When using smart cards in an ID card printer, there are times that the colors printed on the card do not turn out as expected. In a standard 30 ml card print, the colors are bright, crisp and consistent across the surface of the card. Sometimes smart cards show a variance in color leaving the printer operator wondering what happened during the printing of the card.

The occurrence is common. The variance produced is most likely due to microchip embedded in the card. The chip produces a bump in the card surface that prevents the color from printing evenly across the card surface. The composition of the microchip and accompanying antennas may affect the heat absorption as the printhead passes over the card during printing. The difference in heat may cause the resulting color difference.

Current Fargo printers that will allow encoding of proximity cards are the Fargo HDP5000, Fargo DTC550 and Fargo DTC400e. For information about cards that can be integrated with identification applications, visit our HID prox card page.