Card Printer Supplies

Tips to Consider When Buying an ID Card Printing System

Photo ID Printing Systems

As ID Professionals, we've noticed there a few things to watch out for when purchasing a new ID card system for your organization. We recommend following the tips below when thinking about which system will accommodate your business needs.

1. Don't buy a printer system based on price alone
When you’re purchasing your ID system, make sure you get a printer that will do the work that the job requires.  It's completely understandable that everyone is trying to stay under their budget as much as possible.

But occasionally, we'll see a customer purchasing an entry-level printer when in reality, they're going to be printing a large number of cards.  In the long run, they end up spending more money. Why? Because they have to send the printer in for service or they actually end up replace their printer right away because it can't keep up with the volume of cards they need.  In many instances, if you invest an extra $500 to $1,000 dollars in your printer system, you'll get a machine that will last twice as long.

2. Consider a digital camera
If you’re looking for a quality photo on your ID cards, we definitely recommend using a digital camera. Webcams work well, but they're unable provide the same quality photo like a digital camera can. Webcams have worked out great for some of our customers when the photo is not that important. But keep in mind that if the quality of the photo is important to your ID card issuance program, we recommend using one of our digital camera bundles with features like auto-cropping that can save you time.

3. Know what features you'll need in your ID card software
Most entry-level ID card software offers a limited amount of information you can put on a template, have a limit database, and they may not be able to handle security features like magnetic encoding or the correct type of barcode.  An added bonus with mid-level and full-featured software is that you can transfer information from existing databases which saves you both time and resources, since you don't have to re-enter all of the original cardholder data.

Also, you can network multiple computers together which enables you to print from multiple workstations with most mid-level and full-featured software. Again, we always just recommend your consult with an ID Professional to help determine which ID card software will best fit your specific needs.

4. Make sure to also purchase printer cleaning supplies
Cleaning your card printer is just like changing the oil in your car. If you don’t do it regularly, the lifespan of your printer will be much shorter than it should be. I have had customers call a year after purchasing their printer with printer problems, 9 times out of 10 they have never cleaned their printer.

Cleaning kits range from about $10 to around $70.  Most cleaning kits you purchase are designed for four to five printer cleanings. It is a minimal investment compared to the cost of replacing a printer.

I hope some of this information will help you find an ID system that will fit your application. If you have additional questions about purchasing a photo ID card printing system for your organization, you can always rely on the expertise of our ID Professionals. Call us today at (800) 321-4405; we're here to help!

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