ID card printers will work in one of two ways. These two different methods are known as DTC ‘Direct to Card’ or Re-transfer. Both printing methods use what is known as a ribbon (which is your ink) to print the colour / black to the card.
Both of these methods have their pros and cons and Unicard can assist you in deciding which best suits your requirements.
Direct to card printing is the most popular option for card printing given the print quality is crisp, the printers are fast, and the printers and their consumables are cost effective. The slight con with the Direct to card printers is the slight <1mm edge you may get around the edge of the card given the printhead must lift off the card before the edge. This is known as ‘edge to edge’ printing. In most scenarios this is hardly noticeable or an acceptable level of quality.
High-definition re-transfer printers use both a ribbon and a film. The ribbon is printed to the film and then the film is laminated to the card using a hot transfer roller.
By using a transfer film, the finished cards will have a higher quality gloss finish which leaves a more professional feel. The printing is known as ‘over the edge’ as it does not leave any borders around the edge of the card. Another reason a customer might choose to use a retransfer printer is to print directly on to access cards and the print not be blemished where the chip is located in the card.
There are many more benefits of printing with a retransfer printer however it is important to know that the initial printer purchase and ongoing consumables are more expensive than a DTC option.