Buying an ID card printer is a lot more complicated these days than it used to be a few years back. There are numerous ID card printers out there, all of which claim to offer amazing performance in all environments. However, the functionality of every ID card printer differs depending upon its intended use. Therefore, it is essential to weigh your requirements against the features offered by the ID card printer before buying it. Below are some of the main features that you should look into when buying an ID card printer.
Print Quality
You will surely want an ID card printer that gives you high-quality prints. All of the modern ID card printers are capable of providing great results in terms of printing text, images, and graphics. However, you may not always need a high-end printer. If you just need to print text on your ID cards and badges you can go for a printer that gives you a print resolution of 300 dpi. For printing images, choose an ID card printer that offers a print resolution of 600 dpi.
Print Speed
The printing speed of the ID card printer will directly reflect upon its performance. If you need to batch print ID cards and badges for your organization, go for a printer that can deliver at least 150 to 200 full-color single-sided cards in an hour. If you do not need color printing, then you can choose ID card printers that can deliver around 650 to 700 single-sided monochrome cards in an hour for batch printing.
Encoding Options
Encoding allows you to secure the unique information printed on the ID cards. There are many ways to encode data on ID cards these days, such as magnetic stripe encoding, smart card encoding, contactless encoding, etc. Choose the type of encoding that you want to use in order to protect the information on the ID cards, and then pick a printer that can give you that option. Some ID card printers even allow upgrading to include any kind of encoding options you want.
Apart from these three features, you should also check for the driver compatibility and ID card software when buying one. The printer should seamlessly integrate into the network of your establishment so make sure that it is compatible with the systems you have. Most modern ID card printers will be compatible with Windows 7/Mac OS X and above. Similarly, you should also look into the software features of the ID card printer and ensure that it is easy to use.
