Eltron PRIVILEGE P500, PRIVILEGE P600 User Manual

User’s Guide

P500 and P600

 1997 Eltron International Inc.

User’s Manual No. 980179-001 Rev. A

FOREWORD

This manualcontains installation and operation information for the Privilege Series card printers
manufactured by EltronInternational Incorporated, Simi Valley, California.

RETURN MATERIALS AUTHORIZATION

Before returning any equipment to Eltronfor in-warranty or out-of-warranty repair, contact Re­pairAdministrationfora Return MaterialsAuthorization(RMA)number.Repacktheequipment in
the originalpacking material and mark the RMA number clearly on theoutside. Ship theequip­ment, freight prepaid,to the address listed below:

Eltron Repair Administration, USA

41 Moreland Road

Simi Valley, CA. 93065

Phone: [phone]

FAX: [phone]

Label Printers: Card Printers:

Eltron International, Europe Eltron International, Europe

Eltron House Zone Indutrielle, Rue d'Amsterdam

Molly Millars Lane 44370 Varades, France

Wokingham RG41 2QZ England Phone: [phone]

Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone]

FAX: [phone]

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This document containsinformation proprietaryto EltronInternational Incorporated.This docu­ment and the information contained within is copyrighted by Eltron International Incorporated
and maynot be duplicated in fullor in partby any person without written approval from Eltron.
While every effort has beenmade tokeep theinformation containedwithin currentand accurate
as ofthe date of publication, no guarantee isgiven or impliedthat the document is error-free or
thatitisaccurate with regard toanyspecification.Eltronreservestherightto make changes,forthe
purpose of productimprovement, at any time.

TRADEMARKS

Privilege, Privilege P500 and Privilege P600 are service marks. PrivilegeCard is a trademarkof
PrivilegeCard,S. A., asubsidiaryofEltronInternationalIncorporatedand Eltron isatrademarkof
Eltron International Incorporated.Windows andMS-DOS areregistered trademarksof Microsoft
Corp. All othermarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

980179-001 Rev. A iii

WARRANTY INFORMATION

We Need To Hear From You!

To Establish Your Warranty Period And Provide Access To Technical Support,

Send Us Your Product Registration Card Today!

Eltronwarrantsthemechanism, control electronicsandpowersupply,undernormaluse and serv­ice, to be free from defects inmaterial andworkmanship fora periodof twelve(12) monthsfrom
the dateof purchaseby theend user.Eltron warrants the print headand Laminatorhead, under
normal useand service,to befree from defects in materialand workmanshipfor a period of one
yearor 40,000passes(whichever occursfirst)from thedateof purchasebythe enduser.Proof of
purchaseor productregistrationisrequired. Ifproofof purchase orproductregistration cannot be
established,shipment datetothe originalbuyer(dealer ordistributor)will beusedto establishthe
warranty period.

Failureto exercise cautiontoprotect the equipmentfromelectrostatic dischargedamage,adverse
temperatureandhumidityconditions or physicalabusemayvoidthewarranty.Failure to useonly
Eltron approved media may void the warranty. Eltron will, at it’s option, repair or replace the
equipment or any parts which are determined to be defective within this warranty period, and
which are returnedto Eltron F.O.B. factory of origin.

The warranty set forth above is exclusive and no other warranty, whether written or oral, is ex­pressed or implied. Eltron specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and fit­ness for aparticular purpose.

FCC NOTICE:

This equipment hasbeen tested and foundto comply with the limits of a Class B digital device,
pursuant to Part15 ofthe FCC Rules.These limitsare designedtoprovide reasonableprotection
against harmful interferencewhen theequipment isoperated in acommercial environment.This
equipment generates, uses and can radiateradio frequencyenergy and,if notinstalled andused
in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there isno guaranteethat interference willnot occurin aparticularinstallation. Opera­tionof thisequipmentin aresidentialarea islikelyto causeharmfulinterference inwhichcase the
user will berequired to correct the interference at his own expense.

INDUSTRY CANADA NOTICE:

This device complieswith Industry Canada ICS-003 class B requirements.
Cet equipement estconforme a l’ICS-003 classe B de la norm Industrielle Canadian

iv 980179-001 Rev. A

Icon Descriptions

Indicatesamechanicalhazard,suchas one as­sociated with moving parts, capable of result­ing in equipment damage or personal injury.

Indicates an electrical hazard, such as an ex­posedvoltagepoint, capableofcausing electri­cal shock and personal injury if touched.

Indicates information of particular interest that
requires consideration in the associated con­text.

Indicatesapartthatcan operate at anelevated
temperature capable of causing pain or a burn
if touched.

Indicates an area where an electrostatic dis­charge (ESD) can cause component damage.
Use a grounding wrist band.

Indicatesthatfiberdeposits from fibrousclean­ing materials (e.g., cotton swabs) can reduce
print quality.

Indicates that exposure to dust and other air­borne particles can contaminate the printer
and reduce print quality.

Indicates that except for card and ribbon load­ing and maintenance, the cover must remain
closed.

980179-001 Rev. A v

ELTRON INTERNATIONAL, INC.

declaresthat the

déclareque le

bescheinigt,daß dasGerät

declaraque el

dichiarache

P500 Card Printer
P600 Card Printer

isin conformancewiththe requirements oftheEuropean CouncilDirectiveslistedbelow:

estconforme auxspécificationsdes directives del'UnionEuropéenne ci-dessous:

dernachstehend angeführtenDirektivendes EuropäischenRats:

cumple

conlos requisitosdelas Directivas delConsejoEuropeo, segúnlalista siguiente:

èconforme allespecifichedelle sequenti direttivedell’UnioneEuropea:

89/336/EEC EMC Directive
92/31/EE EMC Directive
73/23/EEC Low Voltage Directive

Onthe approximationofthe lawsof MemberStatesrelating toElectromagneticCompatibility andProductSafety.

Baséessur lalégislation desEtatsmembres relativeà lacompatibilitéélectromagnétique età lasécurité desproduits.

Ü

berdie AnnäherungderGesetze der Mitgliedsstaateninbezug aufelektromagnetischeVerträglichkeit und

Basadoen

laaproximación delas leyesdelos PaísesMiembros respectoala Compatibilidadelectromagnética

Basatesulla legislazionedeglistati membrirelativa allacompatibilitáelettromagnetica ealla securezza deiprodotti.

Thisdeclaration isbasedupon compliance oftheproduct tothefollowingstandards:

Cettedéclaration reposesurla conformité duproduitaux normessuivantes:

DieseErklärung basiertdarauf,daß das Produktdenfolgenden Normen entspricht:

Estadeclaración sebasaen el cumplimientodelproducto conlassiguientes normas:

Questadichiarazione sibasasulla conformitá delprodottoalle normesequenti:

Produktsicherheitentspricht.

ylas Medidasdeseguridad relativasal producto.

EN 55022-A, CISPR 22RF Emissions Control
EN 500082-1 IEC 801Immunity to Electromagnetic Dicturbances
EN 60950 IEC 950 Product Safety

vi 980179-001 Rev. A

HughGagnier, President
ELTRONINTERNATIONAL, Inc.
41Moreland Road
SimiValley, CA93065-1692 U.S.A.

Table of Contents

Getting Started .......................1

Introduction ..........................1

Unpacking Privilege Card Printers ...............4

Check List ...........................5

Installation ...........................7

Upgrading to Expanded Memory ...............13

Expanded Memory Board Installation .............15

Operation ..........................17

Major Components ......................17

Controls & Indicators .....................18

Ribbon Preparation ......................20

Ribbon Loading ........................21

Handling the Media ......................25

Card Gate Adjustment .....................26

Printer Access and Usage ...................30

Printing ............................31

Adjustments ..........................32

Physical Processes .......................33

Cleaning The Printer......................37

Cleaning Stationary Card Path Items .............40

Cleaning the Card-Feed Roller.................41

Cleaning the Upper and Lower Cleaning Rollers........42

Print Head Cleaning ......................44

Cleaning the Transport and Platen Rollers ...........45

Cleaning Laminator Rollers ..................49

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder ................51

Introduction ..........................51

Media Loading Orientation ..................52

Ensuring Data Reliability....................52

Encoding ...........................53

When to Clean the Encoder ..................55

Cleaning the Encoder .....................55

Adjustments ..........................55

Smart Card Contact Station .................57

Introduction ..........................57

Media Loading Orientation ..................58

Adjustments ..........................58

Smart Card Chip Interface ...................59

Media Jams ..........................60

980179-001 Rev. A vii

Appendix A

Trouble Shooting ......................61

Other Support Resources ...................64

Parallel Interface Cable Wiring.................65

Supported Card Media and Ribbon ..............65

Printer Features and Options .................68

Appendix B

Supplies and Accessories ..................71

Accessories ..........................71

Print Ribbons .........................72

Special Ribbons ........................72

Card Media ..........................73

Miscellaneous Supplies ....................73

Installable Options .......................73

Appendix C

Windows Card Printer Driver ................75

Installation of Printer Drivers..................75

Using the Windows 95 Driver .................83

Using The Windows 3.1 Driver ................92

Glossary ...........................101

viii 980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Eltron

Privilege Multiple-

Station Card Printers

Thissectioncontainsinformation ontheinstal­lation of Eltron’s P500 and P600 Privilege
Multiple-Station card printers.

Introduction Eltron’s Privilege Series card printers offer a

low cost, high quality solution to those re­quiring computer-controlled printing and en­coding of credit card style plastic cards. Card
applications include personalized identifica­tion, access control, visitor, membership, pro­motion and luggage card, badges and tags.

1

980179-001 Rev. A 1

Getting Started

Features

• 300 dots-per-inch print resolution for crisp,
clear printing.

