Printer Maintenance

Oh dear, my printer ribbon is torn!

February 1 in Fargo Printers, Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

One of the most common calls we receive is about ID printer ribbons breaking and what do to next. The answer depends on how and how often the ribbon breaks.

In general, the answer is pretty simple: You just tape the ribbon back together, advance the ribbon forward, and resume card printing.

If, however, the ribbon breaks frequently or all the time, there maybe other issues that need attention:

  1. Ensure your driver and firmware is current. This can be found at www.fargosupport.com.
  2. Clean the printer including rollers. If the card is slipping or not aligned correctly, the printhead could be breaking the ribbon in the print process.
  3. Calibrate your ribbon sensors by viewing Printing Preferences, removing the ribbon and clicking on “CALIBRATE RIBBON”.
  4. Check your printer settings by viewing Printing Preferences. For example, dye sub values too high can cause ribbon to overheat and break. You can select “DEFAULT” and see if that improves the printing process and then, slowly, increase dye sub intensity.

If you take these steps and continue to have a ribbon break, please give us a call and set up a time for printer service. We can be reached at 317-488-1030 or info@asapident.com.

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Printer Drivers for changing Operating Systems

July 30 in Fargo Printers, ID Card Printer, ID Software, Printer Maintenance, Zebra Printers by admin | No Comments

Operating System Compatibility:

At ASAP, we receive many calls regarding driver compatibility as organizations transition to Windows 7 OS. This chart shows the printers many of our customers have and their compatibility for Windows operating systems.

If you are upgrading your operating system, be sure to verify there is a driver available for both your printer and software.

If you have any questions, please call (317-488-1030) or email (info@asapident.com).

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There’s a white line in my ID card, Dear Liza!

February 15 in Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

What to do, what to do. If you have the unfortunate case of a line in the same spot on your card every time you print, then you most likely have a broken pixel on your printhead inside your printer. This is unfortunate because the printhead cannot be repaired and in most cases it is not under warranty.

The good news is that all is not lost because the printhead can be replaced. However, the cost of replacing the printhead can range in price from $500 to roughly $1500. Want to keep that $500 – 1500 in your pocket?

KEEP YOUR PRINTER CLEAN! Dirty cards are the most common cause of damaged printhead. Next most common is coming in contact with the printhead with a hard object such as a watch or bracelet while changing the printer ribbon so remove these items if possible.

Remember, ASAP recommends cleaning your printer every time you change your ribbon – a small cost compared to that of a new printhead.

If you have any questions about the above, or you have an issue with your printhead, give us a call at (317) 488-1030.

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Keeping your printer card printer in tip-top shape

February 8 in ID Card Printer, Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

As with any investment, you need to make sure your ID printer is kept clean and maintained on a regular basis. ID card printers that are not properly maintained can become inoperable, causing print issues and can ultimately shorten the life of a printer, or worse, void your manufacturer warranty. Proper routine care and maintenance will prolong the life of your ID printer and insure the highest quality card output.

From most printer drivers, you can run a cleaning cycle for your printer using cleaning cards (pre-saturated or sticky-tape).

How to clean your ID printer:

  • Feed Rollers: Cleaning kits include cleaning cards that clean your feeder/transport rollers. Run one after each ribbon change.
  • Print Head: Cleaning swabs with isopropanol alcohol (IPA) or an approved thermal printhead cleaning pen may be used CAREFULLY on the printhead with each ribbon change.
  • Overall maintenance: Depending on use and environment, consider having a more thorough printer cleaning and tune up by our Factory Trained Service Technicians.

ASAP Identification sells cleaning kits for all ID card printers. We also offer a Printer Service for either routine maintenance or repairs. Call us at 1-800-ASAP4ID for pricing.

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Does Anybody Have a Loaner!?

August 30 in ID Card Printer, ID Cards, Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

Has this ever happened to you – you walk into the office with a spring in your step as you enjoy the beautiful autumn morning. Just as you are laying out your morning paper, cup of coffee and blueberry muffin, someone knocks on your door reminding you (okay, let’s be honest, telling you for the first time) that there will be 75 guests in the building tomorrow afternoon and each of them needs an ID badge.

Ignoring the grumbling in your stomach, you proceed to say “not a problem, I can get those done today.” You turn on your printer, enter the necessary information and hit print. Unfortunately, the next sound you hear is the kind of screeching that sends cats and dogs running for cover. Somehow, someway, the printer is broken. The question now is – what do you do?

The simple answer – give us a call. We maintain a variety of printers at our office precisely for this exact situation. Depending on where your offices are located, we can either deliver a loaner printer to you that day or ship you a loaner printer overnight. Either way, you will be able to print those ID badges in time for tomorrow’s afternoon meeting.

