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        Card Printer Preventative Maintenance

        Your ID Card Printer is the most important tool for your organisation’s ID Card Printer Issuance Program, as it issues ID Cards for all your staff, visitors, members, and personnel, including:

        • Staff Identification
        • Pre-printed Cards
        • Loyalty Cards
        • Employee Badges
        • Membership Cards

        Once you invest in one of our ID Card Printers, it is not enough to load the cards and press “PRINT”.  A Card Printer, like any other operating machine, requires Preventive Maintenance so you can maximise your asset’s return on investment and minimise your asset’s total cost of ownership.

        As the saying goes: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  This is very relatable and true in the card printing industry. Utilising Preventative Maintenance for your ID Card Printer will prolong the life of the Card Printer.

        A well-maintained Card Printer will deliver daily printing tasks with high reliability and productivity, preventing unnecessary downtimes and costly repairs.

        In the following article, we will go over how to maintain the quality of your ID Card Printer, ensuring that printing ID cards remain as simple and convenient as possible.

        Take a look at our ID card printer range and speak to our team today to help you find the best ID Card Printer for you.

        What is Preventative Maintenance?

        Preventative Maintenance is the periodic evaluation of the printing process for your Card Printer, cleaning of all the moving parts, replacement of any wearable parts (other than the printhead), and any upgrades your printer requires to meet the latest firmware revisions. This can be in the form of a Hardware Maintenance Agreement (HMA), which is an agreement undertaken between your organisation and an authorised dealer under the management of a qualified Service Technician.  A Hardware Maintenance Agreement (HMA) can occur quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly. Regular Preventative Maintenance, such as Hardware Maintenance Agreement (HMA), provides you with peace of mind to keep your investment in top-running condition.

        What could go wrong with your ID Card Printer without Preventative Maintenance?

        1.  Dust is the Enemy

        Card Printers accumulate dust and other foreign particles from the surrounding environment, which could lead to the two most common issues a) constant card jamming and b) damaged printhead. Trapped dust and other foreign particles inside the Card Printer can cause the deterioration of parts such as transport rollers, motors, and sensors. Dirty transport rollers from dust can potentially prevent them from rotating smoothly, affecting the timing sequence for the card and printing movements. Without the correct timing sequence, it could result in card misfeeding, ribbon breaking, and out-of-registration printing.

        2.  A Maintained Printhead

        A damaged printhead will produce poor print image quality and can be a very costly exercise to have it replaced. That is why prolonging the printhead’s life is essential, and the best way to achieve this is to have the Card Printer service periodically as recommended by the manufacturer’s manual. Hence, the importance of Preventative Maintenance.

        3.  Little Things That Go Unnoticed

        Preventative Maintenance ensures the settings are regularly checked on your ID Card Printer. Certain adjustments might be made without your knowledge over time as the Card printer is being used. An example of this is the changing tension of the ribbon, which can impact the print quality. Increasing the power setting could push the heat too high, snapping the ribbon. The printer configuration setting could also compromise the print quality. Hence, the importance of Preventative Maintenance.

        The Importance of Preventative Maintenance with an Authorised Dealer

        Authorised dealers are well equipped with all the precise tools, equipment, lubricant, and software/firmware that are specifically required to use in servicing Card Printer products on which they are professionally trained.

        Having the right tools and equipment will allow the authorised engineer to complete the service and repair in a timely manner which in turn saves labour time, which equals savings in running costs.

        A Technical Service Engineer from an authorised dealer has studied the Card Printer model service manual and has a comprehensive understanding of the different types of lubricants to be used on certain parts of the mechanism. Without using a specific type of lubricant, the transport rollers or motor gears can potentially cause squeaking noise and reduce the functionality of the mechanical operations.

        For Card Printers to operate at optimal levels, they must be periodically scheduled for Preventative Maintenance. This includes updating to the latest firmware on the card printer and the latest Print Driver Software. The manufacturer’s website releases the latest firmware and software regularly to rectify bug issues to prevent malfunctions such as poor printing images or intermittent error codes. An authorised dealer will guide you.

        In Summary

        Preventative Maintenance benefits the following:

        •   Improvement of the overall card printing performance and reliability.
        •   Prevent unnecessary onsite callouts.
        •   Prolong the life of the card printer and printhead.
        •   Prevent unnecessary downtime and costly repairs.

        By Tony Ung – Technical Service Manager at CSID (CardServ ID Pty Ltd) – published 25th August 2023

        Contact our team today to find out more about Preventative Maintenance for your new or old ID Card Printer, and to enquire about Hardware Maintenance Agreement (HMA), to ensure your ID Card printer is running smoothly in years to come.

        RETRO IS BACK!