What Are Direct-to-Card Printers?
Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer (D2T2) is the common abbreviation used but in recent years it is simply called a direct card printer. The name “direct card printer” accurately depicts how the printer works. The printhead will have direct contact with the cards and the dye sublimation film placed in between. The image on the right shows how it operates.
The technology used here is pretty straightforward, the printhead diffuses the ribbon that directly sits on the card. This is most ideal for monochrome resin ribbon where no additional transfer film is needed, making the average print time shorter. Depending on individual card designs, you can expect up to 120 cards in an hour. As these are the main components that essentially make up the entire printing process, it is not nearly as complicated as a Retransfer Thermal printer, hence, the price per printer is easily half of what a retransfer printer costs. There are various models and brands of direct card printers, but the two main components are the printhead and the consumables (ribbons), both of which usually come from the same manufacturing plant. Hence, when selecting printers, you can hardly go wrong with whichever brand you choose, it is typically the after service support and solutions that companies like us can provide, that may make your job easier when encountering a problem.