• High resolution color dye sublimation tech­nology supporting 32.7K colors for photo
quality imaging, along with:

Monochrome thermal transfer technology
for solid imaging of Bar Codes, Text and
Graphic Objects, each producable from
command parameters, making related bit
map downloads unnecessary.

• A Bar Code command thatcanproduceen­codedcardprinting inanyof 10 residentbar
codeformats,and aTextcommand thatcan
produce text using 2 resident fonts.

• A 3-Track Magnetic Stripe Encoder option
that writes and then read-verifies data,
supporting cards with high- or low­coercivity magnetic stripes. P500s can have
either up- or down-facing stripe encoders.

• P500s have Windows™ design and print
user software and a Windows™ printer con­trol driver that supports True Type fonts.

• Efficiently designed to fit in minimum foot­print,with asee-through coverthat offersus­ers a view of the process while offering
protection from exposure to environmental
contaminants.

• Produces duplex (two-sided) Prints on ei­ther plain or preprinted plastic card materi­als.

2

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Models All printers have parallel printer ports. P500s

Include WindCard™ Classic Software. Printers
may be ordered in any of the following stan­dard configurations:

Model No. Description

P500CF

120385-001

P600

120284-001

Option

No.’s

104525-001 •
104674-001 • •
104674-002 • •
104674-003 • •
104674-004 • •
300020-001 120V
300020-002 230V

Color Printer withLaminator

Multiple Station ColorPrinter

Options

Expanded Mem-

ory (P500)

Low Coercivity

Encoder

High Coercivity

Encoder

Encodes Down-

facing Stripe

Encodes Up-

facing Stripe

Power Cord

980179-001 Rev. A 3

Getting Started

Unpacking

Privilege Card

Printers

Packing Materials

Supply Kit:

Supply Kit:

• Printer Cable

• Printer Cable

• Power Cord

• Power Cord

• Manuals

• Manuals

• Card Weight

• Card Weight

• Card Catcher

• Card Catcher

• Software (P500)

• Software (P500)

Printers ship in a carton and protective bag.
Keep all packing material in case the need to
move or reship the printer arises.Avoidtouch­ingtheelectricalconnectorstoprevent electro­static discharge damage while setting up the
printer.

Foam End

Foam End

Cushons

Cushons

Printer in

Printer in

Shipping Bag

Shipping Bag

4

Thedischargeof electrostaticenergythat accu­mulates on the surface of the human body or
other surfaces can damage or destroy the
print head or other electronic components
used in this device.

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

When unpacking the Privilege card printer
(and card media), be aware that a clean and
nearly dust free environment is required for
properoperation andstorage.Theprintquality
can be effected by dust, body oils and acids
(i.e., finger prints) and exposure to other for­eignmaterialsduringunpacking orhandlingof
the printer and media.

Check List Your PrivilegeCard Printershipswiththeitems

listed below:

• Printer (Check for proper Model):

• Interface Cable

• Power Cord

980179-001 Rev. A 5

Getting Started

• Card Feeder Weight

• Card Catcher

• Manuals:

- Printer User’s Guide

• Software

• CD-ROM

- WindCard Software

- Windows Driver(s)

Ifanyitems aremissing,contact yourdealerfor
replacement parts.

6

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Cardmedia,ribbon, andsuppliesare available
from yourEltrondistributororcallELTRONat
[phone] for the distributor nearest
you.Refer toAppendixBforcompletesupplies
ordering information.

Installation The following sections serve as a guide to

printer,WindCard™software,andWindows™
card printer driver installations.

Step Ê

Unpacking

Step Ë

Attach Power

Figure 1-1

Printer

Rear Panel

With help from another person, remove the
printer from the carton and protective plastic
bag.

AC power supplied to Privilege card printers
must be current limited to 16-amps or less us­ing an associated circuit breaker or other such
electrical device.

Place the printer in a clean, dust free loca-
tion that allows easy access to all sides of the
printer. Never operate the printer while it rests

on a side or upside down.

Set the AC power switch to the OFF (0) posi­tion.

980179-001 Rev. A 7

AC Power Switch:

AC Power Switch:

1 = ON

1 = ON

O = OFF

O = OFF

Getting Started

Power Switch

Connection

Figure 1-2

Positions

Switch OFF Switch ON

Never operate the printer in a location where
the operator, computer, or printer can get wet.
Personal injury could result.

Attach the AC power cord to the AC power re­ceptacle in the rear of the printer.

Figure 1-3

Power

Attach the AC power cord to a grounded elec­tricaloutlet ofthe propervoltageandplugtype.

Figure 1-4

AC Outlet

Connection

8

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Step Ì

Attach Interface

Cable

Figure 1-5

Interface

Cable

Attachandsecurethesupplied DB-25 (female)
to DB-25 (male) parallel printer cable between
the parallel port of the host computer and the
parallel interface connector on the back of the
printer.

Interface

Interface

Cable

Cable

Secure

Secure

Connector

Connector

Intermittent or unpredictable operationmay
occur from unsecured connectors.

See Appendixes A and B for cable specifica­tions and ordering information.

Step Í

Applying Power

Setthepowerswitchto ON (1). Notethatmes­sagesappearon the LCDscreensasthe printer
cycles through the power-on sequence. Also
note that READY appears at the end of the se­quence. If theseeventseitherfailtooccuror an
ERROR message appears instead of READY,
refer to Appendix A - Trouble Shooting.

980179-001 Rev. A 9

Getting Started

Step Î

Windows™ 3.1

Software

Installation

Startthehostcomputer.AfterDOShasloaded,
start Windows™. Insert the WindCard™ disk­ette into a floppy disk drive. From the Win­dows™ Program Manager‘s File pull-down
menu, select R

un....

Enter A:SETUP (or B:SETUP if you placed
the diskette in drive B). Press the Enter key.

10

Follow the installation instructions on the
screen to install the software.

Refer to Section 2, Operation, for information
on loading cards and ribbons and for initializ­ing the printer for operation.

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

See Appendix C for loading WindCard™ soft­ware into other operating platforms and the
Windows™ Printer Driver file.

980179-001 Rev. A 11

Getting Started

12 980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Upgrading to

Expanded Memory

Users can field upgrade P500 printers to in­clude ExpandedMemory.P600salreadyhave
thismemory.Onlythe CPUboardofModule 1
(the Print Station board) exhibits improved
performance with the Expanded Memory in­stalled. The Memory Extension Board plugs
intotheCPU boardof Module 1. Accesstothis
board requires removal of the rearprintercase
assembly.

Avoid unnecessary risks! Removal of the
RearCase ofthe printerexposes CircuitBoards
thatcontainalithium batteries. These batteries
operate for long periods of time and, replace­ments may never become necessary. Anyone
replacing these batteries subjects his or herself
to the following risk:

WARNING:

• A Danger of Explosion exists if a
battery is incorrectly replaced.

• Replace only with the same or
equivalent type recommended by the
manufacturer.

• Dispose of used batteries according
to the manufacturer’s instructions.

980179-001 Rev. A 13

Case removal exposes circuit points that, if
touched with power on, can present a hazard.
Therefore, never remove any case

component without first unplugging the
Power Cord.

Getting Started

Case Removal

Step ¶

Figure 1-6

Screws Holding Rear

Case

Case Removal

Step ·

Using a one-millimeter Allen wrench, remove
the two screws holding the top of the case.
Then, using amediumPhillipsscrewdriver,re­move the eight screws that secure the back of
the case.

Remove Allen

Remove Allen

Screws

Screws

Remove

Remove

Philips

Philips

Screws

Screws

Without letting the rear case move backward
fromitspositionwhilesecured, lifttherear case
straight up. Wires attached to the switches and
LCDs restrict how far the rear case can sepa­rate from the printer. Therefore, after freeing
therearcasefrom the printer,resttherear case
at a position that does not stress the wires.

Figure 1-7

Rear Case Removed

14

980179-001 Rev. A

Getting Started

Case Removal

Step 3

Figure 1-8

Bracket Removal

Expanded Memory

Board Installation

Removal of the upper Phillips screws frees a
bracket. First note the proper position of this
bracket, and then remove the bracket. If
replaced improperly, the rear case screws can­not be refastened.

The addition of an Expanded Memory board
in Module 1 of a P500 allows the host com­puter to download all image data in a continu­ous stream, instead of the single color
downloadsfollowed byassociated printingthat
occur without this addition. Multiple-card
printing occurs much faster with this option in­stalled. Rear case removal gives access for this
upgrade.

980179-001 Rev. A 15

Before touching any of the circuit components
on either the printer or the Expanded Memory
board,be sureto dischargeany staticchargeby
touching the metal chassis. Better yet, wear a
grounding wrist band.

Getting Started

Installing the

Memory Board

Step ¶

Figure 1-9

Expanded Memory

Installation

Plug the Expanded Memory Board into the
two connectors on the upper right section of
theCPU boardof Module1. Matchtheconnec­torssuchthat the ExpandedMemoryboardre­mains confined within the boundaries of the
CPU board, not oriented to extend over the
edge.

Installing the

Memory Board

Step ·

16

Replacethebracketand printer casebyrevers­ing the steps performed during their removal.

980179-001 Rev. A

2

Operation

This section contains information on the op­eration of the Privilege card printer.

Major

Components

Figure 2-1 shows a P600 Card Printer. Note
that both models have similar
appearances—except,the P500hasaLamina­torwhere theP600 hasasecondPrintStation.

