{"id":57,"date":"2021-10-28T15:30:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T14:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/?p=57"},"modified":"2021-11-03T11:52:21","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T11:52:21","slug":"how-do-card-printers-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Card Printers Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though there are thousands of different ID card printers available, they all work in similar ways with the exception of re-transfer printers. ID card printing technology functions by using a heated printhead over a ribbon. Ribbons transfer the colours required to design your cards, with different printing technology and ribbons you can design practically anything! Our expert team here at Windmill Computing specialise in ID card printing systems and designing tailored identification cards for you. Take a look at our current range <\/span>here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Printing Ribbons Explained<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are several printing ribbons that have their own benefits and perks, each ribbon is usually defined by its colour range.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

YMCK<\/b> – This ribbon contains no black panels, instead it focuses on colour-only designs and prints. These colours include Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black.<\/span><\/p>\n

YMCKO<\/b> – This ribbon is one of the most common ribbon types due to its versatility, with a clear coating overlay your cards receive a layer of protection from water and day to day usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Single-Colour Monochrome<\/b> – These ribbons can only print designs in shades of grey or black and white, mostly used for printing information and text on the back of cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

YMCKOK<\/b> – these ribbons come equipped with a full set colour panel and overlay for the front of cards, plus an extra black panel for printing on the back of them. Usually used for dual-sided printing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How Do ID Card Printers Work<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are 2 main categories of card printing; Direct-to-card printing and reverse transfer printing. Both types require a printhead, ribbon and blank card for design.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Direct-to-card printing, otherwise known as dye sublimation printing, involves the printhead directly applying the ribbon to the card. Typically known for high printing speed and high quantities, it is perfectly suited for organisations that need high numbers of cards printed in a short amount of time. The printhead is heated to the perfect temperature which then allows it to release the ribbon ink onto the card itself; the two spools within the printer pass over the card several times until the design is complete.<\/span><\/p>\n

In comparison, reverse transfer printing is where your chosen design is applied onto a clear transfer film that is then applied to the card. This printing process usually overlaps the edge of the card, as the film is applied. Ideal for printing on uneven surface cards such as technology cards. The printhead uses the ribbon to print a design onto a laminate overlay, pressure and heat are then applied to securely fit the blank card.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact Us – Windmill Computing\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

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. Suppose an “out of the box” system doesn’t meet your needs.\u00a0 In that case, our in-house pre and the post-sales team will design a bespoke solution that does\u2014in addition, providing a next day delivery service to help you get your ID card printer, ID cards or consumables as soon as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/span>0800 294 5890<\/b>, or submit a contact form <\/span>here.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though there are thousands of different ID card printers available, they all work in similar ways with the exception of re-transfer printers. ID card printing technology functions by using a heated printhead over a ribbon. Ribbons transfer the colours required to design your cards, with different printing technology and ribbons you can design practically… Continue reading How Do Card Printers Work<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Even though there are thousands of different ID card printers available, they all work in similar ways with the exception of re-transfer printers. ID card printing technology functions by using a heated printhead over a ribbon. Ribbons transfer the colours required to design your cards, with different printing technology and ribbons you can design practically… Continue reading How Do Card Printers Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Windmill Computing Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T14:30:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-03T11:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"marketing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"marketing\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/\",\"name\":\"How Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-28T14:30:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-03T11:52:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9815baffda9b9c7b56c88d813d86c551\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Do Card Printers Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Windmill Computing Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9815baffda9b9c7b56c88d813d86c551\",\"name\":\"marketing\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bfa6ea61c10ac5a7c6c4c4789f8aaa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bfa6ea61c10ac5a7c6c4c4789f8aaa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"marketing\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/author\/marketing\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog","og_description":"Even though there are thousands of different ID card printers available, they all work in similar ways with the exception of re-transfer printers. ID card printing technology functions by using a heated printhead over a ribbon. Ribbons transfer the colours required to design your cards, with different printing technology and ribbons you can design practically… Continue reading How Do Card Printers Work","og_url":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/","og_site_name":"Windmill Computing Blog","article_published_time":"2021-10-28T14:30:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-03T11:52:21+00:00","author":"marketing","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"marketing","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/","url":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/","name":"How Do Card Printers Work - Windmill Computing Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-10-28T14:30:27+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-03T11:52:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9815baffda9b9c7b56c88d813d86c551"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/10\/28\/how-do-card-printers-work\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Do Card Printers Work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/","name":"Windmill Computing Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9815baffda9b9c7b56c88d813d86c551","name":"marketing","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bfa6ea61c10ac5a7c6c4c4789f8aaa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bfa6ea61c10ac5a7c6c4c4789f8aaa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"marketing"},"url":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/author\/marketing\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windmill-computing.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}