DataCard ImageCard series User manual

User's Guide for
ImageCard® and
UltraGrafix® Series Printers
Express and Select Classes
January 1999
Part No. 526945-001
Plastic card solutions for a changing world

ii Contents
Please note and heed the WARNING and CAUTION labels that have been placed on the
equipment for your safety. Please do not attempt to operate or repair this equipment without
adequate training.
Liability statement
This DataCard product has been built to the high standards of DataCard Corporation. See
Appendix A for the statement of liability.
Regulatory compliance
This DataCard product conforms to regulatory requirements as specified in North America
and Europe. Please see Appendix A for detailed regulatory compliance information.
Trademark acknowledgments
Trademark, service mark, and copy right acknowledgments appear in Appendix A.
Proprietary notice
All drawings and information herein are the property of DataCard Corporation. All
unauthorized use and reproduction is prohibited. Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved.
Revision Log
User’s Guide for ImageCard and UltraGrafix Series Printers
(Express and Select Classes)
Revision Date Affected Pages Description of Changes
A Jan. '99 All First version of this manual.
DataCard Corporation
11111 Bren Road West
Minnetonka, MN 55343-9015
612.933.1223
Fax: [phone]
© 1997, 1998, 1999 DataCard Corporation.
All rights reserved. Printed in United States of America.

Contents iii
Contents
Declaration of conformity v
Chapter 1: Introduction1-1
About this manual 1-2
Required skills 1-2
The printer and its features 1-2
Parts of the printer 1-5
Printer software requirements 1-9
Card quality guidelines 1-10
Card surface 1-10
Card handling 1-10
Card storage and maintenance 1-10
Supplies 1-11
Chapter 2: Getting started 2-1
Choosing a site 2-2
Environmental requirements and specifications 2-2
Electrical requirements 2-2
General requirements and intended use 2-3
Connecting cables 2-4
Loading supplies 2-5
Loading blank cards 2-5
Loading and replacing the ribbon 2-8
Installing the printer driver for the first time 2-10
Magnetic stripe encoding 2-15
Printing test cards 2-18
Printing magnetic stripe test cards 2-23
The basics of printing from an application 2-25
Chapter 3: Day-to-day printer use 3-1
Accessing printer features 3-2
Using the printer properties dialog box 3-2
Using the default document properties dialog box (Windows NT only) 3-5
Using the status monitor 3-6
Opening and using the status monitor 3-7
Viewing status monitor information 3-7
Starting a printer cleaning cycle 3-8
Cleaning the magnetic stripe head 3-8
Cleaning the duplex module 3-9
Starting or quitting diagnostics 3-9
Creating a magnetic stripe test card 3-9
Suspending or resuming the status monitor 3-10
Exiting the status monitor 3-10
Using What’s This help (Windows 95/98 only) 3-11
Performing a cleaning cycle 3-12
Cleaning the printhead 3-16
Cleaning the magnetic stripe head 3-17
Cleaning the duplex module 3-19
Reconfiguring the printer driver 3-20

iv Contents
Chapter 4: Troubleshooting 4-1
Understanding messages 4-2
General troubleshooting 4-3
Making repairs and obtaining service 4-11
Chapter 5: Advanced information 5-1
Confirming the ECP parallel port configuration and assignment 5-2
Re-installing the printer driver 5-5
Installing a second printer (Windows 95/98 only) 5-11
Replacing the printhead cartridge 5-13
Printing on both sides of a card 5-16
Printing on thick cards 5-17
Printing bar codes 5-18
Moving the printer from Windows 95/98 to NT 5-19
Encoding magnetic stripe data from an application 5-19
Notes on NTT magnetic stripe encoding 5-21
Printing over a network (Windows 95/98 only) 5-22
Security key issues 5-23
Other tips, hints and information 5-23
Writing software for ImageCard/UltraGrafix series printers 5-24
Appendix A: Safety and compliance A-1
Emissions A-2
FCC notice (USA) A-2
CanadaA-2
Europe A-2
Liability statement A-2
Proprietary notice A-3
Safety A-3
Safe environment A-3
Safe human interface A-4
Acknowledgments A-4
Appendix B:Supplies B-1
List of supplies B-2
Card requirements B-3
Printhead cartridge B-3
Ribbon B-5
Cleaning supplies B-6
Ribbon cartridge B-7
Card cartridge B-7
Interface cable B-8
Power cable B-8
Power receptacle fuse B-9
Carrying case (Express & S models only) B-9
Publications B-10
Printer driver B-10
IIndex I-1