Card-Feed

Figure 2-1

Card-Flip

Major Components

Card

Card

Catcher

Catcher

Print or

Print or

Lamination

Lamination

Station

Station

980179-001 Rev. A 17

Card-Feed

Hopper

Hopper

Print

Print

Station

Station

Operation

Controls &

Indicators

The Power

Switch

Figure 2-2

Printer Controls

and Indicators

All the card printer controls and indicators, ex­cept for the power switch, reside on the top of
the printer.

The POWER SWITCH is located on back
panel of the printer. Placing the switch in the
ON (1) position applies power to the printer.
Placingtheswitchin the OFF(0)positionturns
off the printer. See Figures 1-1 and 1-2 in Sec­tion 1.

The POWER SWITCH also works in con­junction with the Panel Button. See the
Panel Button on the following pages.

Module-2 LCD

Module-2 LCD

and Button

and Button

Module-1 LCD

Module-1 LCD

and Button

and Button

18 980179-001 Rev. A

The following LCD messages can appear:

Operation

REPORTING LCD

LCD MESSAGES DESCRIPTIONS

Module 1 Print

Station

Module 2 Print

Station (P600)

INITIALIZING Printer Initializing • • •
WARMING UP P500 Laminator Wait •
READY Ready to Print • • •
PRINTING Printing in Progress • •
LAMINATING Lamination in Progress •
OUT OF RIBBON New Ribbon Required • • •
OUT OF CARD More Cards Required • • •
COMMAND ERROR Command/Parameter Error • • •
MECHANICAL ERROR Mechanical Problem • • •
ENCODING ERROR Read Verify Error • •
READING ERROR Error Reading Mag.Stripe • •
ROTATION ERROR Card-Flip Error •
TEMPERATURE ERROR Laminator Temp. Wait •
COVER OPEN To Proceed, Close Cover • • •

Module 2 Lami-

nation Station

980179-001 Rev. A 19

See Appendix A for troubleshooting tips.

Operation

Ribbon

Preparation

Figure 2-3
Ribbon and
Empty Core

Ribbon

Preparation

Step 1

Ribbon

Preparation

Step 2

Both the Print Stations and the P500 Lamina­tion Station require the same pre-installation
ribbon preparations. To prepare a ribbon, the
taped end must be refastened to an empty
core. Eltron recommends the following:

Lamination

Print

Place both the ribbon and an empty core on
end, next to one another, and touching. For
Lamination ribbons, the notched end of the
empty core must face up.

Untape the end that fastens the ribbon end to
the roll while leaving the tape attached on the
supply side.

20

Ribbon

Preparation

Step 3

Figure 2-4

Ribbon

Preparation

Unwind enough ribbon to reach the empty
coreandtapetheend down. If boththeribbon
rollandthe emptycoreare kept touchingwhile
the tape is refastened, ribbon should be cen­tered on thecore.Animproperlypreparedrib­boncanresultin wrinkling in theprinterduring
ribbon advances.

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Ribbon

Preparation

Wind one or two turns of ribbon onto the rib­bon core.

Step 4

Ribbon Loading Ribbon loading involves the placement of the

prepared ribbon onto the Supply and Take-up
spindles.Similarprocedures applytoPrint Sta­tions and Laminators, as follows:

Ribbon Loading

Lift open the cover.

Step 1

Figure 2-5

Raising the Cover

Ribbon Loading

Step 2

Press down on the Print/Lamination Head Re­lease Latch to raise the Print Head. The Print
Head springs upward when released.

Press Here

Figure 2-6

Raising the Print

Press Here

to Raise

to Raise

Print Head

Print Head

Head

980179-001 Rev. A 21

Operation

DO NOT TOUCH the Print Head or nearby
electronic components. Discharged electro­static energy from a person’s body or from
equipment can damage or destroy print heads
and other printer components.

Atthis pointconsider interruptingribbon instal­lation to perform a cleaning, as described fur­ther on in this section. At the very least, wash
off any buildup on the Cleaning Rollers.

Ribbon Loading

Step 3

Using a prepared ribbon, unroll a comfortable
amount from the supply side to span the dis­tance between the Supply and Take Up spin­dles. Then, at the same time, slide the Supply
and Take Up Cores onto their respective spin­dles.

Make suretopushbothfullyontothespindles.
Also make very sure that the ribbon comes off
ofthetop oftheSupply Spindleandfeeds onto
the top of the Take Up Spindle.

Note that for proper seating the take-up
cores of Lamination Ribbons have a slot
that must align with a screw on the take­up spindle.

Take extra care when installing a Print Station
ribbon. Printing with a reversed ribbon can
damage the Print Head or make an extensive
cleaning necessary.

22

980179-001 Rev. A

Figure 2-7

Laminator Take Up

Ribbon Core

Alignment

Align Notch with

Align Notch with

Spindle Screw

Spindle Screw

Operation

Ribbon Loading

Step 4

Figure 2-8

Ribbon Path

Push down the Latch-Down lever until an
audible click occurs at the latched-down
position.

Supply

Supply

Take Up

Take Up

Spindle

Spindle

Spindle

Spindle

980179-001 Rev. A 23

Operation

Figure 2-9

Latching Down

Print Head

Press Here to

Press Here to

Latch Down

Latch Down

Print Head

Print Head

24 980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Ribbon Loading

Step 5

Initialize ribbon—after changing or replacing
ribbons or following a Mechanical Error. Use
the button closest to the Station getting new
ribbon or reporting an error. To initialize:

Color Ribbon-Press andholdthe PanelBut­ton until ribbon advances. Ribbon should stop
with the Print Head between a clear and a yel­low panel.

Black Plus Overlay Ribbon - Press and
hold the Panel Button until the ribbon ad­vances.The ribbonshould stopwith anoverlay
panel centered at the print head.

Monochrome Ribbon - No initialization re­quired.

Hologram Ribbon - No initialization re­quired for ribbons that have no hologram
placement requirements and no index marks.

P500 Lamination Ribbon - Press and hold
the left panel button until ribbon advances.
Only ribbons with die-cut panels require Ini­tialization. Ribbon should stop with a black in­dexmarklocated totheright oftheLamination
Head.

980179-001 Rev. A 25

Handling

the Media

Maintain a clean and nearly dust free environ­ment in media storage areas. Dust, body oils
and acids (e.g., finger prints) and other foreign
materials encountered while unpacking or
handling of the printer and media can have an
adverse affect on card images.

Operation

Cards just removed from the media packaging
typically have accumulated an electrostatic
charge. Electrostatic charges can cause cards
to stick together, making card feeds difficult.
Card shuffling can reduce some of this adhe­sive force. However, avoid bending the card
mediaortouchingthecard surfacesthat willre­ceive images.

DO NOT set unprinted cards on dust or lint
carrying surfaces, i.e., table tops, cloth, com­puters, etc..

DO NOT place media with magnetic stripes
on or near magnetic sources, such as: moni­tors, non-electronic phones, paper clip hold­ers, speakers, etc.

26

Card Gate

Adjustment

The Card Gate serves to meter card feeds so
that onlyonecardfeedsata time. If more than
one card feeds, a card jam occurs. Each card
thickness requires a different Card Gate open­ing. Never intermix cards with different thick­ness in the Card Feed Hopper. Only use

0.030-mil cards in P500s

980179-001 Rev. A

Figure 2-10

Card Hopper

Card

Card

Weight

Weight

Cards

Card Gate

Card Gate

Adjustment

Adjustment

Card Feed

Card Feed

Rollers

Rollers

Operation

Card Feed

Card Feed

Opening

Opening

Prevent Media Jams!
Adjusting the Card Feeder is critical for proper

mechanical operation of the printer.

980179-001 Rev. A 27

Operation

Card Gate

Adjustment and

Media Loading

Step 1

Figure 2-11

Card Gate

Adjustment

Placeasinglecard of the desiredthicknessinto
theCardFeeder. OpentheCardGate(turn the
gate adjustment knob clockwise) until the end
of the card can fit under the gate.

Gate too High

Gate too Low

28

Gate About Right

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Card Gate

Adjustment and

Media Loading

Step 2

Card Gate

Adjustment and

Media Loading

Step 3

Card Gate

Adjustment and

Media Loading

Step 4

With asinglecardendjustunderthe gate, turn
theadjustment knobcounterclockwisetolower
the gate to the point the gate just contacts the
card. Note that any further lowering pivots the
otherendofthecard off of the rightfeedroller.
Turn the knob clockwise a quarter turn to add
some space between the gate and the card.

Placeasecondcardon top of the first.Without
bending or deforming the cards, try to slide
both cards through the gate, If only the lower
card fits, the adjustment should suffice. If both
cards fit under the gate, either lower the gate
slightly or repeat the previous steps.

Add cards of the same thickness to the Card
Feed hopper sufficient for the printing needs
and place the Card Weight on top of the stack.
During the first few print cycles, watch for card
jams or feed failures. Alternately, send a Card
Feed command to check for proper feeds, as
follows:

From the Windows Driver (See Appendix C),
type:

ME↵

where:
↵ = Enter

From WindCard (See WindCard manual), Se­lect Printer Tools. In the Printer Tools dialog
box Enter:

ME↵

980179-001 Rev. A 29

Operation

Printer

Access and

Usage

The printer requires at least three (3) inches of
free space around all sides for access to printer
controls, card input, and card output.

Do Not Operate Printer with Cover
Open.

To maintain a clean printing environment and
to prevent ESD damage, keep the cover of the
printer closed except during maintenance and
media loading procedures. An interlock pre­vents card flips with the cover open.

With a fixed amount of space available, the
maximum number of cards the Card Feed
hopper can hold varies as a function of card
thickness, as follows:

• 100 of the 30-mil (0.762 mm) cards

• 150 of the 20-mil (0.508 mm) cards

Note that P500s can only laminate 30-mil
cards.

