Author Archives: Safe-Card ID Team

Evolis Dualys – How to Manually Clean the Printer

Like all Evolis plastic card printers, the manufacturer recommends a cleaning cycle be performed once every 1,000 card prints. For printers still under warranty coverage, these cleanings must be performed on time to maintain coverage on the print-head. For any Evolis Dualys series printer, follow these steps to manually clean the printer:

Cleaning Supplies Required:

Manually Clean the Printer:

  1. Open the printer lid, remove the print-ribbon, and set it aside;
  2. Remove the card hopper, and then remove all cards from the card-hopper. Set the cards aside where they’ll stay clean and neatly stacked. Be careful to handle the cards only by the edges, and not on the printable surfaces.
  3. Move the card thickness gauge to its maximum open setting (past the “40” marking).
  4. Remove an Evolis Hi-Trust IPA-alcohol cleaning card from its protective package and insert the cleaning card into the card hopper.
  5. Place the card hopper, with cleaning card inserted, back onto the printer.
  6. Push the power button for about 1 second, and then release it. (Note – if you don’t hold it down long enough, nothing will happen; if you hold it down too long, the printer will power off. If either occurs, try again.)
  7. The cleaning card will be pulled into the printer, and it will be cycled through the print area repeatedly. You will know that the cleaning is proceeding properly when you hear the card being cycled forward and back in the printer. If the card is transported straight through and into the output hopper, replace the cleaning card into the card hopper, and start at step 5.
  8. Once the card cleaning has completed successfully, open the printer lid and remove the cleaning roller from the inside-back of the printer.
  9. Open an Evolis Hi-trust IPA alcohol cleaning wipe, and use it to thoroughly clean the cleaning roller.
  10. Replace the cleaning roller into the printer, ensuring that the “axle” on each end is fitted into the appropriate slots on either side of its mounting location.
  11. Continue to use the IPA alcohol wipe to clean any other visible rollers within the printer. Note that you may want to rotate these rollers by hand to be able to clean them completely.
  12. Replace your print ribbon and close the printer lid.
  13. Remove the card-hopper, reset the thickness gauge to the number equivalent to your card thickness (standard cards are 30 mil, so you would set the gauge to “30”.
  14. Replace your card stock into the card hopper and place the hopper back into the printer.
  15. Ensure that the output hopper is fully open.

Once the steps above are completed, your Evolis Dualys series printer will be clean and you will be ready to print again.

Safe-Card ID Services is an authorized dealer for all Evolis card printing products. For additional information about ID card printing, or if you need further technical support or assistance, feel free to contact us toll-free from the US & Canada at +1 888.485.4696, or +1 704.535.5200 elsewhere.

New Video: The Fargo HDP5000 Printer – Imagine

HID Global, a leading manufacturer of ID card printers and security products provides a over the edge printer that exceeds the standards of the majority of ID card printers on the market. The following video illustrates the features of this rugged printer.

The printer shown is available in single and dual sided options. Other options include high security elements such as standard and custom holograms for a single side or both sides of the printer, mag stripe encoding, smart card encoding and more.

If you have specific questions about how this Fargo card printer can meet your organizational requirements, please contact our ID card experts at 888-485-4696. We would be happy to provide information about the Fargo HDP5000 to ensure you receive the correct printer system for your upcoming ID card program.

How to Remove and Replace an Evolis Pebble Printhead

Our technical area is busy with different questions our customers have about printers and how customers can get the most efficient operation from them. One popular question about the Evolis brand printers is about the printhead removal and replacement. The following video was prepared to demonstrate how to remove a printhead from the Evolis Pebble printer and then replace it wil a different printhead.

Steps:
1. Remove the hopper.
2. Open the top cover.
3. Push the support mechanism in to release the printhead.
4. Slide the printhead up and over the metal holder.
5. Unplug the wire harness.
6. Reverse the steps to put the new printhead into place.

Once the above steps are completed, the printer is ready for use.

If you need information about the Evolis printer brand, please contact our ID card experts at 888-485-4696.

Evolis Printer – How to Change a Print Ribbon

The Safe-Card ID video team completed another instructional video to help Evolis printer owners know how to correctly change a printer ribbon in an Evolis Pebble and Evolis Dualys printer. Follow the steps below and you will be set to print.

Changing a print ribbon:

1. Open the printer cover.
2. Remove the ribbon from the packaging.
3. Lay the ribbon as indicated on the instruction panel in the printer, making sure that the ribbon runs over the top of the two spools.
4. Close the lid.
5. The printer will cycle through to start printing on the right panel.

If you need information about PVC card printing system, contact our experts at 888-485-4696. We would love to hear from you.

Know someone who could use these tips? Feel free to share with options below.

New Litho Grade Graphic PVC Cards

PVC CardsIn April of 2012, Safe-Card ID is adding litho grade PVC cards as a lower priced option in our PVC cardstock lineup. The PVC cards are the same size and thickness of traditional ID cardstock. 3.375″ x 2.125″ or 85.6 mm x 54 mm. The cards are 30 ml thick which is the same thickness as a standard credit card.

