When you have a school or business, you need to issue IDs to your staff and students. You can use the school ID card to limit some campus buildings to staff and students only. You may also use it to better your relations with other companies. For instance, your workers need to get their IDs on if your firm is servicing a railyard structure. If not, they are going to be questioned by the railroad police.

We’ve reviewed several types of printers, including basic office printers and thermal shipping label printers. But, of all these printers, plastic ID printers are in leagues of their own. This is because office and shipping label printers are produced to be efficient and cheap. You don’t have to print every office memo on top-quality resume paper; you can instead use more affordable lightweight paper.

Also, many printers are designed to be easily accessible and widely compatible. But plastic identity cards are not supposed to be very easy to produce. If IDs can be made with any type of printer, fake cards would be easy to produce. However, there are some cheap plastic card printers, although fairly costly, specially created for serious lobbyists and institutions.

Even cards with low quality can last for several months, even with everyday use. High-quality printers even put holograms and many other advanced anti-counterfeit features.

We will be reviewing the best plastic card printers in the market today. You can do well to get any one of them.

1. IDP SMART-31 Series ID Card Simplex Printer Kit

This printer is an access badge, top quality, and easy to use ID printer. Get the complete kit of the machine to make the process straightforward. You don’t need any prior experience to operate IDP SMART-31. You may, however, read the machine’s manual to get the hang of it. This printer prints and creates ID cards with vivid colors and high resolutions

The printer comes with a long cleaning card, one hundred blank plastic cards, YMCKO color ribbon, USB cable, power cord, user guides, drivers, and the Smart ID software.

This printer has enticing features. It prints at resolutions between 300 and 1200 dpi, with about 16.7 million colors. With the printer, you will easily achieve the professional quality you want.

Furthermore, your print will have “zero edges.” This means that there will be no white space between your design and the ID card edge.

It operates at a reasonably fast speed. It prints a card in roughly 30 seconds, depending on how complex your design is.

2. Magicard 600

This printer comes in a grey and two-tone white shell. It is about 9 inches wide and eighteen inches deep, making it less portable or compact. Its capacity is relatively large, with its front hopper holding about 100 plastic cards.

The printer comes with a camera, about 300 ID cards, a color printer ribbon, and a Bodno Silver editing software that has templates you can work on to create your ID card easily. You can also create custom templates for yourself.

3. Fargo DTC1250e

This printer has a dual front hopper, and its size is fairly that of a laserjet printer. It comes with a pack of 250 ID cards, a color printing ribbon, and a Bodno Bronze edition with templates, a drag-and-drop design, and a professional look.

The DTC1250e prints a single-sided color card in 16 seconds and a double-sided ID in 32 seconds.