30

980179-001 Rev. A

The Card Catcher tray begins spilling cards
onto the surface below after collecting the fol­lowing:

• 50 of the 30-mil (0.762 mm) cards

• 75 of the 20-mil (0.508 mm) cards

Figure 2-12

Card Catcher

Tray

Printing When theribbonandcardmedia areloadedas

previously described, and the printer power is
on, the card printer is ready to print.

Operation

Printing requires the WindCard™software, (a
Windows™softwareprogram),theWindows™
printer driver, or direct printer command level
programming through the printer interface.

980179-001 Rev. A 31

Operation

Printing a Test

Card

Figure 2-13

Color Printer

Test Card

The printerprintsaTestCardiftheRight
(Module 1) Panel Button is pressed and

held in while printer power is turned on. The
button can be released when SELF TEST ap­pears on the LCD. Remember to synchronize
the ribbon for any color printing.

P500s print and then laminate. The informa-

tionthatappearsonthe cardappliesto Module

1.P600sprintonbothsides—eachmoduleim­ages a different surface. Module 1 information
appears on one side, and Module 2 informa­tion appears on the other.

P500 Print Sta-

P500 Print Sta-

tion Test Card

tion Test Card

P500 Lamination

P500 Lamination

Station Test Card

Station Test Card

P600 Station

P600 Station

Test Card

Test Card

Adjustments The card printers have no user adjustable fea-

32

tures except for the card gate adjustment, see
preceding pages.

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Protect Your Factory Warranty!

Neglect in performing recommended cleaning
procedures canvoidyourwarranty,ascanim­proper packaging and shipping.

Other than the recommended cleaning proce­dures described in this manual, only allow
Eltronfactoryauthorizedtechnicians to service
Privilege printers.

NEVER loosen,tighten,adjust,bend, etc. any
part or cable inside the printer.

The only user adjustable features of the Privi­legecardprinters are madeinsoftware (orpro­gramming) and the card feeder gate
adjustment.

Physical Processes A sensor signals when the feederrollersdeliver

a card to the card transport rollers. Cleaning
Rollers remove dust or lint, and transport roll­ers accurately position the cards for printing,
lamination (P500), Smart Card Contact Sta­tion docking (optional), and magnetic stripe
encoding (also optional).

980179-001 Rev. A 33

The print and laminator head(s) lower to the
surface of the card for printing or lamination.
Printing occurs with ribbon movement and
card movement synchronized. After the com­pletion of operations at one station, cards
moveon tothe nextstation.Cardsejectafterall
specified card operations have occurred.

Operation

Color Dye

Sublimation

Gray-Scale Dye

Sublimation

Resin Thermal

Transfer

Color imaging involves three passes of cards
underaprinthead.Yellow, magenta,and cyan
dyes diffusefromcorrespondingribbonpanels
onto the cards in measured quantities for each
dotofa300dpi matrix. Each ribbonpanelcan
produce 32 dye densities on a dot-by-dot ba­sis. Therefore, the range of colors for each dot
is 32.7K.

Gray scale imaging involves a single pass of
cards under the print head. Measured quanti­ties of black dye diffuse from the ribbon onto
the cards on a dot-by-dot basis. Each card dot
can have 32 different densities.

Monochrome ribbons and the monochrome
panels of multiple-panelribbonsproducesolid
imaging by transferring a very durable resin
material onto cards. Resin either transfers or
not on a dot-by-dot basis. Unlike dye sublima­tion,noin-betweenconditionsexisttoproduce
a gray scale within each dot. Particularly Bar
Codes,but alsoText, Lines,and Rectanglesof­ten get composed using solid images. Also
Thermal Transfer ribbons come in a variety of
colors other than black. However, bar code
readers need black bar codes.

Overlay Varnish

Thermal Transfer

34

Ribbons with Dye Sublimation panel(s) typi­cally also have an Overlay Varnish Thermal
Transfer panel. These include YMCKrO,
YMCKrOKr, and KsO ribbons. Both color and
gray-scale dyes fade withexposuretoultravio­letradiation.Acoating of overlayvarnishgives
images a much longer life. Notably, only dye
sublimation images require this protection.
Resin images hold their color without the pro­tection of overlay varnish. P500 Overlaminate
ribbons with die-cut patches or transfer mate-

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

rial also deposit a card coating that adds ultra­violet protection and an even longer card life
than overlay varnish.

Print Sequence For P500 printers without Expanded Memory,

the typical print sequence for YMCKrO Rib­bons proceeds as follows:

• Printerribbonsynchronizes totheyellow(Y)
ribbon panel prior to printing. If not, press
the RESET button to re-synchronize.

• Card-feed rollers deliver a card to the trans­port rollers, which accurately position cards
for all subsequent printer operations.

• Data for Yellow (Y) imaging downloads.

• Yellow Printing occurs.

• Card moves back, and ribbon advances to

next panel.

• Download, print, return card, and synchro­nize steps occur for ribbon panels Magenta
(M), Cyan (C), Black Resin and Overlay.

• For duplex (two-sided) card printing, cards
move to the card-flip, where the lower side
transfers to an up-facing side. P500 cards
return againtothe print headofthefirst sta­tion for a repeat of the imaging sequence.
Often, only black resin (say for a bar code)
gets applied on the second side. The
YMCKrOKr ribbon offers an economical
choice for those with this requirement.

• After imaging, P500s send the cards to the
Laminator station through the Card-Flip.
There, either a diecutpatchoralamination
material is applied to the up-facing side.
P500s only support single-side lamination
using the included software. However, the

980179-001 Rev. A 35

Operation

Card-Flip can present either side to the
Laminator.

• When these processes end, along with any
Smart Card programming or Magnetic
Stripe encoding, a card ejects.

Data downloading is the only difference be­tween a P500 with Expanded Memory and
one without. The extra memory makes possi­blereceptionofanuninterruptedstring of data
commands prior to any imaging. With all nec­essary data resident in printer memory, imag­ingspeedincreases.Asignificant improvement
occurs for multiple copy printing.

Becauseoftheirdualprintstations,P600soffer
a great deal of versatility in choosing their op­erations. Users should explore the possibilities
by selecting the command sequence that best
suits their requirements. After mapping out
planned imaging, decide which ribbons best
suit these requirements. Then, decide where
the ribbons should be installed for best per­formance. Finally, refer to the Programmer’s
manual for commands that implement the de­sired operation. Remember to integrate any
Smart Card docking or magnetic stripe encod­ing into the command sequence.

36

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Cleaning The

Printer

For quality card images keep the printer dust
and lint free. Any particles left on mechanisms
inthecardpathcan migrate onto cardsandin­terfere with both YMC dye sublimation and
resin thermal transfer. These ribbon materials
cannot penetrate particles left on the cards.
Thefrequencyofcleaning requiredvaries,de­pending on the print environment and the us­age.

Never use a shop air compressor to blow
away particles in the printer. Air compres-

sors can contain rust-inhibiting oil and may
have ineffective moisture traps. Oil and mois­ture adversely affect print quality, and when
sprayed,mayspreadcontaminatesthroughout
the printer.

Also canned air requires a very careful usage.
Avoid directing an air stream in a way that
distributesparticlesfromareas having asignifi­cant particle contamination.

Anyvacuum usedmusthaveitsoutflowwellfil­tered and directed away from the printer.
Never attempt to vacuum particles off of the
PrintHead,asdamage to delicateimagingele­ments can result.

980179-001 Rev. A 37

Operation

Eltron offers the following items for cleaning
the printer:

• Disposable, Clean Non-fibrous (foam)
swabs with alcohol filled handle for head
cleaning and suitable for roller cleaning

• An alcohol filled, felt pen suitable for roller
cleaning

Bend to Break

Bend to Break

and Release Fluid

and Release Fluid

• A Cleaning Kit comprised of a spray can of
alcoholand apackage ofcleaning cardssuit­able for a general cleaning but required for
Magnetic Encoder head cleaning.

38

Cleaningproductsfor the Privilegecardprinter
areavailabledirectlyfrom your Eltrondistribu­tor or call Eltron at [phone] for the
distributor nearest you.

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Alternate cleaning materials can include the
following:

• Foam swabs (never use cotton or any other
fibrous material.)

• 99% pure or better Isopropyl Alcohol for
moistening swabs

• Clean Running Water (Used for Upper
Cleaning Roller only).

Card Path

Elements

Figure 2-14
Media Path

The following figure shows the elements in the
cardpaththatrequire a periodic cleaning.Pro­cedures follow for the following items:

• Card Guides, Smart Card Contact Station,
and Magnetic Encoder Read-Write heads.

• Card Feed Roller

• Cleaning Rollers

• Print Head

• Transport and Platen Rollers

Card Input Hopper

Card Feed

Cleaning

Rollers

Ribbon
Supply

Rollers

Card-Flip
Assembly

Magnetic
Encoder
(Option)

To Module 2

Card Flip

Card

Path

Shroud

Card

Catcher

Ribbon

Take Up

Transport

and Platen

Rollers

Print Head

PeelBar

Smart Card

Station

(Option)

Module 1

Laminator (P500) or

Print Station (P600)

980179-001 Rev. A 39

Card

Cooling

(P500)

Head Up/Down
Cam (2 places)

Module 2

Card-

Flip

Rollers

Operation

When To Clean Cleaning frequency varies with different envi-

ronments. Typically, cleanings that follow rib­bon depletion keep the card printer operating
properly. Ifnot,considereitheranotherprinter
location or a more frequent cleaning.

