102 Card Design Tasks
Escapes
Escapes are formatted text that the Card Printer Driver converts to printer commands to support 
a number of operations, including the following:
 Block printing
 Apply topcoat
 Erase and write rewritable cards
 Encode magnetic stripe data
 Select an input hopper
 Laminate a card
 Debow a card in the laminator
 Impress a card
 Apply a second retransfer layer
 Emboss/indent a card
Escapes override printing preferences set in the Card Printer Driver or in a card design 
application. You can use escapes to change printing controls on a card-by-card basis without 
having to reset your printing preferences.
HINTS & TIPS
 For each escape, make sure that the text is consistent (use the same font, font size, and 
color). Use a common font that is easy to see, and is different from, the text you want to print 
on the card.
 Each escape must fit on a single line with no formatting or carriage returns. Use a small font 
size to make sure that there is enough room for long escapes.
 Do not align escape text to be on the same horizontal line as printed text.
 Make each escape its own line of text on the card design.