Card Printer Selection & Considerations

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Card printers or ID Badge Printers are used to print information on ID cards, membership cards, ATM and credit cards, store loyalty cards, access control cards and gifts cards. Good quality card printers produce image sharpness required for vivid colors and detailed, readable bar codes.

Card printers play a very important and critical role for the industries using them. To choose an appropriate card printer, the following questions need to be considered: * Will the cards be single sided or dual sided?
* Will the cards be in a single color or in multiple colors?
* How many cards need to be printed?
* Is it always a bulk volume that is required?
* How long are the cards expected to last? (this is important for access control cards used by corporate organizations)
* Do the cards need to have magnetic stripe encoding?
* Do the cards need holograms or embedded images for optimum security?
* Should the printed cards have lamination for additional security and longevity?

There are a wide range of card printers available. Based on the requirements mentioned above, businesses can choose the printers most useful for them. Some of the most popular uses for ID cards are for security and building or facility access. These uses require the cards to be encoded with information that allows them access when passed in front of a reader. Cards that contain this encoded electronic data are called proximity cards and smart cards.

Proximity cards and contact-less smart cards contain an antenna coil and integrated electronic chip. These need to be printed very carefully as surface imperfections caused by the embedded chip and antenna may cause color variations or printing voids. The cards should be printed first, and then slots can be punched if required. For cards that are already punched, printing must be avoided in the area near the slot. If the card has an embedded contact chip, it is important to keep the printing at least 1.5875 mm away from its edges.

Common access cards (CAC) and smart military cards used in US Defense Services also need to be printed sans any error and with precise details. Zebra card printers have secure and encrypted printing using CAC encryption methods.

With the increasing use of smartcards and access cards in all organizations - private and government, the importance of effective card printers has increased. Quality needs to be maintained seamlessly in view of the security levels associated with these cards.

Zebra Card has a wide range of printers to address different needs and has already proved its superior quality in the market when it comes to printing secure ID and smart cards.


Copyright (c) 2011 Carl Shackelford

About the Author:
A1 Barcode Systems
800.798.2042x0
Website: www.aonebar.com
Zebra Card: www.aonebar.com/zebracard/



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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