Card Printers - customised and professional printing of plastic cards

Card printers enable the fast and high-quality printing of plastic cards such as employee ID cards, customer cards or visitor badges. They work with special printing technologies to achieve a long shelf life and high print quality - directly on site and according to your needs.

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Zebra Card Printers

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MagiCard Card Printers

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Evolis Card Printers

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Entrust Card Printers

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Matica Card Printers

HID Fargo Card Printers

Buying a card printer: What criteria you should consider

There are several factors to consider when buying a card printer : Do you need single-colour or multi-colour, single-sided or double-sided prints? Which card types are used - simple Plastic cards or those with RFID chip orMagnetic stripe?

Other key criteria are the desired print quality, speed and connectivity via USB, Ethernet or WLAN. The required counterfeit protection also plays a central role for ID cards or access cards. If your cards require special resistance - for example against chemicals or mechanical stress - additional seals or special colour ribbonsare recommended.

Card printers:
Models for beginners and professionals

Card printers are available in various performance classes: from entry-level models for smaller card quantities to professional systems and high-end solutions with an extended range of functions.

Dye-sublimation printers are particularly popular for beginners, as they are ideal for personalising pre-printed plastic cards and monochrome printing in small print runs - at an affordable entry-level price.

Card printers for professional applications

Professional card printers are often used in industrial environments. In addition to dye sublimation printers , retransfer printers are mainly used here, which are suitable for small and large print runs as well as for single-sided, double-sided and multicolour printing.

For the most demanding requirements, high-end printing systems offer additional functions such as printing cryptographic encryption on smart cards or forgery-proof ID cards with laser engraving. Many models can be flexibly customised - e.g. with chip encoders, magnetic stripe readers or an extended card feeder - to suit your needs.

Card printers from renowned manufacturers

Here you will find card printers from leading manufacturers such as Zebra, Magicard, Evolis, Entrust, Matica EDIsecure or HID Global- suitable for every application: whether plastic cards, chip cards, ID cards or access solutions.

The devices impress with their reliability in continuous operation and a wide range of printing options - from single or double-sided printing to monochrome or full-colour printing through to encoding chip cards, magnetic stripes and optional lamination.

The Zebra ZC series models are an example of efficient card printing in the office:ZC100, ZC300andZC350 offer high printing speed, razor-sharp results and a compact design - ideal for small working environments.

All functions of our plastic card printers

Our Plastic card printers offer a wide range of functions for a wide variety of applications - from simple customer card printing to security-critical ID card applications. The devices support direct printing in monochrome, full colour or in a high-quality re-transfer process.

They also enable the personalisation of rewritable cards, single or double-sided printing and the use of security features such as HoloKote or Holopatch. For greater durability, cards can be provided with overlay protection, laminate or even a customised hologram .

Thanks to various encoding options Magnetic cards contactless (RFID) or contact chip cards can be customised as required. Network integration also enables use in larger system environments.

How does card printing work? - Process flow & printing costs

Card printing process flow

Whether customer cards, chip cards, magnetic stripe cards or employee ID cards: The printing process for plastic card printers is based on the same principle. The card is fed past a thermal print head together with a colour ribbon - the colour is transferred to the card using heat .

There are two common printing processes:

Direct printing

With direct printing, the colour is transferred directly from the ribbon to the card. This process is cost-effective and is particularly suitable for standard applications with simple requirements.

Re-transfer printing

Here, the printed image is first applied mirror-inverted to a transfer film, which is then laminated to the card without contact. This process is particularly suitable for contact and contactless chip cards, as no heat is applied to the sensitive components. In addition, re-transfer printing enables a borderless result with particularly high quality.

Printing costs at a glance

The printing costs of a plastic card vary depending on the process, colour application, number of pages and additional functions such as lamination:

from approx. 1 cent per card for single-colour direct printing
up to approx. 60 cents per card for full-colour, double-sided printing with lamination

Setting up the card printers and card software

Thanks to intuitive user interfaces and clear display guidance , our card printers can generally be set up without any prior knowledge. The right Card software we also offer you the right card software - for simple layouts through to professional applications in the areas of security badges, visitor management or student identification.

You will find a wide selection of software solutions in the auto-iD 24/7 shop. We particularly recommendcardPresso a powerful application with multi-layout function, signature field, encoding options and comprehensive design options - ideal for customised card design and direct use in companies or educational institutions.

Your dealer for card printers - Rent or buy card printers

Plastic cards are used every day - whether for identification, access management or the payment process. High print quality is crucial to ensure that cards remain ready for use in the long term. The auto-iD 24/7 shop provides you with tested card printers and a comprehensive range of accessories, including plastic cards, Colour ribbons cleaning materials,Clips, Lanyards, Card holders and suitable card software.

In addition to purchasing, we also offer you the option of renting card printers - ideal if you only need a device temporarily.
Consumables are available from us in a practical complete package.

If you decide to purchase, we recommend our remote/telephone support package:
This gives you access to expert support at all times in the event of questions or technical problems - directly, quickly and reliably.