Finding the Right Card Printer Supplies for your ID Card Printer

Purchasing an ID card printer is an investment in the safety and security of students, staff, and employees. Card printer supplies are crucial for ID card printer maintenance. Each brand of ID card printers requires specific card printer supplies that are compatible with those printers. But selecting the right card printer supplies for your card printer can be frustrating and sometimes confusing.  Each printer uses different ribbons and cleaning kits.

Using the proper ID card printer supplies is an important part of keeping your printer healthy and active for a long time. In order for you to understand the card printer supplies you need to order that will match your printing needs, you should learn about the various card printer supplies as well as their purposes and its functions.

Card Printer Ribbons

Color card printer ribbons are described by a letter for each panel on the roll. For example the most common full color ribbon is the YMCKO ribbon. Full color ribbons are made up of four to seven panels. The color printing on your plastic card is made by transferring the dye from these panels one at a time into the card. The dye is transferred when the first panel of the ribbon is moved between the printhead and the plastic card. The printhead applies heat to the film and the dye soaks into the plastic card. The card is then moved back and the same process applies the second panel. Once all of the panels have been applied, the card is moved either out of the printer, into the flipper, or into the laminator.

PVC Cards

There are many options for PVC card available. There are straight PVC cards, composite cards, CR80 and CR79, 30 mil, 14 mil, 10 mil, and paper backed adhesive, mylar backed adhesive, cards with chips, etc. ID card printers are designed to print on these cards. Most cards by far are 30 mils thick. One mil is equal to 0.001 inches. This is the thickness of credit cards. Plastic cards can be custom ordered at other thicknesses too. However, check your ID card printer specifications to make sure your custom cards are not too thick or thin for it.

Laminate Rollers

Laminates add extra security to your cards.  The protective layer applied on the ID card prevents forgery, unauthorized duplication, and identity theft. There are a variety of laminate rolls available in 1.0 mil and 0.6 mil overlaminate patches, thermal transfer laminate film, standard holographic laminate, registered laminate, custom holographic laminate, etc. Most laminating film rolls have pre-cut patches that are applied to the plastic card using a heat/thermal transfer process. These patches are smaller than the card and leave an unlaminated area about one sixteenth of an inch around the edge of the card.

Cleaning Kits

A lot of people tend to overlook cleaning kits when purchasing other card printer supplies. Keeping your ID card printer clean on a regular basis is very important to the quality of your printed cards and the operation and longevity of your card printer. Most card printer companies provide a cleaning cycle in the printer and a variety of cleaning supplies. These cleaning kits not only prevent damages from occurring on the printhead, they also ensure high quality images on your ID card. Cleaning kits include items such as cleaning tapes, cleaning cards, cleaning swabs and pens.