A direct to card (DTC) printer employs a print head, ribbon, and heat to print directly onto the surface of a card.
- The printer is loaded with a ribbon that feeds between two spools.
- The print head heats the ribbon to the correct temperature.
- The ribbon passes over the card, depositing ink onto it through a process called dye sublimation.
- The ribbon passes over the card multiple times until the design is complete.
DTC printers are a good choice for printing simple designs onto blank white cards, such as logos, text, and basic photos. They are also a good option if you want to keep costs low. However, you should not use a DTC printer for access control cards or smart cards, as the raised chip on these cards could damage the print head.
Some things to consider when choosing a DTC printer:
- Print quality: Most DTC printers have a print quality of 300–600 dots per inch (dpi).
- Color: Most DTC printers can generate more than 16.1 million colors.
- Card size: Some DTC printers can print on standard card sizes, such as CR-80.
- Additional features: Some DTC printers can offer dual-sided printing, lamination, and encoding.
- HID FARGO DTC4500e ID Card Printer & Encoder: is Fast, high-capacity card printing and encoding and printer can print, encode, laminate, and fluorescent print on single or dual-sided cards. It has a modular design that allows you to add dual-sided printing functionality. This printer can print dual-sided full color cards in 24 seconds. It also has an optional dual-input card hopper that can hold 200 cards. We can add a magnetic stripe encoding module to encode cards with business or cardholder information.
