Prima 8 Printers
Have Questions about Magicard Prima 8 ID Card Printers? We Have Answers!
What are the Main Features Available in Magicard Printers?
Magicard Prima 8 printers are ideal for a variety of applications and replace the Magicard Prima 4 ID card printers. Prima 8 features retransfer printing technology, also known as reverse transfer printing. Retransfer printers print card images to clear retransfer film that is then fused to the surface of a card with intense heat. This type of printing process allows the Prima 8 to print rich, vibrant images that flood the entire surface of your cards. It also allows you to print images to cards with uneven surfaces, such as prox cards, smart cards, perforated cards, and more.
Prima 8 card printers are packed with user-friendly features including:
- Single- or dual-sided printing capabilities
- Optional single- and dual-sided card lamination capabilities
- An intuitive user-interface with easily-understood status messages and instructional prompts in its LCD panel
- Built-in USB and Ethernet connectivity for flexibility in where your printer is placed in your facility
- Optional magnetic stripe, contact, and contactless encoding to print and encode cards in a single process
- High-capacity ribbons, film and laminate cartridges that increase print runs and are easy to load
- The ability to print to a variety of cards, including pre-punched cards, perforated cards, prox, contact and contactless smart cards and more
- "Over-the-edge" printing, covering the entire card surface, including the ability to print up to contact chips
- Three-year manufacturer warranty with loaner service
Should I Choose the Single-Sided or the Dual-Sided Prima 8 ID Card Printer?
It depends on how much information you need to put on your cards. For example, if you will only be placing the cardholder's photo and name on your cards, the single-sided Prima 8 printer may be ideal for you. However, if you need to place more information on your cards, we recommend the dual-sided Prima 8 printer so that you can print to both sides of the card in one, simple process.
Many customers ask if it is possible to print on both sides of the card with a single-sided printer by manually flipping the cards and sending them back through the printer. Doing so will subject your cards to dust, debris, and oil from your fingertips, which can affect the quality of the printed image and possibly damage your printer.
If you will be creating ID cards with limited cardholder information, choose a single-sided Magicard Prima 8 printer.
If you will be printing more information on your cards and want the ability to print on both sides of the card, choose a dual-sided Magicard Prima 8 printer.
Why Would I Need to Laminate My Plastic Cards?
If you recall the days of cutting and pasting a paper 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.
Lamination 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.
Choose a laminating Magicard Prima 8 printer if your cards will be swiped in a magnetic stripe reader or will be worn in extreme conditions, such as in the sun, or if your cards need high-security features.
The Magicard Prima 8 Printer Uses Retransfer Printing Technology. Why Choose Retransfer Technology?
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 Magicard Prima 8, print your card image to a clear 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.
Choose the Prima 8 if your card design needs to print "over-the-edge" or if you will be printing on technology cards (smart cards, prox cards, etc.).