FOR RESTRICTED USE only
Fargo Electronics, Inc.
DTC550 Direct to Card Printer/Encoder User Guide (Rev. 2.8)
2-9
Functional Specifications
The Card Printer utilizes two different, yet closely related printing technologies to achieve its
direct-to-card print quality for Dye-Sublimation and resin thermal transfer. The Card Printer
will print from any IBM-PC® or compatible running Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
The following describes how each of these technologies works:
Function Description
Dye-
Sublimation
Dye-Sublimation is the print method the Card Printer uses to produce
smooth, continuous-tone images that look photographic. (
Note:
This
process uses a dye-based Ribbon roll that is partitioned by a number
of consecutive color panels.)
•
Process Colors:
The panels are grouped in a repeating Series
of three process colors - yellow, magenta and cyan (YMC), along
the entire length of the Print Ribbon.
•
Panels:
The Printer always prints the yellow panel first, followed
by the magenta panel and the cyan panel.
•
Printhead:
As the Print Ribbon passes beneath the Printhead,
hundreds of thermal elements within the Printhead heat the dyes
on the Ribbon. (
Note:
When these dyes are heated, they
vaporize and diffuse into the surface of the card. A separate
pass is made for each of the three color panels on the Ribbon.)
•
Color Shades:
By combining the colors of each panel and by
varying the heat used to transfer these colors, it is possible to
print up to 16.7 million different shades of color. (
Note:
This
blends one color smoothly into the next, producing photo-quality
images with absolutely no dot pattern.)
•
Dye-Diffusion Thermal Transfer:
It is the process of heating a
dye suspended in a cellulous substrate until the dye can flow,
diffusing into the dye receptive surface of the card or InTM. This
produces the image in the surface of the card.
