ID Security Online Blog

    When it comes to selecting which ribbon you need to buy for your Evolis printer, many companies don’t even realize they have options.  You may notice terms like “YMCKOK” or “YMCKO” in the ribbon product description but most likely, you’re clueless as to what these terms actually mean.  You’re not alone, so I have compiled a brief guide in order to help customers chose which ribbon is right for your Evolis printer.

     First let’s start with what YMCK stand for.  These letters stand for the colors- yellow (Y), magenta(M), cyan(K), and black(K) which compromise the ribbon.  The first three colors pass over your ID badge during the printing process in succession in order to create the appearance of a full spectrum of colors.  The black portion of the ribbon is added to give text or dark images a sharp, crisp appearance.  Finally an “O” in the ribbon description (such as YMCKO or YMCKOK) stands for “overlay”.  This type of ribbon adds a layer of protective film over what ever you printed.

     When it comes to single sided printing, the only ribbons you need to concern yourself with are the YMCKO ribbons.  If you’re looking into printing dual sided ID cards, however, you might want to consider a YMCKK or a YMCKOK ribbon.  A YMCKK printer comes with an extra black panel and allows for full color printing on one side of the card and monochrome black printing on the other side of the card.  The YMCKOK ribbon essentially does the same thing but adds the clear overlay to the cards for a protective and professional looking finish.

     “But what if I want full color printing on both sides of my ID cards?” you may find yourself asking at this point.  The only option you have at point is using one YMCKO ribbon on both sides of the card.  Keep in mind that this will increase your printing costs as you will be going through printer ribbons at roughly twice the average speed.

      Remember, if you’re looking to cut the cost of printing cards and don’t require much variety in your design, monochrome printing is always an option for your Evolis printer.  IDSecurity Online offers a wide array of single color ribbons to cater to all of your monochrome printing needs.

      To make this process even simpler for you, here is a list you can use to guide you when choosing a printer ribbon. All of the ribbons below are compatible with the following printers.

• Pebble
• Pebble 3
• Pebble 4
• Dualys
• Dualys 3
• Quantum
• Securion

For Dual-Sided Printing

R3011- Printing color on one or both sides of the card

R3314- Printing color on one side of the card and black on the other side

R3013- Half panel ribbon printing color on one or both sides of the card

For Single Sided Printing

R3011-printing color on one side of the card or both

R3013- Half panel ribbon printing color on one side of the card

For Monochrome Printing

Black- Printing black on one or both sides of the card

Blue-Printing blue on one or both sides of the card

Red- Printing red on one or both sides of the card

Green- Printing green on one or both sides of the card

Gold- Printing gold on one or both sides of the card

Silver- Printing silver on one or both sides of the card

To choose which ribbon works best with your Evolis printer, feel free to give us a call at (800) 897-7024

Evolis is a printer manufacturer that makes printers used in printing ID badges of different types. Some of the different types of cards you can print are standard ID cards, driver’s licenses, bank cards and access badges and the like. A badge typically holds information about its owner, such as name, a photograph and perhaps statistical information such as height, weight and hair color, etc. The purpose of an ID badge is to identify the individual.

PVC Cards
The types of cards used are the standard type of cards used by most printer manufacturers. These cards are known as PVC (yes, the same PVC used for piping), but are more commonly known as plastic cards. Since they are smooth to the touch, PVC Cards require printing via a method known as thermal transfer printing, which uses a printer part known as a ribbon to apply either a colored or monochrome layer. Contrast this with your standard inkjet printers, which place the ink directly on the page. Thermal printing is necessary since the heating process causes the ink to remain glued to the surface, which is not an issue with printing on paper. When printing in color, the heat turns the ink layer into gas that reverts to its original state on the card’s surface, a process known as sublimation, or dye sublimation. Evolis printers can print in both monochrome and color.

Bar Code Application
Bar codes are perhaps the most basic feature of plastic cards and are used in many places, such as in stores that sell merchandise branded with bar codes. It is therefore not limited only to cards, but to a variety of plastic surfaces that require bar code identification. A bar code works by creating highly distinct black and white areas that are read by a photosensitive electronic scanner. When the card is passed under the light emitted from the scanner, the scanner detects which light is absorbed by the black areas and which is reflected by the white areas, a pattern which registers as a product or item. We’ve all been in line at the grocery store only to find that the cashier has to scan our item over and over again while people behind us are getting impatient. A scanner has a hard time reading a bar code when the lines are not printed sharply or evenly.

Rewritable Printing
Rewritable printing is to printers what rewritable CD’s are to CD burners. Any images printed on a rewritable card can be erased by being exposed to heat (230-320° F or 110-160° C). A typical PVC card can go through this process usually up to 500 times.

Lamination
Printing lamination is similar to the standard form of printing, whereby a material such as paper is covered in a protective plastic sheath. In printing, specifically in ID card printing, lamination is used in order protect card images from destruction, either accidental or deliberate. Such damage renders a card used for identification useless, or worst, if a card with an unrecognizable image is lost and found by somebody else, it can lead to identity theft. Evolis offers cards of this type in order to prevent against the types of forgery associated with damaged cards.

Holograms
It is also possible to apply holographic images to PVC cards. Cards with images are typically used by institutions that seek to avoid counterfeiting and forgery, such as banks or facilities that require an age limit for access. Holographic images cannot be duplicated with a standard Xerox machine, scanner or standard inkjet printer, which is why certain organizations opt to use them.

Magnetic Encoding
Magnetic encoding is a black stripe placed on the back of a card, usually bank cards. The particles in the magnetic encoding stripe hold binary information (1’s and 0’s) that a scanner, or reader, encodes when swiped. Evolis makes magnetic encoders that are able to create the magnetic stripes used by financial institutions.

Contact Cards or Smart Cards
Contact cards, also known as Smart Cards, are plastic cards fitted in an internal chip that can hold more than 100 times the amount of data that a magnetic stripe can hold. They are swiped much like a magnetic encoding card and also rewritable.

Contactless Cards
A contactless card is a card that holds information read through the transfer of microwave frequencies from a chip to the laminated plastic card. This mechanization means that the card doesn’t need to be swiped, but just passed nearby the scanning device (between 3-10 cm) and allows for quicker and more efficient access. Contactless cards can be used for a variety of applications, depending on the card model, and is common for access security, data storage and encryption.

With the Evolis Dualys ID card printer you will be able to print and encode your ID cards on both sides.  The Evolis Dualys card printer is one of the fastest card printers on the market and produces the stunning image quality.

User Friendly

No training needed.  This ID card printer is ready to go out of the box.  With a convenient clam-shell opening maintenance and loading are greatly sped up.  Feed one card at a time or use a card feeder.  Configured and ready to go in just a few clicks.  

Fast

Dual sided color cards print at a rate of 125 cards per hour.  Dual sided monochrome cards print at 350 cards an hour.  One sided monochrome cards are printed at the rate of 1,000 cards per hour!

Dual-Sided

From bulk personalization to single card printing this printer prints on both sides of the card in high-resolution color.  

For fast dual-sided printing the Evolis Dualys ID card printer can not be beat.  It’s one of the fastest ID card printers available.  You can be up and running in no time with it’s user friendly features.

Contact us at IDSecurityOnline today at (800) 897 7024 to reorder supplies for your Evolis printer or to discuss your card printing needs.