These cards will run through card printers as any 30 mil image grade cards. These cards, however, are not inspected in the same way as our standard grade cards. Almosst all of the cards are perfect graphic quality, but the fallout rate may be little higher than industry standard as the cards are not 100% inspected prior to release. There may be an occasional scratch or flaw on some of the cards found in the package.

Our ID card specialists would be happy to speak with you by phone or live chat about your card project and whether this cardstock would meet your card printing needs. Feel free to contact them at 888-485-4696.

ID Cameras – Benefits of TWAIN Drivers

HD Image Cam Pro

Wonder what all the fuss is when you speak with our ID experts and they advise you to make sure your camera has a TWAIN driver for the best results in making photo id badges? Without a TWAIN driver, your process of taking photos for your ID cards goes something like this:

1. Have your employee pose for a picture and take it.
2. Save the photo taken to a folder on your computer.
3. Open the picture in a photo editing software.
4. Resave the picture.
5. Open the ID card software and import the selected photo into the photo box from the saved folder.

By using a camera with a workable TWAIN driver, most of the above steps are elminated. The picture can be taken in combination by the computer keyboard and the ID card software. The snapped picture will immediately show up in your software eliminating the steps of creating folders and saving pictures for future use.

Our current popular mid range camera is the HD Image Cam Pro. This camera has a TWAIN driver and has been tested with most popular badge design software on the market. Our ID card experts would love to assist you with more information about this camera solution.

Asure ID 7 Video by HID

HID has released a video illustrating the best features of their Asure ID 7 software. This software allows organizations to design and print custom ID cards that meet the specific organizational requirements. For a quick four minute overview, please view the following video.

If you need specific information about this software and how it may apply to your application, please contact our ID card experts at 888-485-4696. We would be happy to ensure that you select the correct version to provide just the cards you need.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Add QR Codes to Your ID Cards

QR code

Recently, we have had customers request printed custom ID cards that contain QR codes. This is becoming a popular way for various tracking. The codes are commonly placed in store windows, on restaurant menus and on websites to encourage customers to download specials and organizational information. They can also be used for time and attendance, access control and more. Most smart phones have application software that will allow the QR code to be read, analyzed and information transmitted that can speed up many business processes.

The ID card software we recommend for QR code printing is the Jolly ID Flow software. This badge design software has been recently upgraded and currently provides a platform for creating and printing QR codes that will print to the custom card.

Contact our ID card experts by phone, email or live chat to receive specific application information about QR code printing using id badge machines.

What Comes with An ID Card Printer?

When a customer purchaes an ID card printer from us, they often ask what comes with the printer.

When purchasing a standard printer from our shopping cart, the printer does not normally include a printer ribbon or PVC cards. This printer purchase typically includes the printer, necessary cables and driver disks to set up the machine. Printer only purchases are often made by organizations that have already set up their ID card printing processes and are in need of expanding or upgrading their current printer.

If you are purchasing an id card printer system from our systems online store or if you work with our ID card experts and have a custom quote built to meet your specifications, you may have printer ribbons, PVC cards, ID card software and more included in your package. Bundled systems built by the manufacturer or by Safe-Card ID technical teams include a discounted package of a printer, ribbon(s), blank PVC cards, software and possibly a camera. These systems are often perfect for getting started with your identification card printing.

If you are purchasing a printer or printer system for the first time, we encourage you to contact our friendly ID card experts by live chat or phone. They have assisted many customers with the products right for their application and can provide expert advice free with your system. If you are not ready to contact them, but prefer to learn on your own, browse our online store for specific details, videos, and brochures about our systems and printers.

The Safe-Card team is happy to help you when you are ready. Dont’ wait long. Contact us toll free at 888-485-4696.

What Does Card Printer Firmware Do?

Every ID card printer contains an embedded computer program called firmware. This program is the “brain” of the printer, and is responsible for receiving output (“print jobs”) from your computer, and then translating that information into the necessary commands and functions required for your printer to produce high-quality ID cards.

Printer firmware programs are routinely updated by manufacturers to improve print-speed and quality, to expand capabilities, and to correct for software bugs or printer faults. To obtain optimal performance from any ID card printer, we recommend that our clients always use the latest firmware version available. We find that printer errors or faults often can be resolved by ensuring the firmware is up-to-date, and that printers run more consistently and with fewer issues when this practice is maintained.

Updating the printer’s firmware is easy. First, go to the technical support section of your printer manufacturer’s website. Links are provided below:

motherboardCIM Printers
Datacard Printers
Evolis Printers
Fargo Printers
IDP/Smart Printers
Magicard Printers
Zebra Printers

On these linked pages, you will be able to locate and download the correct and latest firmware for your specific printer model. Each manufacturer also helpfully includes basic procedures for the installation of the firmware on their specific printers. Of course, if you should have any questions or doubts, our expert technicians are always glad to assist you!

As a reminder, we always recommend that you update to the newest available printer driver when you update your firmware. To learn more about printer drivers, click here.

For specific card system information, contact our ID card experts toll free at +1 888.485.4696.