DataCard ImageCard series User manual

User's Guide for

ImageCard® and

UltraGrafix® Series Printers

Express and Select Classes

January 1999

Part No. 526945-001

Plastic card solutions for a changing world

ii Contents

Please note and heed the WARNING and CAUTION labels that have been placed on the

equipment for your safety. Please do not attempt to operate or repair this equipment without

adequate training.

Liability statement

This DataCard product has been built to the high standards of DataCard Corporation. See

Appendix A for the statement of liability.

Regulatory compliance

This DataCard product conforms to regulatory requirements as specified in North America

and Europe. Please see Appendix A for detailed regulatory compliance information.

Trademark acknowledgments

Trademark, service mark, and copy right acknowledgments appear in Appendix A.

Proprietary notice

All drawings and information herein are the property of DataCard Corporation. All

Revision Log

User’s Guide for ImageCard and UltraGrafix Series Printers

(Express and Select Classes)

Revision Date Affected Pages Description of Changes

A Jan. '99 All First version of this manual.

DataCard Corporation

11111 Bren Road West

Minnetonka, MN 55343-9015

612.933.1223

Fax: 612.933.0418

Contents iii

Contents

Declaration of conformity v

Chapter 1: Introduction1-1

About this manual 1-2

Required skills 1-2

The printer and its features 1-2

Parts of the printer 1-5

Printer software requirements 1-9

Card quality guidelines 1-10

Card surface 1-10

Card handling 1-10

Card storage and maintenance 1-10

Supplies 1-11

Chapter 2: Getting started 2-1

Choosing a site 2-2

Environmental requirements and specifications 2-2

Electrical requirements 2-2

General requirements and intended use 2-3

Connecting cables 2-4

Loading supplies 2-5

Loading blank cards 2-5

Loading and replacing the ribbon 2-8

Installing the printer driver for the first time 2-10

Magnetic stripe encoding 2-15

Printing test cards 2-18

Printing magnetic stripe test cards 2-23

The basics of printing from an application 2-25

Chapter 3: Day-to-day printer use 3-1

Accessing printer features 3-2

Using the printer properties dialog box 3-2

Using the default document properties dialog box (Windows NT only) 3-5

Using the status monitor 3-6

Opening and using the status monitor 3-7

Viewing status monitor information 3-7

Starting a printer cleaning cycle 3-8

Cleaning the magnetic stripe head 3-8

Cleaning the duplex module 3-9

Starting or quitting diagnostics 3-9

Creating a magnetic stripe test card 3-9

Suspending or resuming the status monitor 3-10

Exiting the status monitor 3-10

Using What’s This help (Windows 95/98 only) 3-11

Performing a cleaning cycle 3-12

Cleaning the printhead 3-16

Cleaning the magnetic stripe head 3-17

Cleaning the duplex module 3-19

Reconfiguring the printer driver 3-20

iv Contents

Chapter 4: Troubleshooting 4-1

Understanding messages 4-2

General troubleshooting 4-3

Making repairs and obtaining service 4-11

Chapter 5: Advanced information 5-1

Confirming the ECP parallel port configuration and assignment 5-2

Re-installing the printer driver 5-5

Installing a second printer (Windows 95/98 only) 5-11

Replacing the printhead cartridge 5-13

Printing on both sides of a card 5-16

Printing on thick cards 5-17

Printing bar codes 5-18

Moving the printer from Windows 95/98 to NT 5-19

Encoding magnetic stripe data from an application 5-19

Notes on NTT magnetic stripe encoding 5-21

Printing over a network (Windows 95/98 only) 5-22

Security key issues 5-23

Other tips, hints and information 5-23

Writing software for ImageCard/UltraGrafix series printers 5-24

Appendix A: Safety and compliance A-1

Emissions A-2

FCC notice (USA) A-2

CanadaA-2

Europe A-2

Liability statement A-2

Proprietary notice A-3

Safety A-3

Safe environment A-3

Safe human interface A-4

Acknowledgments A-4

Appendix B:Supplies B-1

List of supplies B-2

Card requirements B-3

Printhead cartridge B-3

Ribbon B-5

Cleaning supplies B-6

Ribbon cartridge B-7

Card cartridge B-7

Interface cable B-8

Power cable B-8

Power receptacle fuse B-9

Carrying case (Express & S models only) B-9

Publications B-10

Printer driver B-10

IIndex I-1

Contents v

Declaration of conformity

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter contains introductory information on this manual

and on the ImageCard® and UltraGrafix® series photo ID

printers.

