Ynot_UK
Well-known member
I couldn't find any discussions on this subject, so I'll start one...
We are looking to start printing ID cards for an existing client. Initially a thousand or so cards, then to provide a small amount for new and replacement cards each week.
We've no prior experience with PVC cards, apart from creating designs for bulk cards which come in from China in tens of thousands.
So this will be a new string to the bow.
Anyone else on the forum doing this? Any pointers, good/bad experiences, hardware recommendations, thoughts on Direct to Card vs Retransfer, etc. welcomed.
Musts include:
This project has no security or encoding requirements as essentially it's a name badge card with a photo, although the ability to offer this may open other doors (pardon the pun) in the future.
In terms of budget, there isn't one per se, however if for example a duplex Magicard 300 at £1,000 (or £1,400 with encoding capability) will be more than man enough for our jobs, then we won't look to unnecessarily spend 3x that on a Retransfer printer such as the Evolis Agilia. But if the £3k machine is what we need to invest in to produce consistently accurate, vibrant cards, then so be it.
We are looking to start printing ID cards for an existing client. Initially a thousand or so cards, then to provide a small amount for new and replacement cards each week.
We've no prior experience with PVC cards, apart from creating designs for bulk cards which come in from China in tens of thousands.
So this will be a new string to the bow.
Anyone else on the forum doing this? Any pointers, good/bad experiences, hardware recommendations, thoughts on Direct to Card vs Retransfer, etc. welcomed.
Musts include:
- High quality reproduction of head/face photos
- Accurate colour rendition for photos and logos
- Edge to Edge printing
- Ability to design and print as multipage PDFs - generated from InDesign (initial bulk will be a data merge) to a driver (or rip)
- No requirement to use bundled OEM design software
This project has no security or encoding requirements as essentially it's a name badge card with a photo, although the ability to offer this may open other doors (pardon the pun) in the future.
In terms of budget, there isn't one per se, however if for example a duplex Magicard 300 at £1,000 (or £1,400 with encoding capability) will be more than man enough for our jobs, then we won't look to unnecessarily spend 3x that on a Retransfer printer such as the Evolis Agilia. But if the £3k machine is what we need to invest in to produce consistently accurate, vibrant cards, then so be it.
