advantage of mag stripes as compared to barcodes is that they can be rewritten to reflect updated cardholder information.

Smart cards feature embedded computer technology that stores and provides access to personal data. They can also perform on-card functions (e.g., encryption and mutual authentication) by interacting intelligently with a smart card reader. Smart cards are tamper-proof, store 100x more data than mag stripe cards, and can be reconfigured to add, edit, or erase hosted data. The most secure encoding method on the market, smart cards are ideal for hosting financial information, biometric data, personal records such as medical records, and other highly sensitive or classified information.

Note: To encode your plastic cards, you will need an ID card printer outfitted with your choice of encoder. Be sure to order the appropriate card stock (mag stripe cards or smart cards, depending on the application).

Card issuance programs can be categorized as being low-volume (<1,000 cards per year), mid-volume (1,000-5,000 cards per year), or high-volume (>5,000 cards per year) depending on the annual output of printed plastic cards. Keep print volume in mind when comparing printers, especially if you have high print volume needs. Features such as dual-input hoppers (where blank card stock is fed) or dual-output hoppers (where printed cards come out) can save time and maximize productivity if you need to batch print large quantities of cards. You may also want to pay attention to per-card print speeds.

Print quality can vary greatly depending on printer type, manufacturer, and model. Direct-to-card printers yield professional-quality imagery appropriate for the majority of applications, however, they leave a slight border around the printed area due to the print methods involved. If photo-realistic image quality with fully saturated colors, detailed graphics, and “over-the-edge” surface coverage are essential to your ID program, shop retransfer printers. Retransfer printers offer the highest, most consistent print quality on the market.

Select ID badge printers include a rewritable printing mode that allows you to erase and reprint one side of your cards to reflect updated cardholder information. This feature requires special thermosensitive card stock that can be “rewritten” up to 500 times and is most beneficial for producing visitor badges or temporary IDs. Thermal erase and rewrite is best for printing text-based information and simple graphics, as it is only available in monochrome blue or black ink.

This concludes our ID Card Printer Buyer’s Guide. We hope that this guide has proven useful in giving you a basic understanding of the type of plastic card printer and capabilities needed to implement your secure ID or personalized card printing program.

Browse our ID card printers, or contact ID Zone directly to speak with an ID Expert and get a personalized recommendation for your card printing program. You can also use our Card Printer Finder tool to narrow your search.