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Top ID Badge Printer & ID Badge Products Retailer

The industry’s most common proximity card format is a 26-bit card (also referred to as H10301). This is an open format which allows you as the consumer to order proximity cards from any photo identification retailer. This is essential in helping keep your costs down for the cards while ensuring ongoing access to purchasing them for years to come.

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At Digital ID, we know the difference between a good card printer and the best ID card printer.

If you’re reading this and you’re the person responsible for making the right purchase then this list was created just for you.

Our in-house team of card printer experts has put together this list of the best ID card printers available in 2024 to suit a variety of card printing requirements.

How? Every single card printer we sell, including the ones in this list has been put through a meticulous testing programme completed by our Pre‑Sales and Technical Printer Training team.

Before a printer is available for purchase, the team will test:

  • Ease of use
  • Print Quality
  • Affordability
  • Print Speed

Now you know how this list has been compiled, let’s get straight to it and look at the best ID card printers of 2024. Enjoy.

1. EasyBadge 3.0 ID Badge Printer Bundle

Launched in 2022, the EasyBadge 3.0 Bundle continues to be one of our best-selling machines and is a cost-effective entry-level printer for any business or organisation that is looking to print photo ID or membership-style cards for the first time. Intuitive and easy to use, the bundle comes with a single-sided printer, full-colour ribbon, 100 blank White plastic cards and an innovative mobile or tablet app that removes the headache of image capture, and also allows the record to be updated or amended remotely.

Best Bits:

  • Everything supplied in one box including the app
  • One tree planted for every bundle sold
  • Manufactured and made in Britain

Perfect for: This is the best ID card printer for first-time users with everything you need to get started in one card printer bundle.

Price: £695.00

2. Swiftpro K30 Retransfer ID Card Printer

The Swiftpro K30 is a market leader in the retransfer card printer space. With fast printing speeds of around 30 seconds per single-sided card, this printer is 10% cheaper than its closest rival without compromising on print quality. The Swiftpro K30 utilises a patented ribbon erase function to keep printed information secure and supports IPsec (IPv6 / IPv4) to protect personal information on your network. This combination provides a great blend of digital and physical information security in one printer. With a Three-year printer warranty and a lifetime printer warranty, the Swiftpro K30 is an economical and high-performance card printer ideal for medium-to-large sized businesses.

Best Bits:

  • 10% cheaper than its closest rival
  • Regarded as the most reliable retransfer printer on the market
  • Patented ribbon erase feature
  • Prints highly durable cards

Perfect for:

Secure retransfer printing within larger print volume requirements.

Price: £1,599.00

3. Magicard Pronto100

Small, fast and punching well above its weight, the Magicard Pronto100 is an ID card printer fit for 2024.

10% quicker than its closest rival plastic card printer, offering best-in-class print quality, this single-sided ID card printer is designed for ease of use out of the box. To make printing even more simple, a free EasyBadge Lite software package is included with every Pronto100 purchase. One of the best choices for organisations with low volume requirements, this card printer is also equipped with Magicard’s Custom HoloKote as standard. Allowing you to choose between three unique holographic designs that can be applied to every card, the risk of counterfeit cards making their way into your business is greatly reduced.

Best Bits:

  • 10% quicker than its closest rival
  • Smaller footprint than a sheet of A4 paper
  • Best print quality in its printer class

Perfect for:

Entry-level requirements or customers looking to upgrade from the previous Magicard Pronto model.

Price: £635.00

4. IDP Smart 21 Card Printer

The IDP Smart 21 is the latest printer to be launched within the IDP range and it’s also the most cost-effective ID card printer we’ve ever sold and comes with free ID card design software. Great value for your money, the IDP Smart 21 easily prints high quality monochrome and full-colour single-sided cards for your business or organisation. One of the best ID card printers to use if you value simplicity, it benefits from a 45% increase in printing speed compared to like-for-like models. The IDP Smart 21 adds several security features not currently found on most hand-fed printers. For example, it comes with the option of adding UV and SmartMark security features to the surface of every printed card.

Best Bits:

  • 5-year manufacturer warranty cover
  • 24-second per full-colour card print speed
  • Simple plug-and-play design with no technical experience required

Perfect for:

This is one of the best card printers for a small business or workplace on a specific budget.

Price: £525.00

5. IDP Smart 31 Card Printer

The IDP Smart 31 is a reliable, low-maintenance printer ideal for small businesses requiring basic ID. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in businesses taking their card-printing in-house to deal with new entry and access control procedures designed to ensure workplaces remain as safe as possible. The Smart 31 might not be the newest printer on the market, but remains a great choice for professional direct-to-card printing thanks to the unrivalled 5-year manufacturer warranty, smart print performance and free Easybadge ID card software.

Best bits:

  • Desk-friendly, with a small environmental footprint
  • 5-year manufacturer warranty cover
  • 15% quicker than its closest rival

Perfect for:

Low-maintenance ID card printing or customers looking to upgrade from the IDP Smart 30.

