When your ID card printer or the system starts to act up, or worse, stop working, it’s essential to know and use these quick checks to potentially fix the problem and get it back to optimum performance. Here at Windmill Computing, our expert team is available to help guide you through any problems the ID card printer has and advise you on how to fix them. Alternatively, you could arrange a service or repair on your printer here. Also, view our printing cleaning kits here.
Downloading The Latest Firmware And Drivers
One of the easiest ways to ensure your card printing machine maintains its performance is to check that you have the latest firmware and drivers updated. Make sure you know what printer model you have to identify whether you have any updates missing or yet to be installed.
White Lines Appearing on Cards
An annoying issue when printing cards are rogue white lines appearing on your cards. Generally, this appears as a thin white line running vertically across your ID card face; although it seems as if a white line has been added, it’s the space where no ink has transferred. The most common reason for this issue is broken pixels within the printhead, which prevents any ink from entering the white area. The best fix would be just to replace the printhead.
Card Jamming/Getting Stuck
One of the most common issues users may encounter with regular use of an ID card printer is jamming. This suggests there may be an issue with the rollers inside the printing system. The rollers have a sticky texture to grip cards and pass them through the output hopper; however, rollers that become too sticky or not sticky enough may start jamming. The easiest fix for this issue is simply giving the rollers a clean, not completely removing the sticky substance.
Imperfections/Blemishes On The ID Card
Imperfections are primarily due to dirt and dust on the blank card face before feeding them to a printer. The debris, in turn, prevents the printer from applying the ink evenly, causing slight imperfections or areas of incomplete colour.
ID Card Printer Not Printing
A more complex issue involves the card printing machine not working at all. This could be due to several reasons, such as cards stuck or jammed inside the printer. A quick way to check includes removing the ribbon and checking if any cards are jammed inside the rollers. You may also have a queue of pending cards waiting for printing, causing all current printing to cease. To view your print queue go to devices and printers under the control panel on your desktop or laptop, then click see what’s printing. You will then be able to delete or pause pending jobs.
Contact Us – Windmill Computing
Windmill Computing are specialists in ID card printer systems with 25 years of experience. We pride ourselves on our customer care and after-sale services, such as our card printer cleaning, repair, and support. However, suppose an “out of the box” system doesn’t meet your needs? In that case, our in-house pre and post-sales team will design a bespoke solution that does—in addition, providing a next day delivery service to help you get your ID card printer, ID cards or consumables as soon as possible.
If you are looking for more advice or have any questions regarding an ID card printing system or identification cards in general, get in touch with our helpful team on 0800 294 5890, or submit a contact form here.