At the same time, we can also repair your broken ID printer while you use our loaner printer. This will ensure you are ready to go if any other unexpected badging jobs need to get done. This is a much better deal than going 2-3 weeks without your ID printer!

For more information, please give us a call at 317-488-1030.

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To Flip, or Not to Flip – That is the Question

August 15 in ID Card Printer, ID Cards, Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

You are sitting at your desk trying to eat that slice of pizza with extra cheese you just bought for lunch. Just as you are thinking that you wish you added pepperoni to your order, someone walks in who needs a few replacement ID cards. You are happy to help. You ask for the names, start your printer and begin printing replacement ID cards. Once the front side prints, you grab the cards and flip them over so you can print the back.

Unfortunately, now you aren’t the only one having extra cheese pizza for lunch, so is your ID printer.

ID Printers are most often times damaged by dirt, dust, debris and, even greasy pizza hands. Those things can damage your machine as well as your print head. If your machine goes down, then you may have to replace it. Of course, you might only have to replace the print head. The problem is that most print heads aren’t covered by manufacturers’ warranties if damaged due to lack of proper care and the cost of most print heads starts at nearly $500 dollars. That is one expensive piece of pizza!

So, to answer the question – Don’t Flip! You need to plan ahead and purchase a printer that does everything you need it to do. Your printer will last longer and you will save money in the long run. Please give us a call to learn more about the ID printer options available. You can reach us at (317) 488-1030.

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My Printer Ribbon Keeps Breaking

July 28 in Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

You wouldn’t believe how many calls we get from customers telling us their card printer ribbons are broken. It is a very common problem. However, remember, don’t throw out those ribbons. Broken ribbons can usually still be used by taping them back together.

Once you’ve taped them back together, remember to keep in mind a few helpful steps to make it less likely those printer ribbons will break in the future.

Number 1: Clean Your Card Printer

Clean your printer regularly. The majority of printers should be cleaned each time after you change your ribbon. If you need a Card Printer Cleaning Kit, please give us a call. We have kits available for all printer models. Also, once you clean your printer, but before you install a new ribbon, remember to calibrate the ribbon sensor, provided that applies to your printer. Each printer has an instructional manual to show you how to clean and calibrate your particular model. However, if you have questions, please give us a call.

Number 2: Review Your Card Template

It is important to keep in mind that only retransfer printers can print to the edge of an ID card. However, please remember, you don’t want to print too close to the edge of any card when using your direct to card printer. Printing too close to the edge can result in your ribbon breaking. As a result, be sure to check the card design you are using with your ID software program to make sure the margins are set to print within the card boundaries. You may even have to increase the size of the unprinted borders.

Number 3: Go Back to Your Default Settings

Sometimes, printer users want to use as much as ink as possible to create very rich colors. The problem with changing your settings is that it can cause the ribbon to overheat. Overheated ribbons tend to break. As a result, go back to your default settings. That should prevent future breaks.

If you have any questions about the above, or you are continuing to have issues with ribbon breaks, give us a call at (317) 488-1030.

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Questions to Ask When Buying an ID Card Printer

July 26 in ID Card Printer, ID Cards, Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

A lot of times when we receive a customer call asking about purchasing a new ID card printer, the first question we hear is:

How much will it cost?

We totally understand. Everyone is trying to make a dollar go farther these days, and so cost is definitely a factor to consider.

And, sometimes, the least expensive ID card printer will be perfectly fine to meet your needs. However, if cost is the only question you ask, you might not pick the printer that best meets your needs. When that happens, you might have to buy more parts, or worse yet, buy a whole new printer to meet your needs. Suddenly, that “cheap” printer can become a pretty expensive purchase.

So, when the time comes to purchase that new ID card printer, definitely ask about cost, but also consider these questions:

  1. Do you need to only print on one side of the card, or on both sides?
  2. What kind of card are you trying to make – is it an employee card? A gift card? A membership card?
  3. What do you want the card to look like – do you want to just print black? Do you want a lot of colors? Will something be imbedded in the cards?
  4. Do you want your ID cards to work with your time clock or door access system?
  5. Do you really need to be able to make a card at a moment’s notice?
  6. Will the printer be dedicated to a single work station, or will multiple computers be connected to the ID card printer?
  7. How big a problem is it if your ID card printer is down for a week, two weeks or for even more time?

If you would like some help answering these questions, or want to learn more about a particular ID card printer, give us a call. You can reach us at (317) 488-1030.

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Cleaning Your DTC 500 Printer

July 7 in Printer Maintenance by admin | No Comments

It is always a good idea to keep your ID printers clean.

Read this article on how best to clean your DTC 550 printer from Fargo.

Please give us a call if you need a printer cleaning kit for any of your Fargo, Evolis, Zebra or Datacard printers.

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