A Quick Comparison of Zebra ZXP7 vs. Zebra ZXP9 ID Card Printers

Zebra printers have always delivered quality solutions for all kinds of printing needs. Their line of ID card printers is so massive that you may easily get confused with choosing the best one for your necessities. Below is a quick comparison of Zebra ZXP7 vs. Zebra ZXP9 ID card printers. These two are the best-sellers in Zebra printers, and suit the printing requirements in any environment well.

Zebra ZXP7 vs. Zebra ZXP9

Zebra ZXP Series 7 has seven powerful ID card printer models to choose from. You can select single-sided or dual-sided printing as per your needs. You can even configure the other features in the ID card system, such as lamination, encoding, and more. Zebra ZXP Series 9 is the new lineup with two ID card printer models, both of which are capable of producing HD quality prints. You can choose from single-sided or dual-sided printing, lamination, magnetic stripe encoding, and more in Zebra ZXP Series 9. The manufacturer even claims that Zebra ZXP9 is faster than most of the other reverse transfer ID card printers available in the market.

Printing Technology

Zebra ZXP7 ID card printers work on the dye-sublimation technology and suit the demands of high-volume printing needs easily. They are suited for government offices, retail businesses, as well as users who host large events and conventions. The ZXP Series 7 Pro can handle three separate ID card printing jobs simultaneously – printing, encoding, and laminating. You get standard magnetic stripe encoding with the ZXP7 Pro ID card printer, but you will need to upgrade for contact/contactless SmartCard encoding. An upgrade for dual-sided lamination is also available.

Zebra ZXP9 ID card printers work on the reverse transfer printing technology and is designed to manage high-quality printing needs in any environment. It is best for printing photo-quality ID cards and badges that can suit any type of application. Ideally, Zebra ZXP Series 9 can work best for those who need to print high-security ID cards, university photo IDs, driver's licenses, gift cards, financial cards, etc. It comes with USB and Ethernet connectivity options too to make things easier for the user.

Output and Speed

The ZXP Series 7 Pro comes with a big 250-card input hopper as well as a 250-card output hopper. This makes batch printing very simple for users. You can even hand feed single cards for quickly printing ID cards and badges if required. It takes just around 12 seconds to print a full-color single-sided card or around 3 seconds to print a monochrome single-sided card using Zebra ZXP7 Pro.

The ZXP Series 9 ID card printers have a 150-card input hopper and a 100-card output hopper. This suits all kinds of printing needs easily. Zebra ZXP9 also delivers high printing speeds. You can print a full-color single-sided ID card in just around 19 seconds using the printer. That means you get around 190 full-color single-sided cards in an hour. ZXP Series 9 ID delivers around 180 dual-sided cards in an hour too, with full-color front and monochrome back.

Added Features

The True Colour ix Series ribbons and the iSeries laminate in Zebra ZXP7 Pro ensure that the cost per card is maintained at the minimum point by reducing wastage. This means that you can rely on Zebra ZXP Series 7 Pro ID card printer in terms of efficiency and faster performance. There is a Kensington physical lock on the ZXP Series 7 Pro ID card printer as well. This allows you to secure your printer from any kind of tampering or theft attempts by preventing access to the printer. The manufacturer also offers a 2-year warranty for Zebra ZXP7 Pro, which is the icing on the cake.

Zebra ZXP9 has the upper hand with reverse transfer printing technology in terms of added features, as it has many potential benefits over dye-sublimation printing. As the images and texts are printed on a clear film first and then applied on to the surface of the ID cards, there is no physical contact between the ID card printhead and the ID cards. This means that the printhead will last for a long time. Besides, reverse transfer printing always delivers higher definition outputs and can be used for over-the-edge printing as well.

Zebra ZXP9 can also print on ID cards that have uneven surfaces, such as smart cards with chips. It can also deliver high-quality prints on non-PVC cards that are made of polycarbonate or biopolymers. What's more, the Zebra ZXP Series 9 ID card printers come with single-sided or dual-sided lamination options by default. You can also add a holographic security design on your ID cards using the Zebra ZXP9 printer. This can help to protect the data on your ID cards from tampering and fraudulent duplicating, while ensuring better durability and life of the ID cards and badges too. You also get a 2-year manufacturer warranty as well as a lifetime printhead cover with the Zebra ZXP9 ID card printer.

You can find the Zebra ZXP Series 7 here.

And the Zebra ZXP Series 9 here respectively.