Contents v
Declaration of conformity

Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter contains introductory information on this manual
and on the ImageCard® and UltraGrafix® series photo ID
printers.
Contents
About this manual 1-2
Required skills 1-2
The printer and its features 1-2
Parts of the printer 1-5
Printer software requirements 1-9
Card quality guidelines 1-10
Card surface 1-10
Card handling 1-10
Card storage and maintenance 1-10
Supplies 1-11
1

1-2 Introduction
About this manual
This manual describes the ImageCard/UltraGrafix print series. It contains
procedures for basic operation of the printer, performing routine
maintenance on it and troubleshooting problems.
Required skills
To perform the procedures in this manual, you must have the following
skills:
•Ability to read and understand written and graphical instructions
•Ability to operate a personal computer
•Experience with Microsoft Windows®
•Ability to load supplies
•Ability to perform simple troubleshooting using written and graphical
instructions
The printer and its features
The ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer is a low-cost desktop printer that
delivers high-quality, full-color IDs including photos, text, logos, bar codes,
digitized signatures, encoded magnetic stripes, and personalized smart card
data storage chips. It requires the use of the ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer
driver on a PC running Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows
NT. For optimal performance, an enhanced communications port (ECP)
parallel port is recommended for fast data transfer from the PC. The printer
also requires the use of a card printing application, such as QuikWorks™, to
capture and organize information into a card format.
This printer is part of a series of DataCard printing products. Various
models have different names, depending on what optional features they
contain. (There are also price differences between models.) These are the
available features and options in the product line:
•Color or monochrome printing — Printers in the ImageCard series can
print a full range of colors using three-color ribbon. Printers in the
UltraGrafix series do monochrome printing with 1-color ribbon.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-3
•Magnetic stripe encoding — This option offers the ability to record
information on a card's magnetic stripe. This is available as an option on
any ImageCard or UltraGrafix model.
•Smart card encoding — ImageCard and UltraGrafix printers can record
information on smart cards, which are plastic cards containing computer
chips. This is available as an option on most ImageCard or UltraGrafix
models.
•Enhanced printing speed — Some printers print at higher speeds for
applications that require fast card printing.
•Automatic dual-sided printing — All ImageCard and UltraGrafix machines
allow duplex printing, or printing on both sides of a card. On some
models, the printer automatically turns the card over to print the other
side. With other models, the operator turns the card over by hand.
An existing ImageCard or UltraGrafix printer cannot have a different set
of options added.
Use Table 1:-1 and your printer's product name (which appears on the box or
the front of the printer) to learn what features are included in your machine:
Table 1:-1 Features available with various printer models
Model name Magnetic
stripe (MS)
available?
Smart card
(SC)
available?
MS & SC
in same
printer?
Colors
printed Printing speed Duplex print
method
ImageCard Express Yes (optional) Yes (optional) No Full color
or mono. Standard Manual
ImageCard S Yes (optional) No No Full color
or mono. Enhanced Manual
ImageCard S2 Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes Full color
or mono. Enhanced Auto
UltraGrafix Express Yes (optional) Yes (optional) No Mono.
only Standard Manual
UltraGrafix S Yes (optional) No No Mono.
only Enhanced Manual
UltraGrafix S2 Yes (optional) Yes (optional) Yes Mono.
only Enhanced Auto

1-4 Introduction
Figure 1:-1 shows what the different versions of the printer look like: Express
and S models for both the ImageCard and UltraGrafix lines, and the S2
model for both lines.
ice0001
Express and S models S2 models
Figure 1:-1 ImageCard/UltraGrafix printer models
The S and S2 models are both part of the Select class.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-5
Parts of the printer
This section describes the basic components of the printer.
74030d23
Top cover
Printhead
Swing arm
Printhead cartridge
Ribbon cartridge
Manual card feed knob
Figure 1:-2 Printer internal part names (Express and S models shown)
Top cover – The top cover protects the internal parts of the printer from dust
and debris.
Printhead – The printhead, contained in the printhead cartridge, uses heat and
pressure to transfer dye and other material from the ribbon to the card.
Swing arm – The swing arm opens to give you access to the printhead
cartridge and ribbon cartridge.
Printhead cartridge – The printhead cartridge holds the printhead.
Ribbon cartridge – The ribbon cartridge holds the ribbon.
Manual card feed knob – The manual card feed knob turns the rollers so you
can move jammed cards along the card transport track manually.