Contents

About this manual 1-2

Required skills 1-2

The printer and its features 1-2

Parts of the printer 1-5

Printer software requirements 1-9

Card quality guidelines 1-10

Card surface 1-10

Card handling 1-10

Card storage and maintenance 1-10

Supplies 1-11

1-2 Introduction

About this manual

This manual describes the ImageCard/UltraGrafix print series. It contains

procedures for basic operation of the printer, performing routine

maintenance on it and troubleshooting problems.

Required skills

To perform the procedures in this manual, you must have the following

skills:

•Ability to read and understand written and graphical instructions

•Ability to operate a personal computer

•Experience with Microsoft Windows®

•Ability to load supplies

•Ability to perform simple troubleshooting using written and graphical

instructions

The printer and its features

The ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer is a low-cost desktop printer that

delivers high-quality, full-color IDs including photos, text, logos, bar codes,

digitized signatures, encoded magnetic stripes, and personalized smart card

data storage chips. It requires the use of the ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer

driver on a PC running Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows

NT. For optimal performance, an enhanced communications port (ECP)

parallel port is recommended for fast data transfer from the PC. The printer

also requires the use of a card printing application, such as QuikWorks™, to

capture and organize information into a card format.

This printer is part of a series of DataCard printing products. Various

models have different names, depending on what optional features they

contain. (There are also price differences between models.) These are the

available features and options in the product line:

•Color or monochrome printing — Printers in the ImageCard series can

print a full range of colors using three-color ribbon. Printers in the

UltraGrafix series do monochrome printing with 1-color ribbon.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-3

•Magnetic stripe encoding — This option offers the ability to record

information on a card's magnetic stripe. This is available as an option on

any ImageCard or UltraGrafix model.

•Smart card encoding — ImageCard and UltraGrafix printers can record

information on smart cards, which are plastic cards containing computer

chips. This is available as an option on most ImageCard or UltraGrafix

models.

•Enhanced printing speed — Some printers print at higher speeds for

applications that require fast card printing.

•Automatic dual-sided printing — All ImageCard and UltraGrafix machines

allow duplex printing, or printing on both sides of a card. On some

models, the printer automatically turns the card over to print the other

side. With other models, the operator turns the card over by hand.

An existing ImageCard or UltraGrafix printer cannot have a different set

of options added.

Use Table 1:-1 and your printer's product name (which appears on the box or

the front of the printer) to learn what features are included in your machine:

Table 1:-1 Features available with various printer models

Model name Magnetic

stripe (MS)

available?

Smart card

(SC)

available?

MS & SC

in same

printer?

Colors

printed Printing

speed Duplex

method

ImageCard Express Yes (optional) Yes (optional) No Full color

or mono. Standard Manual

ImageCard S Yes (optional) No No Full color

or mono. Enhanced Manual

ImageCard S2 Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes Full color

or mono. Enhanced Auto

UltraGrafix Express Yes (optional) Yes (optional) No Mono.

only Standard Manual

UltraGrafix S Yes (optional) No No Mono.

only Enhanced Manual

UltraGrafix S2 Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes Mono.

only Enhanced Auto

1-4 Introduction

Figure 1:-1 shows what the different versions of the printer look like: Express

and S models for both the ImageCard and UltraGrafix lines, and the S2

model for both lines.

ice0001

Express and S models S2 models

Figure 1:-1 ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer models

The S and S2 models are both part of the Select class.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-5

Parts of the printer

This section describes the basic components of the printer.

74030d23

Top cover

Printhead

Swing arm

Printhead cartridge

Ribbon cartridge

Manual card feed knob

Figure 1:-2 Printer internal part names (Express and S models shown)

Top cover – The top cover protects the internal parts of the printer from dust

and debris.

Printhead – The printhead, contained in the printhead cartridge, uses heat and

pressure to transfer dye and other material from the ribbon to the card.

Swing arm – The swing arm opens to give you access to the printhead

cartridge and ribbon cartridge.

Printhead cartridge – The printhead cartridge holds the printhead.

Ribbon cartridge – The ribbon cartridge holds the ribbon.

Manual card feed knob – The manual card feed knob turns the rollers so you

can move jammed cards along the card transport track manually.

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