Card printers are specialised printing machines that are designed to print plastic or PVC cards. You can add names, logos, photos, barcodes and QR codes to these cards, making card printers the perfect addition to a wide range of industries and organisations. Perhaps your school or university needs an ID card printer, or your business needs a small card printer for loyalty cards. Browse through our options and choose a card printer that suits your needs!
Card printers are commonly used in many industries
Card printers offer a fast and secure way of creating completely customised plastic or PVC cards that are professional-looking and cost-effective! They are commonly used to produce the following types of cards:
- Employee or student ID cards
- Government-issues IDs, such as driver’s licenses
- Visitor passes
- Access cards to secure areas (using RFID or chip encoding)
- Loyalty and membership cards
- Gift cards
- Hotel key cards
- ATM, credit and debit cards
Card printers are very practical printing machines and thanks to the availability of portable or wireless card printers, they can be used anytime, anywhere to print personalised cards.
Card printer features you may want to look out for
When choosing a card printer, you will need to consider features that will suit your specific printing needs. Some features include:
- Printing technology: Most card printers will print using Direct-to-Car (DTC) or Retransfer (Reverse Transfer) technology. DTC prints directly onto the card’s surface, while Retransfer prints the image on a film which is heat-transferred onto the card for higher quality and durability.
- Single-sided or Dual-sided printing: For simple card printing, a card printer with single-sided printing is sufficient. If you want more information on the back of your cards, you will want a card printer with dual-sided print functions.
- Encoding capabilities: If you want to create access cards, you may want to find a card printer with magnetic stripe, smart card, or RFID encoding.
- Connectivity options: Choose a card printer with a connectivity option that suits you and your set-up! Wireless card printers will support printing via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Ethernet, while some card printers require USB cables.
Your desired features will be specific to your industry and what type of cards you need to print, but knowing some important features will help to narrow down your search!
TIP!
Card printers use ribbon cartridges instead of ink or toner! Stock up on
printer ribbons for your card printer so you don’t run out mid-print.
Other useful products
Common Questions
What is a card printer?
A card printer is a specially designed machine that prints on plastic or PVC cards to create ID badges, membership or loyalty cards and access cards. We offer a variety of card printers at 123ink.ie that are suitable for many different industries.
Do card printers use paper?
Card printers do not use paper; they print directly onto plastic or PVC cards! These cards are the same size and thickness as a standard credit card. You can get a 500-pack of 123ink white
PVC cards for a great price at 123ink.ie!
Can card printers encode smart cards or magnetic stripes?
Many card printers can encode smart cards and magnetic stripe cards, but only if they have the appropriate encoding modules. Browse through the card printers available at 123ink.ie to see if there are any with this built-in module!
If you need help choosing the right card printer, contact our dedicated
Customer Service team! They’re always happy to help.
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