Cleaning

Stationary Card

Path Items

Using the

Cleaning Kit

Step 1

Using the

Cleaning Kit

Step 2

Using the

Cleaning Kit

Step 3

Using the

Cleaning Kit

Step 4

Items in the card path that cannot be reached
directly require a cleaning using the alcohol­moistened cards of the Cleaning Kit. Encoder
Read-Writeheads requirethis kindofcleaning.

Remove the ribbon from both the Supply and
Take Up spindles. See Ribbon Loading in this
section.

Moisten a Cleaning Card by spraying with al­cohol. Saturate the card, but if alcohol drips
from the card, blot away the excess.

Place the moistened Cleaning Card in the In­putTray,topped withthecard weight.Ifneces­sary, adjust the Card Gate for the card
thickness. (Since this procedure calls for only
one card, you can open the gate as much as
you like.)

Send the Cleaning Card through the printer
several times without enabling printing. De­pendingon thesetup, useoneofthefollowing:

40

Where:
 = Space
↵ = Enter

EntryiseitherviaWindCard™ (see manual) or
The Windows Driver (see Appendix C).

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

The following command shuttles a Cleaning
Card from the Input Hopper to the Card
Catcher:

ME↵
For best results, shuttle a card five or more

times.

Cleaning the

Card-Feed Roller

Cleaning the

Feeder Rollers

Step 1

Cleaning the

Feeder Rollers

Step 2

Figure 2-15

Card-Feed Rollers

CardFeedRollersthatfail to grip thecardscan
impede the even delivery of cards to the trans­port rollers. To clean the Card-Feed Rollers,
proceed as follows:

Remove any cards from the Card Hopper.

Clean the rollers using a Swab or Cleaning
Pen. To gain access to initially unexposed ar­eas, cycle the roller by applying the printer
power while holding the Panel Button on for
three (3) seconds (see Test Card sequence in
preceding description) Let the roller air dry for
two (2) or more minutes.

Card-Fee d

Card-Fee d

Rollers

Rollers

980179-001 Rev. A 41

Operation

Cleaning the

Upper and Lower

Cleaning Rollers

Cleaning the

Cleaning Rollers

Step 1

Figure 2-16

Upper Cleaning

Roller

Upper

Upper

Cleaning

Cleaning

Roller

Roller

Spring

Spring

Clip

Clip

These rollers receive cards fed from the Input
Hopper and Card Flip. The upper roller has a
coating that collects any loose particles on the
surface of cards. Note that these rollers exist in
Module 1 just after the Card Feed Hopper and
in Module 2 just after the Card Flip.

Remove any cards from the printer. Open the
printer cover. To free an Upper Cleaning
Roller, gently pull the Spring Clip clear of the
Upper Cleaning Roller pin. Then, remove the
Upper Cleaning Roller.

Cleaning the

Cleaning Rollers

Step 2

42

Clean the Upper Cleaning rollers with running
water. Then allow the rollers to air dry without
resting the rubberized part on a surface.

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Cleaning the

Cleaning Rollers

Step 3

Figure 2-17

Lower Cleaning

Roller

Cleaning the

Cleaning Rollers

Step 4

Use a swab or cleaning pen on the Lower
Cleaning Rollers. Cycle the rollers by applying
the printer power while holding the Panel But­ton on for three (3) seconds to expose initially
unexposed areas. This is the Test Card se­quence described in Controls and Indicators,
Section 2.

Reinstall the Upper Cleaning Roller. First slide
the shaft pin into the hole in the chassis oppo­site the Spring Tab.

DO NOT

touchtherollersurfacethat contacts

the media.
Snaptheoppositeshaftpinoftherollerinto the

hole on the Spring Tab.
Without touching the body of the roller, make

suretherollerlocksin place.Toavoidcontami­nation, always hold the roller by the metal
ends.

980179-001 Rev. A 43

Operation

Print Head

Cleaning

Print Head

Cleaning

Step 1

During printing, the ribbon(s) isolate the Print
Head(s) from the cards. Therefore, the ribbon
has the greatest influence on Print Head con­tamination. An improperly installed ribbon,
with thedyeandresincoatingsfacing the Print
Head can cause permanent damage. No
amount of cleaning can remove dye or resin
fused onto delicate Print Head elements.

Turn the printer power OFF. Open the cover,
raise the print head, and remove the ribbon
from both spindles. See Ribbon Loading, in
this Section.

The print head should only be cleaned with a
solution of 99% pure Isopropyl Alcohol and a
clean non-fibrous (foam) swab.

Avoid touching the Print Head elements. The
release of Static charges can damage the Print
Head elements and Internal circuits.

44 980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Print Head

Cleaning

Step 2

Figure 2-18

Cleaning

Print Head

Gently rub an alcohol-moistened swab across
the print head from the front to the back of the
printer. Do Not Soak the Print Head.

Allowtheprintheadto dryfor 2minutesbefore
reloading the ribbon and core.

Initiate a Test Card sequence. See Printing a
Test Card in this section.

Cleaning the

Transport and

Platen Rollers

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers

Step 1

980179-001 Rev. A 45

Along with the Cleaning Rollers, these rollers
movethecardsbetween the InputHopperand
CardCatcher.ExceptforthePlaten, these roll­ers operate in pairs—a lower drive roller and
an upper pinch roller that holds cards against
the drive roller.

Open the Cover, and unlatch and raise the
Print andLaminationHeads,Removeanyrib­bon. Note that all associated instructions ap­pear in previous descriptions.

Operation

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step 2

Figure 2-19

Encoder Shroud

Shroud

Shroud

Fasteners

Fasteners

Remove the Shrouds that cover the associated
transport rollers. Note that two screws hold
each Shroud in place.

In the following steps, cycle the rollers to reach
initially unexposed areas by applying the
printer power while holding the Panel Button
pressed for three (3) seconds. This is the Test
CardsequencedescribedinControls and Indi­cators in this section.

46

In the following steps, avoid touching the Print
Head. A static discharge can damage delicate
PrintHead elementsas wellasinternalcircuits.

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step Ì

Figure 2-20

Encoder Transport

Rollers

Encoder

Encoder

Rollers

Rollers

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step Í

Using an alcohol-moistened Swab or a Felt
Pen, clean the two sets of rollers exposed with
removal of the Shrouds. Note that these ap­pear under both Shrouds in P600s.

Using an alcohol-moistened Swab, clean the
Cooling Station Roller (P500 only).

Figure 2-21

Cooling Station

Rollers

Cooling

Cooling

Station

Station

Rollers

Rollers

980179-001 Rev. A 47

Operation

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers Step Î

Figure 2-22

Platen Roller

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step Ï

Using an alcohol-moistened Swab, clean the
Platen Roller.

Using an alcohol-moistened Swab, clean the
roller pair under the Print Head

Figure 2-23

Print Station Rollers

Print

Print

Station

Station

Rollers

Rollers

48

980179-001 Rev. A

Operation

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step Ð

Figure 2-24

Card-Flip Rollers

Card-Flip

Card-Flip

Rollers

Rollers

Cleaning Platen

and Transport

Rollers
Step Ñ

Using an Alcohol-moistened Swab, clean the
Card-Flip Rollers.

Replace the Encoder Shroud (see Step 2), in­stall,Ribbon,placecardsin theInputTray,and
print some Test Cards. Inspect the cards for
Print Anomalies. If Anomalies appear, refer to
Appendix A, Troubleshooting.

Cleaning

Laminator Rollers

Cleaning

Laminator Rollers

Step Ê

980179-001 Rev. A 49

The Lamination head has two rollers—an up­per heated roller and a lower pressure roller.

Turn off power, open the cover, and unlatch
andraisetheLaminator head. Thisissimilarto
the Ribbon Loading described in Section 1.

Operation

Afterturningoffpower,waitaboutfiveminutes
before cleaning the Laminator rollers. The up­per Laminator roller generates a substantial
amount of heat with power switched on.

Cleaning

Laminator Rollers

Step Ë

Figure 2-25

Laminator Rollers

Upper Roller

Lower Rolle r

Using an alcohol-moistened swab, clean both
Laminator rollers. The upper roller can be
turned manually to reach initially unexposed
areas. The lower roller can be turned using the
sameprocedure thatproduces testcards. (Turn
on power while hold in the Laminator button
for three seconds) Immediately turn off power
to avoid heating the upper roller.

50

980179-001 Rev. A

3

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

This section has information on the additional
operation and maintenance requirements of
an Eltron Privilege Series card printer with an
optionalMagneticCardStripeEncoder. Eltron
offers models for recording on either low- or
high-coercivity magnetic card stripes.

Introduction The general operation of a printer with an en-

coder option nearly duplicates that of models
without this option. P600 Encoders can reside
ineitherModule1orModule2, justpastaPrint
Station. P500 Encoders always reside in Mod­ule 1. Encoder installations exist for either up­or down-facing magneticstripesinbothP500s
and P600s.

Only use cards with flush magnetic stripes.
Never use pasted-on stripes.

980179-001 Rev. A 51

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

Media Loading

Orientation

Figure 3-1

Magnetic Stripe

Position

PrinterswithMagneticEncoderscan havetheir
read/write heads positioned either above or
below the path traveled by the cards. All
configurations must have the magnetic stripes
placed closest to the rear of the printer. How­ever, check the configuration to determine
whether the magnetic stripe should face up or
face down. Improper hopper loads produce
read errors.

Position Stripe

Position Stripe

Toward Back

Toward Back

(and typically facing

(and typically facing

down, but check

down, but check

configuration)

configuration)

Ensuring Data

Reliability

52

A read verify pass is always performed on all
encoded cards to guarantee data integrity.

Either Software (WindCard™) or command
programming controls the Write and Read­verify data processes.

