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.
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