1-6 Introduction
74030s1
Power button
Ready button
Exception card slot
Card output stacker
Card cartridge
Top cover
Status light
Figure 1:-3 Printer front part names (Express and S models shown)
Status light – The status light indicates that the printer is processing data,
ready to receive data, or in an error condition.
•When the status light is green, the printer is on.
•When the status light blinks green, the printer is paused, or it is
printing or receiving data from the PC.
•When the status light blinks yellow, an error has occurred.
•The status light can turn red on rare occasions. If this happens,
contact your DataCard-authorized service provider for assistance.
Card cartridge – The card cartridge holds blank cards to print.
Exception card slot – The exception card slot allows you to insert a single
card that is different from the cards in the card cartridge. For example, use
the exception card slot when you use the printer to manually print on both
sides of a card. The printer prints one side, and then ejects the card. To print
the other side, you can remove this card, flip it over, and insert it into the
exception card slot. (Note: Some printer models can perform this card flip
automatically. See The printer and its features on page 1-2 for more
information.)
Card output stacker – The card output stacker holds the cards after they
have been printed.
Ready button – The Ready button allows you to pause the printer while
printing a card, to cancel a print job and delete all data for the job, or to
create a printer test card:

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-7
•To pause the printer, press and hold the Ready button for three seconds
or less. The status light continues to blink green while the printer is
paused. Press the Ready button again to resume printing.
•To halt the current print job, first press the Ready button to pause the
printer. When you hear an audible sound, press and hold the Ready
button for between three and ten seconds. When the sound changes
tone, release the Ready button.
•You can verify that the printer is working correctly by making a printer
test card. See Printing test cards in Chapter 2 for more information.
Power button – The power button allows you to power on or power off the
printer.
ice0008
Power su
pp
l
y
fan
Power receptacle
ECP parallel
port
Smart card data
port (used only
on printers with
the smart card
option)
Figure 1:-4 Printer back part names (Express and S models)
ECP parallel port – The ECP parallel port is the port for connecting the
printer's interface cable to the PC.
Power receptacle – This is the receptacle for connecting the power cable.
Power supply fan – The power supply fan cools the power supply
components in the printer.
Smart card data port — On printers equipped with the smart card option,
this connector is for the cable from the PC that carries the data to encode on
the smart card chip.

1-8 Introduction
Duplex module — On ImageCard S2 and UltraGrafix S2 printers, the duplex
module contains the hardware for automatic dual-sided printing (see Figure
1:-5). This module is not present in the Express or S printers.
ice0007 Power receptacle
Smart card data port
(below parallel port --
used only on printers
with the smart card
o
p
tion
)
ECP parallel port
Duplex module
Figure 1:-5 Printer back part names (S2 models)

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-9
Printer software requirements
The printer must be connected to a PC that provides data to print on a card.
The operator creates the card design on the PC, and the PC sends the
information to the printer. The PC must have the following software:
•Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, Service Pack 3
or higher (not supplied with the printer). With NT 4.0, the printer driver
is not supported for PCs with Alpha, MIPS, or PowerPC processors.
•A Microsoft Windows card printing application, such as DataCard's
QuikWorks products (not supplied with the printer)
The card printing application is responsible for creating the card
format and correctly preparing data (including magnetic stripe and
smart card data) for printing.
•The ImageCard/UltraGrafix photo ID printer driver. Two versions
come with the printer — one for Windows 95/98 and another for
Windows NT.
The printer driver runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. It requires the
following PC hardware configuration for optimal performance:
•RAM: 16 MB or more recommended for Windows 95/98; 32 MB or more
recommended for Windows NT
•Connection: An ECP parallel port. ECP stands for extended capabilities
port. This type of port allows two-way (bi-directional) communication
between the PC and the printer. ECP ports are also capable of much
faster data transfer, depending on the communication method being
used.
For hardware requirements of your card printing application, see the
documentation that came with the application.