980179-001 Rev. A

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

Encoding With data downloaded, printers with Magnetic

Encoders can encode all three magnetic stripe
tracks simultaneously. Encoders also support
nonstandard track densities and bits per track.
Aftersettingread/writeparameters,downloads
to track buffers occurs, as follows:

where:

 = Escape
 = Space

↵ = Return

&Btrack#data↵
Initiationofsimultaneousthree-trackmagnetic

stripe encoding then occurs, as follows:
&E*↵
AProgrammer’s manualdescribes allthe com-

mands including those related to the Encoder
(see Appendix B).

The following shows three examples that enter
data. initiate encoding, and set up read/write
parameters that can be sent from either the
Windows™ driver or directly using DOS (e.g.,
COPYfilenameLPT1)orviaa TextEditor and
itsPrint facility(with PrivilegeDriverselected):

Example 1. Download Data and Encode Card:

Direct Control Windows Driver

&B1JOHN DOE↵ ~C0&B 1 JOHNDOE
&B2555-46-5389↵ ~C0&B 2 555 465389
&B34789↵ ~C0&B 3 4789
&E*↵ ~C0&E*

980179-001 Rev. A 53

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

Example 2. Set Read/Write Parameters, Enter Data, Encode
Stripe, and Eject:

Command Result

&D175↵ Sets track-1density to 75 bpi
&D375↵ Sets track-3density to 75 bpi
&CDEW1a3↵ Sets to encode track 1 with5-bit

&CDER1q3↵ Sets toread 5-bit characters on track

&B112345↵ Enters 12345 intrack-1 buffer
&B254321↵ Enters 54321 intrack-2 buffer
&B309876↵ Enters 09876 intrack-3 buffer
&E*↵

ME↵ Ejects card fromprinter

characters

1

Encodes three tracksusing buffer
data, and positionscard for printing

Example 3. Reset to ANSI/ISO:

Command Result

&CDEW1A↵ Resets track-1 encodesto ANSI/ISO

&CDER1Q↵ Resets track-1 reads for ANSI/ISO

&CDEW2B↵ Resets track-2 encodesto ANSI/ISO

&CDER2R↵ Resets track-2 reads for ANSI/ISO

&CDEW3C↵ Resets track-3encodes to ANSI/ISO

&CDER3S↵ Resets track-3 readsfor ANSI/ISO

std.

std.

std.

std.

std.

std.

54 980179-001 Rev. A

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

When to Clean

the Encoder

Cleaning the

Encoder

The Read/Write Head and drive rollers of the
Encoder require a periodic cleaning to main­tain error-free encoding.

The encoder should be cleaned when:

• A “General Cleaning” is performed on the
printer.

• The printer’s Drive Rollers are cleaned.

• Write and Read verify process has failed on

morethanonecard. See AppendixA,Trou­ble Shooting.

Turn OFF printer power.
Remove all card media and both the Supply

andTakeUpspools fromtherespectiveribbon
spindles.

Use the Cleaning Kit procedure described in
Section 2.

Adjustments Privilege card printers with Magnetic Card

Stripe Encoders have no related user adjust­ments.

980179-001 Rev. A 55

Magnetic Card Stripe Encoder

Protect Your Factory Warranty!

Neglect in performing recommended cleaning
procedures can lead to problems not covered
in the warranty.

Other than the recommended cleaning proce­dures described in this manual, only allow El­tron factory authorized technicians to service
these printers

NEVER loosen,tighten,adjust,bend, etc. any
part or cable inside of the printer.

The only user adjustable features of the Privi­legecardprinters are madeinsoftware (orpro­gramming) and the card feeder gate
adjustment.

56 980179-001 Rev. A

4

Smart Card Contact Station

This section contains information on the addi­tional operations of card printers with Smart
Card contact stations.

Introduction Smart Cards (ISO7816) have built-in microcir-

cuits. Card memory can store fingerprints,
voice recognition patterns, medical records
and other such data. Printers can have docking
stations installed that can interface with Smart
Card circuits. Smart Card programming hard­wareconnectstoaDB-9 connector on the rear
panel. Configurations with this option respond
to commands that position the cards at the
docking station, as follows:

980179-001 Rev. A 57

Command

MS

OS value

Allotherprinter operations remainthesame as
those for other Privilege models.

Result

Moves card to Contact
Station

introduces offset of
value dots from Sta­tion default (96)

Smart Card Contact Station

Do not position printing over Smart Card con­tacts.

Media Loading

Orientation

Figure 4-1

Card Contact

Position

Orient the cardswiththeSmartCardChipfac­ing up and such that the edge closest to the
contacts feeds first.

Up-Facing

Up-Facing

Chip Contacts

Chip Contacts

Adjustments No adjustments exist for Privilege printers with

58

Smart Card programming stations other than
theCardFeederGateAdjustment described in
section 2.

980179-001 Rev. A

Smart Card Contact Station

Protect Your Factory Warranty!

Neglect in performing recommended cleaning
procedures canvoidyourwarranty,ascanim­proper packaging and shipping.

Other than the recommended cleaning proce­dures described in this manual, only allow
Eltronfactoryauthorizedtechnicians to service
these printers.

NEVER loosen,tighten,adjust,bend, etc. any
part or cable inside of the printer.

The only user adjustable features of these card
printers are made in software (or program­ming)andthecardfeeder gateadjustment(see
Section 2).

Smart Card

Chip Interface

When a command to the parallel printer inter­face sends a card to the Smart Card Program­ming station, the printer connects the Smart
Card Chip contacts to the female DB-9 con­nector on the rear of the printer. An attached
external Smart Card Programmer uses the
DB-9 as an interface to Smart Card chip con­nections.

Figure 4-2

Host Computer

Smart Card

Smart Card

Contacts Interface

980179-001 Rev. A 59

Smart Card

Contact

Contact

Interface

Interface

Host Computer

Interface

Interface

Smart Card Contact Station

DB-9 Pins

Smart Card

Contact Points
1 C1 (Vcc)
2 C2 (Reset)

3

C3 (Clock)

4 C4 (RFU)
5 C5 (GND)
6 C6 (Vpp)
7 C7 (I/O)
8 C8 (RFU)

9

(GND when chip is at sta­tion)

Media Jams Always remove the bottom card of a two-card

jam first. Never pull the top card out of the
printer. Instead, sequence the printer power
with only the top card remaining (the last card
toentertheprintpath). Remove all othercards
from the path and card feeder.

60

Damagemay occurto thecontacts attheSmart
Card chip programmer station if the top (last)
card is not ejected by the printer.

980179-001 Rev. A

Common Printing
Problems Trouble

Shooting Guide

Problem Solution or Reason

Appendix A

Trouble Shooting

The following lists some common issues that
can confront users experiencing problems
when using Eltron Privilege Series card
printers.

No messages appear on LCD.

An LCD indicates WAIT
TEMPERATURE

Printing appears faded or ex­hibits poor quality.

Parallel “Scratch Lines”, miss­ing image parts

1. Power Switch OFF (O position)
to ON (1 position).

2. Power Not connected
the Printer to the outlet power.

3. Tripped Breaker
panel supplying power outlet.

1. Too Cold
Head has not yet stabilized within proper
operating range.

2. Too Hot
Head has exceeded a proper operating
temperature—typically due to high volume
printing.

1. Clean the print head.

2. Adjust the contrast and intensity in software
or with programming.

3. Verify value of related Print Head Resis­tance does not apply to current print head.
Print a Test Card, and compare value with
label on related print head.

1. Check ribbon

2. Clean Print Head

3. Call technical support

: Associated Print or Lamination

: Associated Print or Lamination

: Check AC cord from

: Check the Fuse/Breaker

: Set switch

980179-001 Rev. A 61

Appendix A

Problem Solution or Reason

An LCD indicates
COMMAND ERROR

An LCD indicates
OUT OF RIBBON

Cards are present, but LCD in­dicates
OUT OF CARD

An LCD indicates
READING ERROR

An LCD indicates
MECHANICAL ERROR

Errors Using Windows Driver:

1. Printer Command Coding Error:
Clear command error by pressing related
Panel Button.

2. Ribbon Error:
Press Panel button; note card ejects, if pres­ent, and ribbon re synchronizes

3. Feeder Error (empty):
Press Panel Button; note that last command
repeats using another card.

4. Magnetic Stripe Write Error:
Press Panel Button; note that card ejects
and command repeats with another card

5. Other Errors:
Press Panel Button; note that any card
present ejects and error indications cease

6. Check the programming command syntax.

1. Replace used ribbon.

2. Check for broken ribbon

Card Feed Problem:

1. Card Gate adjusted too low

2. Card Weight not in place.

3. Cards or Card-Feed rollers contaminated
with oily deposit and require cleaning

Encoder Command Coding Error:

1. Verify command syntax

2. Call technical support

3. Check card Hopper for proper stripe
position

Mechanical Error:

1. Card Jam - Nonmagnetic Encoder
Open cover, remove related upper cleaning
roller, empty feeder, pull jammed cards out.
Replace upper cleaning roller and run Test
Card
RESET. Cycle power off and on.

2. Card Jam - Magnetic Encoder Models
See Section 3, Clearing Media Jams.

3. Card Not Feeding
printer. Release Print Head latch and run
Test Card
RESET, Cycle power off and on.

completely through

:

:

62 980179-001 Rev. A

Problem Solution or Reason

Appendix A

LCD indicates
COVER OPEN

Printer cuts (melts) through the
transferribbon.The ribbonisad­vancing at the same rate as the
card media.

Ribbon breaks during re­synchronization of the color rib­bon panel.

Voids on printed card, varies
from panel to panel.

