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What is a FARGO Printer?
A FARGO printer, produced by HID Global, is a specialized piece of hardware designed for the printing and encoding of secure ID cards, badges, and smart cards. These printers are extensively utilized by businesses, government entities, and educational institutions for the creation of staff badges, access control systems, and financial cards.
The FARGO printers primarily utilize two advanced printing technologies:
- Direct-to-Card (DTC): Prints images and text directly onto the surface of the plastic card. These are cost-effective and ideal for standard, smooth PVC cards
- High Definition Printing (HDP): Utilizes retransfer technology to transfer an image onto a thin film, which is subsequently thermally bonded to the card. This method yields high-quality, edge-to-edge printing and is particularly effective for cards that incorporate embedded microchips or antennas
Common Features & Capabilities:
- Encoding Options: Data can be embedded into magnetic stripes, contact smart cards, or contactless RFID chips
- High Security: Supports custom watermarks, holographic overlays, and AES-256 data encryption for secure issuance
- Modular Upgrades: Numerous models provide the option to incorporate dual-sided printing, lamination, or encoding modules as your requirements expand