1-10 Introduction
Card quality guidelines
Your cards must meet the following card quality guidelines for the printer to
successfully print high quality graphics on them.
Card surface
Card stock must meet the following surface guidelines.
•The card surface must be smooth and free of irregularities (such as
bumps and scratches) so that the printhead and ribbons can maintain
contact with the print surface. Surface irregularities can cause loss of
contact, resulting in printing voids or damage to the printhead.
•The printing surface must be glossy. It cannot have a matte finish (see
Card requirements in Appendix B for more information).
Card handling
These guidelines apply to unprinted cards. Any debris or particles on an
unprinted card’s surface can reduce printing quality and damage the
printhead. Grease or oils, such as oils from your fingers, also reduce printing
quality.
•Keep cards in their box until ready for use.
•Keep cards completely clean.
•Do not touch the printing surface of a card with your fingers or hands.
•Do not use a rubber band to bind blank cards together.
•If you drop a card on the floor, do not insert it into the printer.
Card storage and maintenance
These guidelines apply to both printed and unprinted cards.
•Cards must be stacked so that they will not shift and rub against each
other.
•When storing cards, make sure that no two cards contain images or
blocks of color that will come in contact with each other.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 1-11
•Make sure that the magnetic stripe on one card does not come into
contact with the magnetic stripe on another card.
•Make sure that cards with magnetic stripes are stored away from
magnets and other magnetic objects.
Supplies
See Appendix B for information on the supplies to use with the printer.

Chapter 2: Getting started
This chapter contains information on installing the printer
driver for the ImageCard or UltraGrafix photo ID printer,
loading initial supplies, setting up the magnetic stripe
encoding (on printers with the magnetic stripe option), and
printing test cards.
Contents
Choosing a site 2-2
Environmental requirements and specifications 2-2
Electrical requirements 2-2
General requirements and intended use 2-3
Connecting cables 2-4
Loading supplies 2-5
Loading blank cards 2-5
Loading and replacing the ribbon 2-8
Installing the printer driver for the first time 2-10
Magnetic stripe encoding 2-15
Printing test cards 2-18
Printing magnetic stripe test cards 2-23
The basics of printing from an application 2-25
2

2-2 Getting started
Choosing a site
When choosing a location for the printer, consider the following
environmental and electrical requirements.
Environmental requirements and specifications
The printer requires the following environmental conditions for optimal
performance:
•Operating relative humidity: 20% to 80% non-condensing
•Storage relative humidity: 20% to 80% non-condensing
•Operating temperature range: 55° F to 80° F (13° C to 27° C)
•Storage temperature range: 0° F to 100° F (-18° C to 38° C)
•Physical space requirements:
•Width: 17.75 inches (450.85 mm) for Express and S models, 24
inches (650.16 mm) for S2 models
•Depth: 8.75 inches (222.25 mm)
•Height: 10 inches (254 mm)
•Weight: 21.4 lbs. (9.71 kg) for Express and S models, 26.25 lbs. (11.9
kg) for S2 models
Electrical requirements
The printer requires the following electrical conditions for optimal
performance:
•A dedicated outlet
•90-254 VAC 50/60 Hz (the printer will adjust to any power within this
range)
•Single phase, 3-wire grounded receptacle only
The machine's maximum input current is 1.4 amps at 100 VAC applied.

ImageCard/UltraGrafix (Express and Select Classes) User’s Guide 2-3
General requirements and intended use
Consider the following general printer installation guidelines:
•Keep all dust, dirt, food, liquids, etc. away from the printer at all times.
•Keep the top cover closed at all times, except when changing supplies.
•Store all supplies (ribbons, cards, etc.) in their original packaging until it
is time to load them.
•Do not use contaminated supplies.
•Store all supplies in a clean, cool, dry location.
•Keep paper and foreign materials off the printer.
•Do not block the air vents or power supply fan on the back of the
printer.
•Place the printer on a stable platform; keep it off the floor.
•Place the printer away from air vents (heat ducts, blowers, etc.).
•Do not use the printer for purposes other than its intended use.
•When cleaning around the printer, cover it to prevent debris from
entering the printer.
•Place the printer in a clean office environment, protected from any type
of construction.

2-4 Getting started
Connecting cables
Once you have chosen a location for the printer, you will need to connect
various cables to it. Figure 2:-1 shows the locations of the printer's cable
connectors for different printer models.
ice0008
ice0007
Figure 2:-1 General locations of cable connectors
Make the following cable connections (see Figure 2:-2 if your printer does not
have the smart card option, or Figure 2:-3 if it does):
•The power cable connects the printer to a power outlet.
•The interface cable connects the printer's ECP parallel port to the PC's
parallel port.
•On machines with the smart card option only: The smart card cable connects
the PC to the printer's smart card data port.
PC
Interface Cable
Power Cable
iSEL005u
Figure 2:-2 Connections for printers without the smart card option