Price: £699.00

6. Magicard 300 Card Printer

ensures your data is fragmented and destroyed after printing, so there is no risk of any data breaches. Magicard’s HoloKote watermark can also be added to cards to give them a free layer of visual security. This printer comes with a range of security options, such as magnetic stripe encoding and Elatec TWN4 encoding. Magicard’s One Tree Planted scheme also makes this printer a great option if you’re looking for an environmentally sustainable printer. Overall, the Magicard 300 will remain a top-choice ID card printer throughout 2024. The ease of use, durable design and quick print speeds make this printer a favourite for a wide range of industries and applications.

The Magicard 300 is a high-quality direct-to-card ID card printer, best suited for businesses that are printing photo ID cards in-house. This popular choice is one of our best-selling ID card printers to date due to its advanced features, impressive print quality and user-friendly interface. The Magicard 300 cuts no corners when it comes to security. Digital shreddingensures your data is fragmented and destroyed after printing, so there is no risk of any data breaches. Magicard’s HoloKotewatermark can also be added to cards to give them a free layer of visual security. This printer comes with a range of security options, such as magnetic stripe encoding and Elatec TWN4 encoding. Magicard’s One Tree Planted scheme also makes this printer a great option if you’re looking for an environmentally sustainable printer. Overall, the Magicard 300 will remain a top-choice ID card printer throughout 2024. The ease of use, durable design and quick print speeds make this printer a favourite for a wide range of industries and applications.

Best bits:

  • High-definition image quality
  • Made in Britain
  • 3-years manufacturer warranty

Perfect for:

Organisations that require high-quality ID cards at an affordable price.

Price: £899.00

7. Magicard 600 Card Printer

The Magicard 600 is one of the newest direct-to-card printers on the market offering a great combination of high-resolution printing and impressive print speeds. The Magicard 600 is the more advanced version of the Magicard 300. In a nutshell, the 600 is faster, more secure and better suited to printing higher volumes of cards than the 300 model. The Magicard 600 printer also features Holokote built-in as standard, a transparent image is printed into the clear overcoat panel, creating a secure watermark only visible under UV lights. All in all, this printer will still be ahead of the game in 2023, making it a great fit for medium to high-volume ID card printing service needs, eco-conscious buyers or current Magicard users potentially upgrading from the Rio Pro or the Enduro 3E plastic card printers.

Best bits:

  • Advanced security-feature built-in as standard
  • The only direct to card-printer
  • 3-year MagiCoverPlus manufacturer warranty

Perfect for:

Increasing card security and high-print volumes or organisations looking to replace the Magicard Rio Pro or Enduro3E.

Price: £1,155.00

8. Fargo HDP5000 Retransfer Card Printer

The clue is in the name: HDP stands for High Definition Printing, and the Fargo HDP5000 is the best printer for businesses seeking excellence in card quality without paying over and above. Like the Magicard Ultima above, this is a retransfer printer built for creating high-quality, over-the-edge, secure ID badges designed to last. This is because they can print on access control cards’ uneven surfaces. Fargo’s superb reliability score and lifetime print head warranty offer ease of mind and thanks to the HDP5000’s design, changing the printer ribbon or carrying out a cleaning cycle is easy. The Fargo HDP5000 is great for security. You can purchase the HDP5000 with additional encoding modules to encode access control cards including HID proximity, iCLASS and Indala among others. A full-colour card takes 29 seconds to print, making this machine ideal for medium-to-high print runs.

Best bits:

  • Built-in High Definition Printing (HDP) technology
  • First of its kind to help prevent card cloning and duplication
  • Full-colour card printing in 29 seconds

Perfect for:

Printing high-definition photo ID cards.

Price: £1,880.00

9. Evolis Primacy 2 Card Printer

The Evolis Primacy 2 is a new card printer and is a great choice for organisations wishing to securely print large volumes of ID cards. The machine inherits and improves on the best-selling original Primacy model to ensure Evolis’s most versatile ID card printer yet. The Primacy 2 delivers high-performance printing, for today and tomorrow and is capable of producing up to 600 dpi in full colour and up to a whopping 1200 dpi in monochrome. What’s more, the machine has some of the fastest print speeds on the market, making it ideal for large workplaces or settings issuing high volumes of ID cards. The printer also allows users to print from their mobile device or tablet for a seamless printing experience, making card printing as convenient as possible.

Best bits:

  • Multiple card printing options
  • Print 170 – 280 cards an hour (depending on the ribbon used)
  • Can be used with the new YMCKOO double overlay ribbon

Perfect for:

High-performance printing in organisations with high volume production requirements.

Price: £1,250.00

Need more help choosing the best ID card printer?

The ID card printers listed above cover a wide range of printing requirements and are trusted to match your business or organisation’s individual needs. All of our ID Card printers come with free ID card design software, 30 days of free support meaning our team can ensutre your printer is up and running asap, and a lowest price guarantee – we promise to price match any competitor quote on all ID card printers.

Please note, ID card printer ribbons, blank plastic cards and printer cleaning kits will need to be purchased separately where required.

If you still need support finding the ID printer solution that’s best suited to your sector, contact our sales team on 0800 988 2095 or browse through our ID card printer buying guide.

*Disclaimer: All information and prices are correct as of 12/12/2023.*

Top ID Badge Printer & ID Badge Products Retailer

Best ID Card Printers of 2024 | Reviewed by Real People

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