![]() ![]() The letter “K” designates the colour black in the printing industry. However, both dye sublimation and thermal ink (sometimes referred to as Resin) can be combined in one ribbon (see Figure 2). Varying the heat intensity on the ribbon panels yields various shades of each colour, making colour selection virtually unlimited.Īs mentioned above, thermal transfer differs from dye sublimation in that it uses ink instead of dye. The advantage of dye sublimation is the millions of colours that can be created. The temperature of the print head controls how much dye is converted to a gas – as the print head temperature rises, more dye can be absorbed into the plastic card.Ĭonsequently, the picture quality and continuous colour tones produced by a dye sublimation printer – at 300 dpi – can outperform most laser or ink jet printers with higher resolutions. When the print head heats the dye on a ribbon, the dye is transformed from a solid to a gas and diffused onto the plastic card, which is specially coated to absorb the colour dye. ‘Dye Sublimation’ is also referred to as Dye Diffusion. This means the card will pass under the print head once for each of the three coloured ribbon panels - applying each colour separately. The dye from the ribbon is applied to the plastic card via a multi-pass operation. These three colours are the primary colours used in printing to produce all other colours including black. This configuration is referred to as YMC. The ribbon used in colour dye sublimation printing is divided into three separate colour panels Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan (see Figure 1). In dye sublimation, heat vaporizes the ribbon dye, which then permeates the plastic card. In thermal transfer printing, heat melts the ink on the ribbon, causing it to transfer to the card surface. However, thermal transfer printing differs from dye sublimation in that thermal transfer uses ink rather than dye. Both techniques involve heating a thermal print head while in contact with a ribbon. ![]() How to Print on Plastic CardsĪll Zebra plastic card printers feature the same basic printing operations dye sublimation and/or thermal transfer printing. At just a few seconds per card, the printing process is fast, so that cards are generated and personalized immediately, quickly connecting the customer or cardholder to the issuing organization or program.ĭigitally printed plastic cards provide numerous technological features, but start with a blank card that can be printed with any combination of artwork, graphics, text, digital photograph, bar codes, logos, etc., limited only by the issuers’ imagination.Īdditional machine-readable information, such as magnetic stripes and smart card chips, can also be encoded. With a computer and an image capture system, such as a digital camera, plastic card printers provide the delivery point of a highly integrated system. Their standard size, portability and durability make them the ideal choice for many applications.ĭigital plastic card printers offer the ability to create customized cards on demand, right at the point of issuance. ![]() Plastic cards are prevalent in our daily lives, from credit cards to driver’s licenses, membership cards to employee identification badges. ![]()
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