If you’re in the market for an ID card printer, you've likely encountered many different types and brands of ID card printers, you may have even come across Evolis Printers. One of their models, Evolis Primacy, has recently been updated and replaced with a second model. Below, we’ll take you on a deep-dive review and go over the different characteristics of the Evolis Primacy 2, and what we think makes this ID printer a fantastic investment. 

About Evolis Primacy 2

The successor to the Evolis Primacy, this printer builds on the strong foundations of its predecessor. This dual sided card printer is designed to print on both sides of a card, whether it's a badge, ID card, proximity card, loyalty and more. 

It offers a range of robust features and has increased printhead durability. (We’ll go over these in more detail later) For additional peace of mind, it comes with a 3 year warranty, which can also be extended even further.

ID Card Printing: Capability, Cost and Speed

Its dual-sided printing capabilities mean that both time and effort are saved. There’s no need to take a card out and ensure you’ve re-inserted it correctly, not only taking up time and effort but also possibly damaging not only the card but the printer components as well. This can lead to frustration and costly repairs or increasing your business expenses.

Evolis Primacy 2 is perfect for large batch printing with its 100 card input/output hoppers and quick speed. For a full color card it takes around 13 seconds and a black and white card takes only 5 seconds.

Primacy 2 utilizes sublimation to print color cards and thermal transfer for monochrome cards. With up to 280 cards per hour, Primacy two offers both quality and quantity at quick speeds and high resolution printing from its colorimetric profile. Here’s a short cost breakdown:

• Single-sided Color: $0.36
• Dual-sided color: $0.63
• Black and white: $0.09
• Half color half black and white: $0.45

Evolis Primacy 2 Consumables 

We’ve gone over baseline cost, but the overall economic value when it comes to the consumables it uses are another question. Consumables include ribbons, cassettes, cleaning supplies etc. Evolis YMCKO ribbons ensure high-quality prints and printer optimization. Each ribbon has a double overlay, meaning doubly durable protection. Additionally, their ribbon cassettes are easy to install and also come in a cassette-free option for an environmentally conscious consumer.  

If you purchased the rewrite feature for your Primacy 2 (which we'll go over in a bit) then you can easily print and rewrite cards. This is especially cost-saving if you need to issue temporary cards- such as badges, IDs and loyalty cards- on a regular basis.

For added care and upkeep, you can purchase an ID Printer Cleaning kit from Evolis. This keeps your printer and its parts properly cleaned so your printer can continue to run smoothly

ID Printer Upgrades

Another reason we love Evolis Primacy 2 is because it can grow with your business with its many available upgrades. These include double-sided printing (if you initially purchased single sided-only), 200-card feeder upgrade, smart encoders, lamination modules, and an LCD panel.

Not only are these available post-purchase, but they also can be easily installed by yourself. So, there’s no need to wait around while you send equipment that is integral to running your business or organization away to receive its factory upgrade.

Security and Durability Features 

Evolis Primacy 2 offers an incredible range of security features. Depending on your needs, you can choose which ones are right for you, and if these change or grow, you can select more as the need arises. These include:

• Encoding: This feature allows you to print and encode whichever smart cards you’d like, from magnetic strips to contact and contactless chip cards. 

• Lamination: This module allows you to print cards with an additional layer of durability and security. You can choose from varnish, patch or create a generic or custom hologram. 

• Double Overlay: The double overlay layer optimizes your cards durability. If your cards are in need of abrasion protection or enhanced wear, this varnish, saves time and money when compared to the protection from a standard YMCKO ribbon. Its extra durability without lamination has up to 3x the lifespan than a standard lamination. 

• UV Effect: You can incorporate the UV effect with a specific ribbon or utilize the lamination modules standard ribbon. The new UV is Compatible with standard ribbons using their Lamination module (YMCKO, 1/2YMCKO,
  YMCKOK). Only viewable under a UV Light, this overlay adds another layer of security to your ID cards. Be sure to use a quality software such as Bodno Gold or better to utilize this feature. 

• Scanner: Second to last, is the scanner feature, which allows you to double check and ensure printed data is correct and to keep a print history.

• Data Rewrite: Last but not least, this feature may answer some questions about the scanner feature. This feature ensures that once printed, no data from the card remains accessible from neither the memory nor the ribbon. This is accomplished through two specific technologies. First is Kineclipse, which renders printed information illegible on the ribbon. Second is digital erasing, which ensures data is completely erased with no remaining recoverable footprint. 

One additional security feature we thought was worth mentioning is that the printer itself has a mechanical lock and key. This prevents unauthorized access to the printer, its consumables and most importantly, encoders.

A User-Friendly ID Card Printer

We’ve already gone over a few things which make Evolis Primacy 2 user-friendly, such as user-installed upgrades, large batch autonomy, and automatic data erasure. 

One of the most useful and helpful features which makes this printer user-friendly comes with the LCD model. If you are in need of assistance while using your printer, the screen has a QR code displayed. When scanned, this code will take you right to the help you’re looking for!

Review Summary

The Primacy 2 is a highly customizable printer option with a plethora of printing options. Any organization with medium to large card printing needs will find the hands free printing due to a large input/output hopper to be time and effort saving, leading to increased efficiency and satisfaction.  All of this, paired with easy-access user support, makes this printer quick and quality, so you won’t need to choose only quality or quantity alone. 

You can purchase Evolis Primacy 2 complete packages including software, consumables and additional supplies at Bodno!