ID card printers can be complicated pieces of equipment and from time to time, you might run into some issues. Understandably, this can become pretty frustrating.
As the ID experts, weโre here to help. In this blog post, weโre looking at the most common ID card printer faults and how to fix them. Letโs begin.
The most common ID card printer problems and how to fix them
Poor print quality
Whether itโs white lines or bumps or spots appearing on your ID cards, seeing any defects can be extremely frustrating, not to mention expensive if you have to reprint cards. Itโs important to note that streaky cards occur when the machine hasnโt been able to reach these areas and not because the printer is printing white ink down cards. There are various potential causes of poor print quality, including dust or debris getting stuck in your printer or using bad quality cards or consumables.
How to fix poor print quality:
- Clean the ID card printer and printhead with a compatibleย cleaning kit
- Check the printer power supply to make sure the machine is getting enough power
- Only use high quality, compatibleย plastic cardsย and consumables with your printer
ID card jams
Just like regular printers can be prone to paper jams, ID card printers can be prone to card jams. A card jam can occur if dirt gets stuck in your machine, or if the cards youโre printing on are too big or too small for the printer.
How to fix an ID card jam:
- Open the printer cover and locate the jam. Try turning the machineโs rollers to release the card
- Clean your ID card printer to ensure there is no excessive build-up of dust or debris
- Check which size cards are compatible with your printer. Most printers accept CR80 credit card sized cards, so if youโre using CR79 cards, your printer may not be compatible. You can check the printerโs specification sheet to see what size cards the machine accepts.
ID card printer not connecting
It can be pretty annoying when your printer doesnโt connect. Printer connection issues can be caused by a few things, including the wrong power supply being used or improper driver installation.
How to fix ID card printer connection issues:
- Make sure you are using the correct power supply
- Check that the ID card printer driver has been downloaded correctly
Broken printer ribbon
If your printer ribbon breaks prematurely, this might be a symptom of another underlying issue. Before replacing the ribbon, you might want to consider doing the following to prevent any future ribbons from breaking.
How to prevent a broken printer ribbon:
- Make sure the ribbon is inserted properly into the machine
- Check that the ribbon you are using is compatible with your printer model
- Only useย genuine card printer ribbons
- Regularly clean your ID card printer to stop dust or debris from building up in the machine
Faulty printhead
A faulty printhead can cause further print quality issues and can even lead to expensive repair costs. Follow the below tips to prevent a faulty printhead from occurring in the future.
How to prevent a faulty printhead:
- Regularly clean the machine and printhead to prevent the build-up of any dirt
- Only use aย retransfer printerย to print onto access control cards. The raised chip of these cards can damage the printhead of a direct to card printer if direct contact is made.
Now that weโve discussed the most common ID card printer issues and how to fix them, you should have an understanding of what to do if any of the above issues occur. Youโll also have an insight into how to prevent the above issues from happening.
Letโs have a quick recap.
In a nutshell, hereโs how you can prevent most ID card printer issues:
- Regularly clean your ID printer and printhead
- Make sure you are using the correct power supply
- Only use genuine, high quality cards, ribbons and consumables
- Only use products that are compatible with your printer
- Check that your printer driver and firmware have been downloaded correctly
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