offer easy upgrade paths for magnetic stripe and smart card encoding options, lamination, and advanced security features.
When buying an ID card printer, it’s always important to try and forecast your upcoming needs. If you’re limited to a budget that only allows you to buy a single-sided printer, we recommend calling an ID Professional to make sure the printer has the ability to add a dual-sided module after the initial purchase. Why? Because most entry-level machines don’t provide the option of upgrading to dual-sided printing. Typically, it’s about $100 – $200 more to upgrade later on down the road versus investing in a dual-sided ID card printers up front.
We get this question from customers all the time: “Can I just manually flip the card to print on the backside?” It seems like a simple enough inquiry. But the answer is a bit more complex than the question.
Our hands and fingers naturally carry oil, dust, and other small debris, and if any of this gets on the unprinted card stock, it can cause the dyes in the ribbon to be improperly applied to cards. Essentially this debris can really mess up your printing program and do some major damage.
In fact, I’ve had cases where the printhead has been pretty damaged when cards have been printed on one side and are then manually flipped to print on the remaining side. The repairs for incidents like this can typically range from $500 to $900 (and can sometimes even be more).
Another unpopular disadvantage of manually flipping your cards is that each card requires extra time to flip. If you’re printing 50+ cards or more at a time, you can see where this could really add up.
An important aspect to think about is how much information do I need to put on the card? If you have more than five fields (e.g., employee photo, name, company logo, etc.), we recommend getting a dual-sided printer, so that your card doesn’t look overloaded with data.
A bit of forward-thinking can come in very handy too. Consider future fields that may be added at later dates such as certifications or awards. A lot of companies require a disclaimer on the back side of the card, which is a common overlooked feature that requires a dual-sided machine.
For all of your dual-sided ID card printing advice and tips, turn to our knowledgeable ID Professionals. Call today at (800) 321-4405. We're always happy to help! When to Consider a Dual-Sided Printer
Dual-sided ID card printers have the ability to print both sides of a card in a single print pass. These printers are available with direct-to-card, over-the-edge retransfer, and rewrite printing technologies. Many duplex printers offer easy upgrade paths for magnetic stripe and smart card encoding options, lamination, and advanced security features.
When buying an ID card printer, it’s always important to try and forecast your upcoming needs. If you’re limited to a budget that only allows you to buy a single-sided printer, we recommend calling an ID Professional to make sure the printer has the ability to add a dual-sided module after the initial purchase. Why? Because most entry-level machines don’t provide the option of upgrading to dual-sided printing. Typically, it’s about $100 – $200 more to upgrade later on down the road versus investing in a dual-sided ID card printers up front.
We get this question from customers all the time: “Can I just manually flip the card to print on the backside?” It seems like a simple enough inquiry. But the answer is a bit more complex than the question.
Our hands and fingers naturally carry oil, dust, and other small debris, and if any of this gets on the unprinted card stock, it can cause the dyes in the ribbon to be improperly applied to cards. Essentially this debris can really mess up your printing program and do some major damage.
In fact, I’ve had cases where the printhead has been pretty damaged when cards have been printed on one side and are then manually flipped to print on the remaining side. The repairs for incidents like this can typically range from $500 to $900 (and can sometimes even be more).
Another unpopular disadvantage of manually flipping your cards is that each card requires extra time to flip. If you’re printing 50+ cards or more at a time, you can see where this could really add up.
An important aspect to think about is how much information do I need to put on the card? If you have more than five fields (e.g., employee photo, name, company logo, etc.), we recommend getting a dual-sided printer, so that your card doesn’t look overloaded with data.
A bit of forward-thinking can come in very handy too. Consider future fields that may be added at later dates such as certifications or awards. A lot of companies require a disclaimer on the back side of the card, which is a common overlooked feature that requires a dual-sided machine.
For all of your dual-sided ID card printing advice and tips, turn to our knowledgeable ID Professionals. Call today at (800) 321-4405. We're always happy to help!
offer easy upgrade paths for magnetic stripe and smart card encoding options, lamination, and advanced security features.
When buying an ID card printer, it’s always important to try and forecast your upcoming needs. If you’re limited to a budget that only allows you to buy a single-sided printer, we recommend calling an ID Professional to make sure the printer has the ability to add a dual-sided module after the initial purchase. Why? Because most entry-level machines don’t provide the option of upgrading to dual-sided printing. Typically, it’s about $100 – $200 more to upgrade later on down the road versus investing in a dual-sided ID card printers up front.
We get this question from customers all the time: “Can I just manually flip the card to print on the backside?” It seems like a simple enough inquiry. But the answer is a bit more complex than the question.
Our hands and fingers naturally carry oil, dust, and other small debris, and if any of this gets on the unprinted card stock, it can cause the dyes in the ribbon to be improperly applied to cards. Essentially this debris can really mess up your printing program and do some major damage.
In fact, I’ve had cases where the printhead has been pretty damaged when cards have been printed on one side and are then manually flipped to print on the remaining side. The repairs for incidents like this can typically range from $500 to $900 (and can sometimes even be more).
Another unpopular disadvantage of manually flipping your cards is that each card requires extra time to flip. If you’re printing 50+ cards or more at a time, you can see where this could really add up.
An important aspect to think about is how much information do I need to put on the card? If you have more than five fields (e.g., employee photo, name, company logo, etc.), we recommend getting a dual-sided printer, so that your card doesn’t look overloaded with data.
A bit of forward-thinking can come in very handy too. Consider future fields that may be added at later dates such as certifications or awards. A lot of companies require a disclaimer on the back side of the card, which is a common overlooked feature that requires a dual-sided machine.
For all of your dual-sided ID card printing advice and tips, turn to our knowledgeable ID Professionals. Call today at (800) 321-4405. We're always happy to help!