Voids on printed card, same for
all card panels

Close the cover so that card flips can occur

1. Reinstall the ribbon.

2. Synchronize the ribbon panels by pressing
the related Panel button until the ribbon
starts advancing.

3. Verify proper (or default) print settings in
software.

4. Verify the proper ribbon/panel combination
are selected in the software or program­ming sent to the printer.

5. Verify that the print heat (resistor) is set to
the correct level in the WindCard software,
Windows color printer driver or by pro­gramming commands sent to the printer.
Print a Test Card and note the resis­tance/heat setting. Verify the card values
match those that appear on the print head
label. (See following illustration.)

1. Raise the related Print Head and synchro­nize the ribbon. The previous print process

may have been interrupted during the print
process.

1. Clean the Cleaning Roller

2. Complete all cleaning procedures

1. Check Card surfaces for smoothness,
flatness or edge burrs If necessary, get new
cards.

2. Use approved media.

980179-001 Rev. A 63

Print Head

Print Head

Label

Label

Appendix A

Other Support

Resources

First attempt a repair using the forgoing table,
Then, if necessary, contact the dealer that sold
you the printer.

Eltron International also offers a variety of in­formation and user support services, as fol­lows:

• Internet:

http://www.eltron.com
ftp://ftp.eltron.com

e-mail:

Label Printers: [e-mail]
Card Printers: [e-mail]
Europe: [e-mail]
Singapore: [e-mail]
Latin America: [e-mail]

• BBS: [phone]
TheBBSsupports dataratesup to 28.8BPS
with No Parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit
(n,8,1). Communications software should
haveanANSITerminalMode (not MS Win­dows Terminal) such as Q-Modem.

64

• CompuServe e-mail: 102251,1164

• Customer Service: [phone]

For the name of a dealer in your area.

• Technical Support FAX:

U.S.A.: [phone]
Asia: [phone]
Europe: [phone]
Latin America: [phone]
For your assistance and support with Eltron
printers and software.

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix A

Parallel Interface

Cable Wiring

The following diagram shows the cable wiring
required to use the printer’s parallel interface.

HOST

STROBE

DATA 0
DATA 1
DATA 2
DATA 3
DATA 4
DATA 5
DATA 6
DATA 7

ACK/

BUSY

PAPERERR.

READY

INIT

ERROR/

N/A
N/A

N/A
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND

DB-25

Pin No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

DB-25

Pin No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

PRINTER

STROBE

DATA 0
DATA 1
DATA 2
DATA 3
DATA 4
DATA 5
DATA 6
DATA 7

ACK/

BUSY

PAPERERR.

READY

INIT

ERROR/

N/A
N/A

N/A
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND
SIG. GND

Female DB-25 to Male DB-25

Supported Card

Media and Ribbon

Thecardprinterssupportawidevariety ofcard
media and ribbon types. The card media
should be matched to the ribbon type to avoid
ribbon burning, sticking and to achieve proper
dye sublimation. For optimum performance
and printer (Print Head) life

, always use Eltron

approved card media and ribbons.

980179-001 Rev. A 65

Appendix A

Card Media

CR-80 credit card style cards (ISO 7810)
made of PVC (recommended) or Polyester
ABScardmaterials.Somecard manufacturing
processes use a thin, clear over-lamination.

Magnetic (Mag.) Stripe Card (ISO 7811)
Smart Card with ISO 7816 Chip, With AF-

NOR Chip, or a combination of the Magnetic
Stripeononesideandoneof theChipversions
on the other side.

Ribbons Eltron Privilegecardprintersrequire Eltron ap-

proved ribbons. Eltron’s resin thermal transfer
and die sublimation media are specifically de­signed for Privilege card printers. (See Appen­dix B.)

Thermal Transfer (Resin) -Allprintstations
can use Thermal Transfer ribbon. Resin offers
more durability than dye sublimation, with
greaterresistancetoscratchesand UV-induced
fading.

66

DyeSublimation- Printingrequiresdye sub­limation ribbons with either black orCyan(C),
Magenta(M)andYellow (Y)panels.Theserib­bons have Overlay varnish panels to add UV
protection and durability. Color ribbons have
blackthermaltransferresin panels forbarcode
and other solid imaging.

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix A

Radius 0.125 in (3.18mm)

3.375 in ± 0.010 in

(85.72mm ± 0.25mm)

Card Dimensions

2.125 in

± 0.002 in

(53.98mm

± 0.05mm)

Thickness

0.009 in to 0.034 in

(0.23mm to 0.84mm)

Magnetic Stripe Dimensions

0.218 in (5.54mm) Max.

0.623 in

(15.82mm) Min.

0.000 in to 0.115 in
(0.00mm to 2.92mm)

0.000 in to 0.115 in
(0.00mm to 2.92mm)

Smart Card Chip

0.221 in (5.62mm)max. gap

0.01 in

(2.54mm)

Min. gap

(8.25mm)

980179-001 Rev. A 67

C1

0.395 in

0.210 in
(3.54mm)

No-print Area

0.790 in

21.87mm

0.782 in (19.87mm)Min.

0.403 in (10.25mm)Max.

0.631 in
(7.54mm)

0.218 in (5.54mm)Max.

0.623 in (15.82mm)Min.

C1 - VCC(Supply Voltage)
C2 - RST(Reset Signal)

C1

C4

C3 - CLK(Clock)

C5

C4 - RFU
C5 - GND(Logic Ground)
C6 - VPP(Programming Voltage)

C8

C7 - I/O(Data Input/Output)
C8 - RFU

Appendix A

Printer Features

and Options

The Privilege card printer series are part of El­tron’s personal and industrial printer family. A
Privilege card printer prints on standard credit
card size cards. These color printers can pro­duce images using either dye sublimation
and/orthermaltransfer(monochrome)modes.
This list only serves as a reference. Consult the
latest Data Sheet.

PRIVILEGE SERIES CARD PRINTERS
Print Resolution

• 300 dots per inch (11.8 dot per millimeter)

Printing Technology

• Monochrome - Thermal Transfer

• Color - Dye Sublimation

Print Time

• Typically3secondspercard(monochrome)

• Typically 45 seconds per card (color)

Print Speed

• 0.5 ips

Font Support

• Arial 22 Bold and Arial 28 Normal

• True Type fonts with the WindCard™ or

Windows™ compatible printer driver to ac­cess Windows™ resident fonts.

Bar Code Symbologies

• Code 39 (3 of 9)

• Interleaved 2 of 5 (I-2/5)

• Standard 2 of 5 (2/5)

• EAN 8

• EAN 13

• UPC A

• MONARCH

• Code 128 subsets B with or without Check

Digit

• Code 128 Subset C with or without Check
Digit

68

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix A

Card Types - ISO Format

• CR-80 - ISO 7810

• Option; Magnetic Stripe - ISO 7811

• Option: Smart Card - ISO 7816

• PVC (recommended), PVC w/Polyester

core, ABS card materials

Magnetic Encoding - Option

• 3 tracks

• 3 Media Recording Densities:

Low Coercivity, 300 Oersteds
Medium Coercivity, 2750 Oersteds
High Coercivity, 4,000 Oersteds

• Supports recording formats: ITA, ABA and
Thrift.

Smart Card - Option

• Supports ISO 7816 Smart Card standards

Card Dimensions

• Thickness -

Monochrome - 10 mil to 40 mil
(0.254 mm to 0.762 mm)
Color - 20 mil to 30 mil
(0.508 mm to 0.762 mm)

• Standard Card Thickness:

0.020" (0.508 mm)

0.024" (0.610 mm)

0.030" (0.762 mm)

• Width - 3.375" (85.6 mm) typical

• Length - 2.125" (53.98 mm) typical

Card Feeder

• Stacks up to 150, 20 mil cards

• Stacks up to 100, 30 mil cards

Power Requirements

• 100/120//230/240 VAC, 50-60 Hz

Operating Temperature-

• 40 to 104 degree Fahrenheit (mono.)

• 60 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (color)

980179-001 Rev. A 69

Appendix A

Dimensions-

Without Card Catcher:

• 30.5 in W x 12.5 in H x 10.1in D
(775mm W x 320mm H x 258mm D)

With Card Catcher:

• 34.6 in W x 12.5 in H x 10.1 in D
(880mm W x 320mm H x 258mm D)

Weight

Basic Unit:

• 61.7 lb (28.1 kg)

Shipping:

• 72.7 lb (32.9 kg)

70

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix B

Supplies and

Accessories

ContactyourEltron dealerwhenplacinganor­der for any of the following:

Accessories Accessories available for the Privilege card

printerarelistedbelow. Always refertotheEL­TRON part number when placing an order.

Description Part Number

Card Printer ParallelInterface Cable, 6’

(DB-25 male to DB-25 female)

Windows™ Printer Driver
WindCard™ Classic Software,and Manual

User’s Manual (thisManual)
Programmers Manual

Lapel Clip CardPunch 806503-001
Video Kit (camera,video board, 5-panel

ribbon, and 100of the 30-mil PVC cards)

300055-001

205585-001
105525-004

980179-001
980081-001

104522-001

980179-001 Rev. A 71

Appendix B

Print Ribbons The following imaging ribbons are optimized

for use in Privilege card printers.

Special Ribbons

Ribbon

Types

Monochrome Resin RibbonsÀ
Black ABS ÁÂ800015-008
Black 3Â800015-001
Red 3Â800015-002
Green 3Â800015-003
Blue 3Â800015-004
Yellow 3Â800015-005
Gold 3Â800015-006
Silver 3Â800015-007
White 3Â800015-009
Multi-panel Ribbons forColor Printers À
YMCKrO 3 5 800015-040
YMCKrOKr à 6 800015-048
KrO 3 2 800015-060
KsO 3 2 800015-050

NOTES:

À Bar Codes require Black Resin printing .
Á Black ABS ribbon only used with ABS cards.
 Monochrome ribbons have no panel separations.
à Duplex printing when resin is required on both sides.

