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.