A Guide to Printing Terminology

There are different types of ID card printers with different functions and it's important to understand their various features prior to making any purchase. A better understanding of the features requires a good understanding of the related terminology. For example, an interested buyer needs to understand the difference between 'Mass Transfer Printing' and 'Dye Sublimation Printing.'

Dye Sublimation Printing

Dye sublimation printing is suitable for printing on the hard surfaces of different types of ID cards. It involves the application of images to the cards, which need a special coating. The process requires three main ingredients: heat, pressure and sublimation ink.
The ink can be converted to gas straight from its solid state without turning into liquid; hence the term 'sublimation.' Heat initiates the conversion while pressure and time control it. The ribbons on the printers are usually divided into three stripes of color - yellow, magenta, and cyan.
In order for the ID cards to accept the ink, they need a special coating that is applied during the manufacturing process. Some dye sublimation inks are meant for particular types of ID card printers. Heat transfer papers with specially finished surfaces that do not soak the ink are used to apply images onto the cards. The images are first printed on the papers before being transferred onto the targeted surfaces using a heat press.
Both professional and consumer dye-sublimation printers generally produce photographic prints. They can be used in a wide variety of fields, including membership and loyalty card applications, photo ID cards, or security badges. A relatively small printer can be used to print instant photo-realistic images cheaply.

Mass Transfer Printing

This technique involves the transfer of colorant material to the desired object by applying localized heat. The method is commonly used to print such monochrome images as bar codes or text. It can also be used in conjunction with thermal dye transfer to print personalized ID cards using a method known as direct-to-card (DTC) printing.
The printers melt ribbon coats that remain glued on the object or material printed. The printers can use cards made of cheap plastic that cannot withstand the heat of laser printers.
They have thermal print heads of fixed width that press plastics or papers over driven rubber rollers known as platens. A thin transfer ribbon or foil is sandwiched between the label and print head. It is a polyester film coated with pure resin, wax-resin or wax ink on the label side. Tiny pixels on the print-head are alternately heated and cooled in rapid successions to melt the ink on the label.
Image by bru76 and licensed through Creative Commons.

Rebecca Fischer is a sales representative for CardPrinter.com, an ID Card Printer retailer that offers the leading brands in the industry including the Evolis Zenius Single-Sided card printer and the Zebra ZXP Series 3 ID Card Printer.