IDP ID Card & Badge Printers: Top Models & Features

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Have Questions about IDP ID Card Printers?

What are the Main Features Available in IDP Printers?

IDP printers offer flexibility and quality printing in a compact, easy-to-use design. A three-year warranty and exchange program set IDP printers apart within the industry. If the printer breaks down during the warranty, IDP will send a replacement printer - no need to deal with shipping a loaner printer back and forth! IDP's direct-to-card printers also include two-year unlimited printhead replacement and the retransfer printer includes lifetime printhead replacement.

SOLID-310SE - Features a flexible, low-cost direct-to-card printer that comes with a free YMCKO 100-print color ribbon and 100 plastic PVC ID cards – a $60+ value!
SOLID-510SE - Full-color batch printing with protective card overlay. Available in single or dual sided arrangements.
SOLID-810SE - High-volume, high-speed card printer with simplex, duplex, lamination, and encoding options.
Smart-31 - With optional encoding and Ethernet capabilities, the easy-to-use IDP printer is available with your choice of single- or dual-sided direct-to-card printing.
Smart-51 - A high quality and fast direct-to-card printer with a variety of optional upgrades, including dual-sided printing, card encoding, and lamination
Smart-70 - The fastest direct-to-card printer IDP offers, with high-capacity printing capabilities, a modular design, and a variety of optional upgrades, including dual-sided printing, lamination, and card encoding
Wise-CXD80 - Offers superior print quality and durability with retransfer technology and the ability to enhance card security with single- or dual-sided lamination.

What's the Difference Between a Single-Sided and a Dual-Sided IDP Card Printer?

Simply put, a single-sided printer prints on one side of your cards and a dual-sided printer prints on both sides of your cards in one process.

Choose a single-sided IDP printer if you will be creating ID cards with limited cardholder information.

Choose a dual-sided IDP printer if you want the front of your cards to remain clean and uncluttered; printing some of your card-holder info on the back of your cards will keep the front of your cards looking their best!

Why Would I Need to Laminate My Plastic Cards?

If you recall the old days of cutting and pasting an ID card together, lamination may confuse you a bit. You might wonder why you would need lamination when printing directly to plastic.

In plastic card printing, lamination is a clear protective layer that is applied over the top of your printed cards by a printer with lamination capability. It offers three primary benefits to a plastic ID card:

Lamination extends the life of your card by protecting it from wear, such as being swiped in a magnetic stripe reader.
Lamination protects your cards from fading and dye migration when exposed to the sun.
Holographic lamination increases the security of your cards by making them difficult to copy.

The IDP Solid-810SE, Smart-70, and Wise-CXD80 printers offer the ability to laminate your cards. Choose a laminating IDP card printer if your cards will be swiped in a mag stripe reader or will be worn in harsher environments, such as in the sun. Lamination will protect your cards from fading and extend their life so you'll need to reprint cards less frequently, saving you time and supply costs!

What is a Retransfer Printer?

Many experienced card printer users are familiar with the white border that direct-to-card printers leave around the edge of cards. Retransfer printers, on the other hand, produce "over-the-edge" prints that cover the entire surface of your cards.

Direct-to-card printers print directly to the surface of cards. Any uneven surface of a card--including coming in contact with the edge of a card--can cause expensive printhead damage.

Retransfer printers, like the Solid-810Se and IDP Wise-CXD80, print your card image to a clear retransfer film that is then fused onto the surface of the card. With this process, the printhead does not come in direct contact with your card, allowing you to print over the edge of your cards and to a wider variety of card surfaces including proximity cards, smart cards, pre-punched cards and key tag cards. Another benefit: retransfer printers produce imagery with rich, vibrant, saturated colors.