An entry-level ID badge printer is great for businesses that need to print up to 200 identity cards per year. These types of printers are used to print access control passes, employee badges, visitor passes, student ID cards, and much more. Basic ID badge printers are a cost-effective solution for a small businesses in a wide variety of industries. However, while entry-level printers can create ID cards that help secure your offices, create a sense of belonging among employees and boost brand recognition, they don’t come with some of the advanced features offered by mid-level and enterprise level printers. To determine what type of features are essential for your organization, ask yourself: What will I be using the ID printer for? For instance, do you need a printer that can personalize ID cards quickly and reliably? Do you need a printer that can print in full color or just monochrome black for temporary badges and visitor passes? Do you want a printer with magnetic coding or barcode capabilities? Do you want to print on just one side of the card or both sides? Once you’ve made a list of wants and must-have features, it’s much easier to choose the right ID badge printer for your business. For example, if hyper-speedy printing isn’t that important to you, then entry-level badge printers that print about 8 to 10 seconds slower than mid-level and high-volume ID card printers, are a great option because you’ll still be able to print color and monochrome cards, get some basic security features, and have your own reliable ID badge printing solution at a cost-saving price.

Professional tier ID badge printers provide an excellent solution for educational institutions, universities, and medium-sized enterprises that require printing up to 2,000 identity cards annually. These printers offer a wider range of features compared to entry-level models and generally have a slightly faster printing speed for ID cards utilizing direct-to-card printer technology. Moreover, professional ID card printers are known for their reliability, enhanced security features, and the availability of upgradable options like dual-sided printing. Notably, the Magicard 300 and Evolis Primacy ID printer 2 systems are versatile and easily adaptable printers that can cater to the evolving needs of your business.

or large businesses that need to print over 2,000 cards a year or require a high level of security and superior print quality, professional or enterprise level ID printers are an ideal option. These types of printers come fully equipped with features like double-sided printing, easy-to-use touchscreen interfaces, larger capacity ribbons and hoppers, re-transfer printing, lamination, custom hologram capabilities, and more. Generally, the higher volume of ID badges a printer can print, the longer and more comprehensive the manufacturer’s warranty will be. However, what really sets apart high-volume professional ID printers is that these types of printers typically offer the highest quality printing, advanced security and laminating capabilities, and have advanced options that allow businesses to conquer even the most complex and sophisticated ID printing jobs. Interested in an enterprise professional ID printer? Check out the Fargo HDP6600 ID card printer.

You’re probably wondering what the average price for an ID badge printer is. The price range can vary based on the class of ID badge printer you need for your business. For instance, you can find entry-level ID badge printers as low as $799 and professional ID badge printers (including ID badge software) that can run as high as $9,000. If you’re not sure about what type of printer you need for your organization or only need an ID badge printer for a short period of time, you may want to consider renting an ID card printer.

Depending on how much information you want to include on the ID cards you print, you may need an ID card printer with dual-sided printing capability. Dual-sided ID card printers have a built-in flipper that automatically turn an ID cards over from front to backside printing. Generally, a dual-sided card printer will cost $400 to $1,000 more than a comparable single-sided printer. Most entry-level printers only offer single-sided printing. Now, you’re probably thinking: “Can’t I just flip the ID card over manually to print on the other side?” While you can technically do that, if you have hundreds or even thousands of ID badges to print, manual double-sided printing will be a time-consuming, labor intensive and expensive process. If you decide to go the manual double-sided printing route, your fingers must be completely free from any oils and dust to avoid accidentally blemishing the ID cards. It’s also critical that you store printed ID cards in a clean, dry place to avoid damages.

Most ID badge printers use two types of printing technologies: Direct-to-card and reverse transfer (Retransfer.) If you would like to learn more about how these two technologies work, read our blog post, How Do ID Card Printers Work. Or, keep reading to get only a quick summary of both technologies’ features.

Most card printers use direct-to-card (DTC) dye-sub printing, this technology allows for high quality image and text printing most commonly in the 300 dpi range. Although this printing method is a cost-effective and popular choice, it is not true “edge-to-edge” (“borderless”) printing. While most DTC printers offer near edge-to-edge printing, many still leave white or blank areas. Generally, printers that use direct-to-card printing technology are $1200 to $1,600 less than comparable retransfer ID card models.