Fargo® HDP5000 High Definition Printer/Encoder — Printer of the Week

To ensure you have key information to effectively evaluate card-printing solutions we often provide reviews of our ID card printers, which helps you distinguish among the many card printers available today, and select the right ID Card Printer for your needs today.

This week’s featured printer is the Fargo® HDP5000 High Definition Card Printer/Encoder, a powerful device that once again sets Fargo apart as the ID card industry leader. This is a printer we think our customers should be excited about.

Ideal Applications – The Fargo HDP5000 Duplex Badge Printer is very well suited for customization, and thus fits many applications. Its many options include single- or dual-sided lamination and multifaceted card-encoding technologies and allow users to produce proximity and smart cards that conform to their unique needs. This is great news for the many businesses and organizations now expanding their use of multifunction smart cards, like:

Government agencies/departments
Colleges
Medium to large organizations
Loyalty and membership programs
Financial institutions
Health care facilities and research labs

Product Features

High-Definition Retransfer Printing (HDP) – The Fargo HDP5000 uses retransfer printing technology, aka “reverse transfer,” the most advanced card-printing technology available. If you want fantastic looking cards, this print method produces flawless, high-clarity images and text in rich, vibrant, saturated color by printing on retransfer film and fusing it to the card with heat and pressure. Using dye-sublimation technology to print bright, 300-dpi images on the underside of Fargo’s HDP® Film, the result is simply outstanding print quality. The process works perfectly on any surface and avoids image quality issues common with direct-to-card printers that can have trouble printing over the uneven surfaces created by smart chips or embedded antennas and circuits.

But it’s not just about the fabulous images and colors. HDP retransfer film also delivers added durability and security through an additional layer of protection–a buffer from daily wear and tear. Moreover, the extra layer is highly tamper-resistant because any attempt to peel it away destroys the images.

Standard Built-in Ethernet Connectivity – Issuing cards at a stand-alone badging station is a thing of the past with the HDP5000’s built-in USB, Ethernet connectivity, and internal print server for networked operations. You can quickly print and encode cards on a single printer or over your network. This means you can distribute card issuance over a network to any location, or manage high-volume production by setting up an array of printer/encoders in a central location, or authorize multiple users to operate the printer over your network. This is real flexibility that delivers real relief, and makes the Fargo HDP5000 Duplex printer an ideal choice in countless scenarios.

Importantly, the HDP5000 printer comes with a 3-year warranty on the printer and printhead, another valuable feature and a testimony to the unit’s durability.

Highly Adaptable Modular Design – Most enterprises change constantly; they value versatility and flexibility. As businesses and organizations grow and change, the HDP5000–because of its many optional upgrades–keeps up with their card-printing needs and works particularly well in dynamic environments. The HDP5000’s modular design allows users to easily upgrade and add various encoding options, as well as single or duplex laminating. If your organization uses different types of cards for different applications, an optional 200 dual-card hopper allows users to easily switch between two different card types.

Optional “Any Time” Upgrades:

Optional dual-sided printing (field-upgradeable) – Upgrade to dual-sided printing any time and expand available space to add more cardholder information or security features.
Optional encoding – Print and encode cards in one pass, and save a lot of time. Magnetic stripe encoding and smart card encoding are both upgrade options.
Optional card hoppers – Add a200-card dual-input hopper or a 200-card single-input hopper cartridge with lock and you’ll decrease down time and streamline your production. You’ll save money too.
Optional lamination – Gain an additional layer of durability and tamper/forgery-resistance?

The HDP5000 printer system can readily change along with your organization’s needs–which affords you real and smart flexibility.

Easy to Operate and Maintain – Versatility and utility are delivered through the HDP5000’s many features, like its use of the most common software drivers, acceptance of widely used card types and sizes (and thicknesses), easy-to-use ribbons with disposable ribbon cartridges, and high-resolution (300 dpi) edge-to-edge printing.

With fewer moving parts, the Fargo HDP5000 ID card printer is essentially maintenance-free (which saves on operator training costs). Cartridge-based ribbons, cards, and lamination make reloading and maintaining the HDP5000 a snap, while eliminating torn, wasted materials. Printer cleaning is just as worry-free. Fargo includes a new cleaning roller with each new ribbon, making it easy to replace the roller as you load a new ribbon.

Intuitive User Interface – The Fargo HDP5000 High Definition printer/encoder provides easy-to-understand status messages and instructions via its user-friendly SmartScreen™ LCD panel graphical display, which provides operators prompts and status messages in multiple languages. No need to waste time attempting to interpret blinking lights.

This is a convenient and secure printer and encoder system. The HDP5000 reliably prints in color and encodes technology cards (supporting smart-card and magnetic-stripe technologies), and is built to meet the needs of medium-sized businesses, schools and local government institutions.

The HDP5000 card printer flexibly customizes cards for any application needed: identification, membership, access control, time and attendance, customer loyalty, and event passes. It’s also highly scalable, permitting users to upgrade simply and conveniently by adding modules.