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Services
| FAQs
Printer FAQ's
Q: What card sizes and finishes do FARGO Card
Printers accommodate?
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Standard
Card Size:
The standard credit card size is called CR-80. CR-80 has
dimensions of 3.375" x 2.125" (85.6mm x 54mm)
and a thickness of 30 mil (.030"/.76mm). |
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Oversized
Cards:
Oversized cards are called CR-90 and CR-100. They are available
from FARGO and are accepted in FARGO Card Personalization
Systems. CR-90 has dimensions of 3.63" x 2.37"
(92mm x 60mm). CR-100 has dimensions of 3.88" x 2.63"
(98.5mm x 67mm).
(Note: FARGO HDP, DTC700 and Pro-L Card Printer/Encoders
can be used to print oversized cards; HDP is required for
printing edge-to-edge on oversized cards.) |
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Smaller
Card Size:
The CR-79 UltraCard stock offers medium card durability
with a glossy PVC laminate on top and bottom. CR-79 has
a 10 mil/.25mm thickness with a 10 mil/.25mm adhesive backing
(total thickness is 20 mil/.5mm). CR-79 has dimensions of
3.313"L x 2.063"W / 84.14mmL x 52.39mmW.
(Note: This card is slightly smaller than the CR-80
size. It is designed mainly for adhesion to proximity cards,
fitting just inside the edge of the cards for ease of placement.) |
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Glossy
and Matte Finish Cards: FARGO provides both glossy UltraCardsT for direct-to-card printers and
matte finish HDP Cards for High Definition Printing. |
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Q: What card types should we use in our FARGO
Card Printers?
| FARGO
provides two card types for use in traditional direct-to-card
printing, as described below:
(Note: The optimal surface texture for printing
is smooth and glossy, as well as dirt- and debris-free.) |
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UltraCardT cards have a clear, glossy PVC laminate
on the top and bottom of the white PVC cards. These cards
provide moderate durability and are optically inspected
to provide clean, scratch-free surfaces for optimum print
quality and extended printhead life. |
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UltraCard
III
PVC/polyester cards provide maximum durability and print
quality. These cards have the same clear PVC laminate on
the top and bottom as the UltraCards, but have a polyester
core that prevents warping during lamination.
(Note: UltraCard III cards are required when
using PolyGuardT or Thermal Transfer Overlaminates.) |
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Q: What are High Definition Printing (HDP) Cards?
What do we need to know about these types of cards?
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Low-cost
and non-laminated:
HDP 100% PVC cards are low-cost, non-laminated cards with
a distinctive matte finish. |
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Moderate
Durability:
HDP Cards provide moderate durability and are ideal for
cost-sensitive applications. |
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Usage: HDP Cards are intended for use only
with FARGO's HDP Card Printer/Encoders. |
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Non-usage: HDP Cards have a matte surface,
which is not suitable for direct-to-card printing. |
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Card
Stock:
Video-grade PVC card stock (UltraCard and UltraCard III
cards) with polished, scratch- and debris-reduced surfaces
are also fully acceptable for High Definition Printing.
(Note: A perfect print image is virtually
guaranteed by using a card that has been optically scanned
to eliminate surface imperfections in conjunction with HDP
Film.) |
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Q: What is the difference between high-coercivity
and low-coercivity magnetic stripe cards?
Magnetic stripes
are commonly found on credit cards, access level cards and other
cards used in all kinds of applications. (Note: This well-established technology is used in industries
with low- to medium-data storage requirements.)
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Black
or Brown Stripes:
Magnetic stripe cards are simply PVC cards with either black
or brown stripes on them (made up of magnetic particles
of resin). Brown stripes are generally low-coercivity (LoCo),
while black stripes are high-coercivity (HiCo). |
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Encoding
Levels:
FARGO LoCo cards encode at a level of 300 Oe (oersteds)
while HiCo cards encode at 2750 Oe. |
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Coercivity: Coercivity is the ability of the
magnetic stripe to resist demagnetization. (Note: Higher
coercivity means that it is harder to encode and erase information
from the stripe; thus it provides more robust data.) |
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Magnetic
Head:
Magnetic stripe cards can be printed and encoded in a card
printer/encoder (equipped with a magnetic head). |
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(Note: The FARGO HDP, DTCT, and Pro-L Card Printer/Encoders can be used to both
print and encode magnetic stripe cards.) |
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Q: Do you have card-handling tips for direct-to-card
printer/encoders?
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Contamination: Always handle blank cards with care
to prevent contamination from dust, dirt, lint, oils and
fingerprints. This contamination can result in voids, lines
and/or dull areas on the printed cards. This contamination
can greatly reduce the printhead life of direct-to-card
printers. |
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Preprinted
Cards:
Handle all preprinted cards from the edge (like you would
handle a photograph). |
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Card
Storage:
Always store the cards in their original packaging or in
a dust-free environment. |
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Soiled
Cards:
If cards are dropped or soiled, do not attempt to use them.
Instead, replace the soiled cards with clean, fresh cards. |
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Card
Maintenance:
You should continually maintain clean cards at your site.
(Note: This maintenance can result in an extended
printhead lifespan, as well as an increased consistency
of high-quality printed images.) |
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Q: What are card quality issues for direct-to-card
printing?
There is a considerable variability in cards, based
on:
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Surface
Textures:
Refers to different surface textures and different sources
of raw materials. |
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Assembly
Methods:
Refers to varied methods of assembling IC smart cards and
proximity cards. |
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Q: What concerns should we have about our card
stock?
Cards
are manufactured worldwide and can be purchased from a multitude
of sources. It is critical to obtain cards of acceptable quality
for dye-sublimation, direct-to-card printing for these reasons:
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Damaged
Pixels:
When a printhead comes in contact with a dirty card surface,
the dirt can crack the covers on the printhead pixels, as
well as damage the pixels themselves. These damaged or broken
pixels cannot transfer dye to card surfaces, and will leave
thin white streaks across a card. |
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Assembly
Methods:
Varied methods of assembling IC smart cards and proximity
cards. |
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Jagged
Edges:
Some manufacturers use inexpensive production methods (e.g.,
punching cards out with dull dies) that leave rough, jagged
edges. |
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Burrs: Burrs on card edges can snag printheads
and ribbons.
(Note: This can result in defective card
prints and costly printhead replacement expenses.) |
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Unclean
Printing Room:
Cards produced in factories (with no quality control or
clean room practices in place) are often coated in dirt
and debris. |
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Dirty
Card Surfaces:
Small pieces of dirt and debris on a card will appear in
the print.
(Note: This can make the cards appear unattractive
and unprofessional.) |
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EPISuite F.A.Q.
Q. Do I need this hardware key after I install
the program?
A. Yes, the hardware key (or Dongle) must be
on the LPT port at any time you want to use EPISuite.
Q. Is there a faster way to change a card
status to unprinted?
A. Yes, the F8 key located on the top, middle
section of the keyboard will bring up the change status window
with the “unprinted” selection already chosen. Then
a simple press of the enter key will change the status.
Q. Can layout of the data entry screen in GuardCard be changed?
A. Only to a small degree can this interface
be changed. You can adjust what fields show on the screen and
what order they are displayed but you cannot change where they
show up on the screen. To change this you click on View from the
menu bar, then Data Field Setup. This will open the Field Setup
screen where you can make adjustments to the fields that display.
Q. Can I put different colors on my card design to designate different
departments or security levels?
A. If you have the Lite or Classic versions
of the software then the answer is NO. Each different color would
need to be on a separate card design. If you have the Pro version
of EPI then you can utilize the conditional display functionality
of GuardDraw to assign variable information to a single card design.
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