YMC - DenotesYellow, Magenta, Cyan colored panels.
Kr - DenotesBlack Resin panel
Ks - DenotesBlack Dye Sublimation panel
O - Denotestransparent Overlay varnish.

Print Ribbons

Mono. Color

No. of

Panels

Part No.

72 980179-001 Rev. A

Description Part Number

Overlaminate Ribbons (P500)
Clear for fullcoverage (100 cards) 800015-014
Clear for SmartCard coverage (100

cards)
Clear for Mag.Stripe Card coverage (100

cards)
Holographic Overlay Varnish(P600)
Privilege Security Seal (350cards) 800015-011

800015-013
800015-012

Card Media

Miscellaneous

Supplies

Appendix B

Only laminate 30-mil cards in P500 printers.

Description Part Number

Cards (PVC)
30 mil 800016-104
30 mil, LowCoercivity Stripe 800016-105
30 mil, HighCoercivity Stripe 800016-106
Heavy duty Cards(PVC w/Polyester Core)
30 mil 800017-101
30 mil, LowCoercivity Stripe 800017-102
30 mil, HighCoercivity Stripe 800017-103

Description

Drive Roller CleaningPens (12) 800105-001
Print Head CleaningSwabs (25) 104526-001
Take-up Ribbon Cores(10) 205581-001
ID Card LapelClips (100) 104527-001
Mag. Head CleaningKit 104531-001

Part

Number

Installable

Options

Description

Memory Expansion 104525-001
Replacement Print HeadKit 104540-001

980179-001 Rev. A 73

Part

Number

Appendix B

74 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

Windows Card

Printer Driver

Those needingtoprintfromapplicationsother
thanWindCardmust firstinstalla printer driver
forthe cardprinter. TheCD-ROM shippedwith
the printer includes printer drivers for both
Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.

Installation of

Printer Drivers

Driver installation begins with insertion of the
CD-ROMintothe associated drive.Theexecu­table file may or may not start automatically,
depending on the CD-ROM Auto Insert Notifi­cation check box setting within Windows.(See
Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Man­ager, CD-ROM.) If the Card Design Software
screen fails to appear within about 30 seconds
after CD insertion, a manual start can be used,
as follows:

For Windows 95:

1. Start the Windows Explorer and double­click on the drive letter designator for the
CD-ROM. (e.g., E:)

2. Next click on the Cdman folder.

3. Finally, double-click on the Cdman.exe
file.

980179-001 Rev. A 75

Appendix C

For Windows 3.1:

1. Select File, Run...

2. From the Run dialog, select Browse.

3. Select the CD-ROM drive, the Cdman
folder, and double-click on Cdman.exe.

The screen that appears when the program
starts has flags for several nations and a small
button at the lower-left corner.

• Click on a flag to choose an associated lan-

guage.

• Clickonthe buttonin thelower-left cornerto

quit this software. Subsequent screens have
Back buttons that produce transitions back
toward this screen so that a quit path exists
fromany pointin theinstallationsequence.

76

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

In the screens that follow language selection,
choose the operating system (Windows 3.1 or
Windows 95), Windows Drivers, and then. In­stall PrinterDriver.Fromthispoint on, the dia­logs differ betweenWindows95andWindows

3.1.
Note that the Install Printers Driver screen has

textthat specifiesthe DriversFolderastheloca­tion of the driver file to be installed. When re­quested,thepathto thedriverfilemust include
this folder, for example:

E:\driver\win95\oemsetup.inf

Windows 95

Sequence

When the Windows Printers dialog then ap­pears, Double-click on Add Printer.

980179-001 Rev. A 77

Appendix C

This produces first a screen that allows confir­mation of driver installation. With confirma­tion, a screen then appears that allows the
installationof eithera networkorlocalprinter.

When the AddPrintersWizarddialogappears,
click on the Have Disk button.

This produces the Install From Disk dialog.

78 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

Asshown,Windowsoffers A: as thelocationof
the driver. However, a complete path to the
drivermust bespecified. Therefore,click onthe
Browse button to find the file.

This produces the Open dialog

In the example shown, E: has the CD, with a
Driverfolderthat hasawin95folder, andoem­setup.inf is targeted as the driver for installa­tion. However, except for the driver folder, a
different path may be associated with the sys­tem setup in use.

980179-001 Rev. A 79

Click on the OK button to proceed. Also click
onOKinthe dialog that requestsinstallationof
an associated disk.

Atthispoint,the Add Printer Wizardreappears
with the Privilege Printer listed.

Appendix C

Click Next to proceed through the remaining
Add Printer Wizard screens, and specify de­sired parameters. Note that, although selecta­ble,P500 andP600printerscannotuseaCOM
port, limiting the choices to either LPT1 or
LPT2.

Windows 3.1

Sequence

For Windows 3.1, the Printers dialog appears
after the selection of Install Printer Driver.

Click on the Add» button.

80

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

In the next Printers dialog, select Install Un­listed or Updated Printer.

980179-001 Rev. A 81

Appendix C

The Install Driver dialog appears, allowing en­tryofthe pathtothe associatedfile.Remember
that the needed file resides on the CD drive in
its driver folder. To find the file, click on the
Browse button. or click on the OK button after
replacingthe A:\—as inthefollowingexample:

WheretheE:may needtobereplaced with the
system CD drive designation used.

E:\driver\win3.1\oemsetup.inf

82 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

This produces the Add Unlisted or Updated
Printer dialog. Note that the List of Printers
includesP300andP400 Card Printersandnot
P500 and P600 Printers. At this software revi­sion the P300 can be used. However, support
exists only for single side printing.

Click on OK and the printer driver installs and
appearsinthe Installed Printerslistinthe Print­ers dialog box.

Using the

Windows 95

Driver

Following driver installation, the Privilege
printer becomes a selectable device accessed
from the dialog that appears with selection of
File, Print… Therefore, users can send images
created in an associated application to the
printer for card imaging.

Print dialogs offer settings that reflect the
uniqueness of the selected driver. Like other
printers, Privilege printers have many opera­tional parameters that a user can vary. Users
canaccess manyofthesesettingsbyclickingon
the Properties button. Applications can place
thisbuttoneitherinthe Print dialog or anasso­ciated sub dialog.

980179-001 Rev. A 83

Appendix C

To reach the following dialog, click on the
Properties button.

84

First, note the tabs at the top of this dialog.
Separate descriptions for each tab appear in
the following.

980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

The Card tab has categories for ribbon selec­tion, Card Orientation, Dithering Method, and
180° Rotation. Check boxes also exist that en­ableordisable aPreviewandMagneticEncod­ing Only operation, respectively.

Ribbon selection should duplicate the ribbon
installed in the card printer. Note, however,
thattheothersettingsinthisgroupingprescribe
variations on ribbon use.

Cardorientationsettingsallow the matching of
the card orientation to the print file image ori­entation.

Ditheringreferstotheformat usedtoblendcol­ors. Users should choose the format that pro­duces the most pleasing results.

180° Rotation flips an image upside down. Ei­ther or both card side images can be flipped.

980179-001 Rev. A 85

Appendix C

The Memory and Overlay tab has a check
box that can enable or disable the use of Ex­panded Memory, if installed. The remaining
settings apply to the application of an Overlay
Varnish. Note that varnish panels do not exist
onallribbons, onlyonthose withmultiplepan­els.

The black area in this tab indicates where var­nish gets applied. By changing the dot values
that appear to the right of this area, the area to
receive varnish can be changed. Note that the
cardoriginliesattheupper left corner and that
dot values correspond to 300 dots per inch.

Users can select preestablished varnish map­ping for smart cards and magnetic stripe cards
by clicking on the radio buttons below the
black area. Further down appear selections
that implement importation of a bit map that
defines varnish mapping. Any bit map im­ported shouldbeblackandwhite,where black
prescribesvarnishand white prescribesnovar­nish. Note that the initially all-black area
changes to reflect other selected mappings.

86 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

980179-001 Rev. A 87

Appendix C

TheHeadSettingstabofferssliders thatcon­trol the contrast and intensity related to each
print ribbon panel.

88 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

The Magnetic Encoding tab offers settings
that apply when the selected print file contains
encoding data (see Section 3 examples using
Windows driver). This tab then allows users to
specify which non-recording characters in the
document file specify Start of data and End of
data.Notethatdata for eachtrackrequiresthis
format and a track number must follow the
Start characters.

980179-001 Rev. A 89

Appendix C

The Color Correction tab has sliders that al­lowscoloradjustmentsfor red,green,andblue
both intensity and contrast. These settings can
serve to make card images match correspond­ing monitor images.

90 980179-001 Rev. A

Appendix C

The Laminator tab has settings related to the
Lamination Station in P500 card printers. This
tab allows enabling or disabling of lamination,
specification of the Lamination Station ribbon
type,thecardspeedthrough thelaminatorand
the lamination temperature.

980179-001 Rev. A 91

Appendix C

Using The

Windows 3.1

Driver

The Privilege Windows 3.1 printer driver
allows control of several printer features when
printing from non-WindCard™ Windows™
software applications. These features are ac­cessed through the “Printers” control panel in
the Program Manager “Main” group.

92

ForaPrivilege printer,selectPRIVXXX , where
XXX designates the desired installed driver.
Double “click” on the PRIVXXX or select
“Connect” to set the printer to the correct
printer port.

980179-001 Rev. A