If you use ID card printers, you will likely have to troubleshoot problems related to ID card printers sooner or later. There are many reasons an ID card printer may not work and fortunately, many commmon ID card printer issues are easy to solve without the need for professional assistance. ID printer issues are more probable to transpire if your ID card printer has been sitting idle for many months - a scenario that might occur during the coronavirus pandemic. Cyclical fluctuations and humidity changes can also affect ID card printers.

So, what can you do to restart a printer that has not worked for a while? Our tips for troubleshooting ID card printers may be helpful to you.

Run Printer Cleaning 

Dust can easily settle inside your ID card printer. If you have not used your badge printer for a while, chances are that debris has moved in. When dust and debris collect on important parts like printer rollers, you can experience issues with card feeding. The hands-down fix is to make use of a printer cleaning kit. However, it is important to use the appropriate printer cleaning kit for the ID card printer model that you use, that is, if you are using an Evolis printer, you need to use the correct cleaning kit for Evolis printers, as ID printer cleaning kits do not work universally.

Calibrate Ribbon Sensors 

When the printer has not been used for a long while, an “Error Ribbon Miscue” message might pop up and this error can be usually fixed by calibrating the ribbon sensors. Calibrating the ribbon sensors will let the printer know itself again. To engage the precise command to calibrate the ribbon sensor, you need to navigate to the “Calibrate Ribbon” tab inside “Printer Preferences and Toolbox.”

Replace Film In Retransfer Printer 

Retransfer printers make use of heat to imprint on a clean film that is adhered to the surface of the card. If you have a retransfer printer and it has remained powered off and inactive for a long time, you might experience performance issues while trying to print with it. In such situations, you may need to replace the retransfer film and the ribbon of the printer. While replacing these components of the printer, make sure to use genuine products that are made for the retransfer printer model that you use. Else, the printer might not work properly even after changing the retransfer film and ribbon.