Standard YMCKO vs. Half-panel color ribbon: make the right choice!
If you want to print color badges, you will need a color ribbon but if you look closer at the options, you will find YMCKO ribbons and Half-panel YMCKO ribbons. What’s the difference?
YMCKO ribbons are standard color ribbons. YMCKO stands for Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black and Overlay. The printer uses the YMC panels to print in full color, the Black (K) panel to print in real black and then applies a clear coating overlay (O) to create durable plastic badges.
Half-panel color ribbons are different: the Yellow, Magenta and Cyan panels are half the size of the regular panels of a YMCKO ribbon. The K (Black) and O (Overlay) are full size panels. This means that up to half of the card can be printed in full color while black text or images can be printed anywhere on the card.
A half-panel color ribbon is right for you if the part that you need to print in full color (logo, picture) doesn’t exceed half of the card, and that the rest of the information is printed in black. If you need to print more than 50% of your card in color, do not purchase a half-panel color ribbon: buy a standard YMCKO ribbon.
The benefits of a half panel color ribbon are multiple. Half-panel ribbons allow twice the normal ribbon yield than a standard YMCKO ribbon, which translates into a much lower cost per card and less user intervention since the ribbon doesn’t have to be changed that often.
Talk to one of our experts to see if the half-panel color ribbon is right for you. Call IDSecurityOnline at 1-800-897-7024 to talk to an ID expert.
