Monthly Archives: June 2008

Evolis Card Printers – How to Install a Print Ribbon

Pebble

When putting a new ribbon into your Evolis ID card printer, it is important to install the correct ribbon in the right format to make card printing easy.

Make sure that you have the correct ribbon for the card you will be printing. A full color single side print will require a YMCKO print ribbon. A full color dual sided card will need a YMCKOK print ribbon to print both front and back of the card in the single pass. The printer used must also be able to print dual sided cards.

First, gently pull the adhesive tape holding the ribbon off.

Open the printer cover and place the ribbon correctly into the ribbon spindle. Follow the pictured instructions on the printer to determine what spool goes into each spindle.

Close the printer lid. The ribbon will automatically synchronize and be ready to print a card.

For more information about Evolis ID card printers, visit our Evolis Tattoo, Evolis Pebble, Evolis Dualys, Evolis Quantum or Evolis Securion product pages. For a free consultation regarding what printer would be the best fit for your application, contact us toll free at 888-485-4696.

Photo ID Service Bureau

custom id

There are hassles with creating id cards in house. From picking out the correct system that will incorporate all of the functions needed for your badge specifications to laying out the design of the card that will meet the expections of the boss. Sometimes, the job of printing id cards is easier to outsource to a professional id card company.

Companies that design id cards have had experience in various types of badge requirements. They understand the workings of the badge systems and can provide a custom card that will meet the current and proposed future needs of the organization. Allowing a company to complete the badges means that system upgrades for future badge requirements are handled by the id card company and no future worries about system upgrade requirements are necessary.

Custom ID card designers listen carefully to the needs of the client and ask questions needed to make sure that the card being designed will meet the application intended. The designers import the information provided and provide proofs for the client so that the badge result is clear prior to id card making.

Production staff carry out the process of making badges with the information provided. The badges may range from a simple black and white single side badge to a complex dual sided badge with encoded information.

A photo id service bureau puts the ability to produce photo ID cards in the hands of all organizations and contributes to more effective security systems.

For specific information about how the photo id card service bureau at Safe-Card ID can assist you with your custom name badge needs, contact us at 888-485-4696.

HealthCare Badges

Healthcare facilities are busy with patients, employees, doctors, and visitors daily entering the hospital doors. Handling the security needs at hospitals and healthcare facilities are an important part of the daily operations of the organization.

ID badges can be used at hospitals in a number of ways to assist with security and smooth functioning. Some uses include:

Access Control. An access control badge can limit access to certain cardholders to certain buildings at certain times in a 24 hour period. Each badge can be identified by the access system control and can allow doors to open for specified cardholders at authorized times. The doors can be doors from external areas of the hospital campus to specialized internal doors such as operating rooms.

Identification. Unauthorized visitors that visit secured areas of the hospital can be easily identified when photo ids identify the credentials of the cardholders. Photo id cards identifying patients, staff and medical providers diminish potential security issues.

Records. To track the patients activities and treatments, medical facilities are increasingly assigning id card and other tracking methods to people and supplies to make hospital visits smooth and efficient.
Account Debit. Photo id cards can be used to debit an employee account set up through the cafeteria or gift shop.

Payroll. Photo id cards can be used to track time and attendance for employees.

Health care id badge systems can be explained in detail by our id card printer experts. Contact them toll free at 888-485-4696.

School ID Cards

Student id cards are a popular use for today’s standard 30 ml plastic identification cards. The making of photo ids are a standard part of the beginning of the school year or at the first of the semester in colleges and universities.

ID cards are useful in many ways for smooth school operations. From checking out books in the library to debiting school lunch accounts in the lunchroom, id cards provide a system and level of security throughout the school environment.

Most K-12 schools use a simple, single-side badge for their students. Full color photographs and student information is placed on the card as well as a bar code for tracking various student activities. Depending on the requirements of the school, the card can be layered with security enhancements, printed dual side and encoded with specific information useful for the school system.

By having a system in house, a school can customize the badges with unique design and options for various school needs. Visitor id badges can be printed with a unique layout. Library processes are smooth with the scanning of a unique student bar code for media checkout. Cafeteria workers can verify the identity of a student as well as debit their lunch account by use of their id card. Attendance, registration, and vending machine payment are other uses for student id cards.

With the use of a student id system, many schools expand their id card use into staff ids for building access, attendance tracking and local retail discount use.

Setting up the id card system in your school is easy. One of our technical reps will be happy to assist you by our toll free phone lines for set up and badge design.

For a free consultation for your K-12 ids or university needs, contact our id card printer sales reps toll free at 888-485-4696.

What is a good photo id camera?

A photo id requires the visual representation of the card holder on the card. There are a number of options to obtain the necessary picture to place on the current pvc plastic card standard of today.

An id camera is needed to take a picture that will easily work on your id badges.

