The dye sublimation process diffuses the dye, eliminating granulation while producing much greater image clarity. They achieve 600 dpi resolution by fully utilizing printhead capability. Images produced by dye sublimation technology are crisp and of realistic photographic quality.

Even though resin printing may use a 600 dpi printhead, the actual quality of a color resin printed image remains only 300 dpi. A single color is represented by a grouping of individual colored dots placed adjacent to one another. Dye sublimation produces continuous tones that truly achieve the stated printhead resolution of the printer, either 300 or 600 dots-per-inch (dpi).Ĭolor resin printing uses yellow, magenta and cyan to create only a limited range of colors as compared to dye sublimation. Illustration 1 below compares the resolution of dye sublimation printing to the resolution of color resin printing. Color resin printing, however, requires groupings of ink dots to signify one single color, lowering the resolution of the image. It achieves this through a diffusion process that melds colors together into a smooth, continuous tone, and is capable of producing more than 16.7 million colors.

This is especially true for cards containing embedded technology such as proximity circuits, contact chips, or contactless integrated circuit chips.ĭye sublimation printing creates various continuous tone colors within one individual dot or pixel of an image. It is a far superior application method than that of color resin and when paired with reverse transfer printing technology instead of direct-to-card printing, produces the highest quality images on the most durable cards. Over the past decade, however, dye sublimation printing has become the leading color application technology of choice. Most identification cards produced today are still personalized using direct-to-card or reverse transfer color resin printing technology. Understanding that not all print technologies are equal-and the basics of how they work-is essential to selecting the right solution. Organizations producing high-resolution identification cards have an array of card printers from which to choose. By Jim Meier, Senior Director of Product Marketing, HID Global

Id card print