Should I Buy a Single-Sided or a Dual-Sided ID Card Printer?

The heart of an ID card printing program is the ID card printer. One of the first decisions you’ll need to make when choosing a printer is whether you’ll need a single-sided or dual-sided printer.

What’s the difference between these two types of printers? And how do you know which is best for you?

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.

Here are a few considerations to help you make the right decision:

Single-Sided ID Card Printers

Single-sided photo ID printers print on one side of your card in one pass. Most single-sided ID badge printers are lightweight and compact in size, making them ideal for any workstation or office space.

Is it right for me?

Single-sided card printers work well for those needing basic ID cards with limited cardholder information (e.g., only the employee name, photo, and company logo are featured). Single-sided card printers are also a great choice if the volume of cards you print each year is relatively small, typically 500 cards or less.

There are many single-sided ID badge printers can easily and affordably be upgraded to dual-sided card printing as needed. If your needs change in the future or you plan on adding more data to your cards, the most economical and proactive option is to invest in a printer that’s upgradeable.

Can I print on both sides of my cards with a single-sided printer? Technically yes, you can print one side of your cards with a single-sided ID card printer, load them back into your card hopper, and send them through your printer again to print the other side. However, this method is not recommended for a number of important reasons:

Damage to a printhead from this type of non-standard use may void printer warranty coverage.
When you handle your cards after printing them, the cards collect dust and debris from the air and oils from your hands. This can cause quality issues with the ink that is being applied to the surface of the card, expensive printhead damage, and costly downtime for your printing program.
Printing one side of your cards and then manually re-loading all of the cards to print on the other side is time-consuming and takes twice as long, reducing the efficiency and productivity of your printing program.

Dual-Sided ID Card Printers

Dual-sided ID badge printers (also called “duplex printers”) print to both sides of your card in a single step, eliminating the time-consuming process of manually flipping your cards.

Cards that are printed on only one side and worn with a lanyard can easily flip over, making it nearly impossible to clearly see or read the credentials. This can pose a serious security risk. By printing on both sides of your photo ID badges, the information is always visible.

For a number of industries like healthcare, wearing a visible ID badge at all times is a mandatory requirement of employment.

Is it right for me?

A dual-sided printer is the ideal choice when your cards contain more information than simply a cardholder’s name, photo, and company logo. With twice the space of a single-sided card, you can feature additional, more comprehensive cardholder details. The ability to split the information up onto two sides will help you keep cards looking professional and uncluttered.

Dual-sided printers allow you to add a greater degree of detailed information to your cards, such as:

Additional Cardholder Data: birth date, contact info, employee number, department
Schedule/Calendar: list of upcoming events, sales or promotions, activities, holidays
Rewards/Membership: program requirements, redemption instructions, contact details, expiration date, program benefits
Record of Uses: log of uses (e.g., rewards program/punch card) if not electronically gathering info, such as with a magnetic stripe
Emergency Information: local law enforcement and rescue phone numbers, emergency preparedness instructions, closest exit locations
Disclaimer/Lost Card: property information, card replacement fee, how to return a lost card