Your ID cards will represent your brand not only to your cardholders but to visitors and anyone else who sees them. The
look of your ID cards and the quality of what's printed on them is vital. Here are a few important ID card printing tips from our ID Professionals.
For example, say your final ID card design has been approved by all necessary departmental stakeholders:
- Marketing wants a card that improves your organization's branding.
- The Facilities and Security department wants a card that increases security.
- Accounting wants to implement everything at an affordable price.
Well, here is your chance to actually help all of them accomplish their goals: print some test cards first on PVC! Up till now, if you’ve been relying on your computer screen (RGB) or an inkjet printer (CMYK on paper). The printing results you get from an ID card printer (YMCK on PVC) is quite different. You’ll never know exactly what your cards will look like until you print them on your ID card printer. That's because direct-to-card printer dye-sublimation printing on a PVC card outputs color differently. Printing test cards on PVC allows you to make minor adjustments to the intensity of the colors applied to your cards until you receive your desired goal. Your printer driver will allow you to make these adjustments that will affect the print outcome. Play with these settings until you are completely satisfied with the quality of the design on your cards.
If your organization requires a higher-priced card solution such as access control (proximity card or contact smart card) or retail transaction (magnetic stripe or contact & contactless smart cards), testing on PVC first will make everyone involved in the process extremely happy 😊 So, after you’ve loaded your software, created your card, merged existing data, and prepared your printer, test with PVC! It’s the wise and budget-friendly thing to do. As always, you can call a friendly, knowledgeable ID Professional at (800) 321-4405 if you have additional ID card design or card printing questions. We're here to help.