A popular type of id card camera is the webcam. The webcam is connected to the pc and takes photos through a computer application. A future cardholder will stand next to a backdrop in front of the camera while the computer operator previews the photo, snaps the picture and imports it into the computer for use. This option works well if all of the employees are in the same location as the employee must come to the computer area for the picture to be taken.

The popular digital camera on the market will also take high quality photos for id badges. The badge maker can mount the camera on a tripod and take pictures of cardholders in any location. Upon return of the camera to the computer, the pictures can be uploaded into a file or into the id card software being used to complete the badge. The drawback to this type of picture is often user related. Most cameras take large, quality pictures. The file size of these photos are too cumbersome for most photo id software. The best size for photo ids is 640×480 pixels or as small as the camera will save the picture.

Cropping and sizing of pictures is time consuming. To alieve this problem, most id card printer systems provided with a camera come with drivers and software to correct the picture dimensions for id card printing.

ID card camera information can be found on our website, www.safecardid.com. For specific questions on id card cameras or id card systems, contact our experts at 888-485-4696.

Fargo HDP 5000 Printer – Laminating Both Sides of the ID Badge

Fargo 5000

The Fargo HDP 5000 printer is the fastest and most efficient Fargo HDP printer.  One of the features of this id card printer is that both sides of the PVC id card can be laminated. To laminate both front and back of the card, the printer must have dual side printing capabilities.

If you choose the option of a dual sided laminator, the printer will print the card and laminate the front of the card to your specification.  Then it will laminate the back of the card using the same laminate or a different style.

If you choose the option of a single sided laminator, the printer will use the flipper feature of the printer to flip the id card after it has laminated the first side and also laminate the back side of the card.  The disadvantages of using a single side laminator module is that the card making process is slower is speed.  It also limits the card producer to use the same laminate material on the front and back of the card.

For an individual consultation regarding the requirements of your card job, please contact one of our Fargo printer experts about which id card printer would be best for you.  Our toll free number is 888-485-4696.

 

What are CR-80 ID Cards?

CR-80 id cards are the standard id card size in the identification industry. The card is commonly known as the credit card size id card. The PVC card is a small thin card that is 3.4 inches wide, 2.15 inches long and .030 ml thick. The most familiar cards of this type are the standard credit card or driver’s license that you are carrying in your wallet.

The card is often a simple single side photo id card that is used by a student, employee or group member. These cards are also becoming increasingly more capable of additional uses. Today’s cards are often embeded with access capabilities to buildings and are more secure with various advanced card production features.

For assistance with specific questions regarding id cards for id card printers, contact our consultants toll free at 888-485-4696.

ID Cards for Schools

Schools of all kinds from preschools to universities are finding the id cards can be beneficial for many reasons. Some of the most popular reasons to use id cards are as follows:

Student Identification

Student identification cards can be used not only as a basic id. Many schools use the cards to track attendance at class or various non-classroom events. Other uses are for media center material checkout and meal plan debit systems. Some schools use the id card during class registration. Newer uses of the cards also include debiting to student bank accounts for various purchases.

Employee Identification

Many of the student uses are also available for use with employee ids. Additional functions with the employee id would include the use of time and attendance tracking for payroll.

Visitor Identifiication

Generic or individual visitor badges assist schools in verifying the authority of an unfamiliar person on campus. Many schools have rather complex systems in checking visitors in and out and providing appropriate authoriziation methods for those visiting the school.

For additional information about student id cards and school id card products, call our id card experts at 888-485-4696.

Fargo Printer – Upgrading Firmware

Fargo ID card printers have software loaded into the printer that run the motor, printhead and so forth. At times, you may be required to update the firmware into the printer as new versions of the firmware are released.

To update the printer firmware, the best method of getting the corrected and/or updated version is to visit www.fargosupport.com. When on this site, you can either use the Fargo Diagnostics Utility or the new Fargo Workbench to load the needed file into the printer.

If you need additional assistance for a Safe-Card ID printer manufactured by Fargo, contact a technical support representative at 888-485-4696.

Our website contains additional information about Fargo printers.  A free consultation regarding an id card printer that would meet your job specifications can be yours by calling toll free 888-485-4696.

How does a YMCKO print ribbon work for an id card printer?

Die sublimation id card machines use a print ribbon that contains panels of color and other needed layers. Each panel passes over the blank card in order until the panel pass is complete and the card contains the colors and overlays necessary to duplicate the design on the card.

The YMC are the three panels of color. Standing for yellow, magenta, and cyan, these panels orderly move over the card and provide the amount of color necessary to produce a full color image where needed and other colors desired according to the badge design.

Once the color has been placed on the card, the K panel of the id card printer ribbon passes over the card to provide resin black printing for black text and bar codes.

Using a YMCKO ribbon, the card is completed after the o panel has been applied to the card. This overlay panel is a clear protective panel that covers the colors on the badge.

Based on specific printers or your card requirements, the card printer ribbon needed may have more or less of the above combination of panels.

For specific information about id card printer ribbons or id card printers, call our card experts at 888-485-4696.