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Elements of Card Design
Monochrome Printing
Monochrome printing prints cards using a single color. You can use a full-color ribbon or a
monochrome ribbon that has only one color.
Monochrome Printing with Full-Color Ribbon
Full-color print ribbon includes a black panel. The black
panel transfers to the card differently than the YMC
panels. Text and bar codes are usually printed with the
black panel. Full-color print ribbon also prints any
monochrome or one-bit-per-pixel graphics using the K
panel.
Monochrome Ribbon
Monochrome ribbon produces single-color cards. Monochrome ribbon can
be any of the following:
Alternating black and topcoat panels (KT or KTT ribbon)
The printer applies black and one or two topcoat panels on the
same side of the card.
Continuous black (K ribbon)
A continuous color, for example, green or silver (also called a
K ribbon). Refer to
“Monochrome Print Ribbon Kits”
for a list of available colors.
Silver-Topcoat, Black (K)-Topcoat (ST-KT) and Gold-
Topcoat, Black (K)-Topcoat (GT-KT), also referred to as
MT-KT ribbons
These ribbons print the front side of the card using the
monochrome color panel and the back side using the black
(K) panel. Topcoat is applied to both the front and back of
the card. If the printer does not support the ribbon type,
only the K panel is used.
Ribbon Saver
Continuous monochrome printing with Datacard-certified ribbon uses the Ribbon Saver feature.
With Ribbon Saver, the printer begins using ribbon at a location that corresponds to the leading
edge of the card. The printer continues to spool ribbon for the length of the image but no farther.
The printer leaves a small margin between each card to avoid image overlap.
Full-panel YMCKT Ribbon
KT Ribbon
KTT Ribbon
Monochrome (K) Ribbon—Black
Monochrome Ribbon—Green
ST-KT Ribbon
GT-KT Ribbon
