Guides
Buying & printing guides.
Plain-English help choosing printers, matching ribbons, and running your card program.
Every guide we've written
Buying Guide
Access Credentials and Encoding, Explained
Facility codes, card formats, prox versus smart credentials, and magnetic stripe coercivity, explained plainly by an authorized HID dealer.
Read guide →Buying Guide
How to Choose an ID Card Printer
Volume, direct-to-card versus retransfer, encoding, hoppers and true cost per card. The order we actually work through when specifying a printer.
Read guide →Printing Guide
Edge-to-Edge vs Over-the-Edge Printing
The two phrases are not the same thing. What the difference means for your card design, and the third option that saves buying a retransfer printer.
Read guide →Printing Guide
Direct-to-Card vs Retransfer Printing
How the two printing methods differ in edge coverage, durability, speed and cost per card, and which one your card design actually needs.
Read guide →Supplies Guide
Which Ribbon Fits My Printer?
A compatibility chart for every Fargo, Evolis and Magicard printer we supply, with the manufacturer's own yield per ribbon, plus what YMCKO means.
Read guide →Buying Guide
Single-Sided vs Dual-Sided ID Cards
What goes on the back of a card, what the second side really costs in ribbon, and whether to buy dual-sided now or upgrade later.
Read guide →Support Guide
ID Card Printer Troubleshooting: Common Problems & Fixes
The card printer faults we actually get called about, in the order they happen: print quality, jams, ribbon errors, drivers, encoding, and when to stop and call a technician.
Read guide →Access Guide
Prox Cards Explained: Formats, Facility Codes, and Ordering
What a proximity card is, the three numbers that have to be right before one works, 26-bit versus 37-bit formats, and what we need to program yours.
Read guide →Access Guide
What Is a Smart Card?
What the chip in a smart card actually does, how contact and contactless differ, and why 13.56 MHz on its own does not make a credential secure.
Read guide →Buying Guide
ID Card Sizes and Thickness: CR-80, 30 Mil, Explained
CR-80 dimensions, what a mil is and why 30 mil is standard, PVC versus composite, and which combinations fit the printers and badge holders you already own.
Read guide →Buying Guide
Badge Buddy Colors and Roles: Designing a Scheme
There is no national color standard for role badges. How to pick role names, choose colors that read at distance, and design around color vision deficiency.
Read guide →Need a recommendation?
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