The NISCA PR5200 with the optional heat roller unit offers edge-to-edge capability for the production of drivers licenses, employee badges, government and college ID cards, prepaid phone cards, IC chip cards, and other identification cards and badges. The system can print one single-side card every 25 seconds (edge-to-edge format) and one dual-side card every 52 seconds (edge-to-edge format) using an automatic card flip-over feature, making it the fastest dual-side printer in its class.

The NISCA PR5200 has a downloadable firmware feature, allowing operators to perform system upgrades via a software update instead of ordering and installing EEPROM chips. The PR5200 is also equipped with a SCSI interface, which provides 10 times the data throughput of a traditional parallel connection. A 1.6 megabyte image can be downloaded to the PR5200 in 3 to 4 seconds, versus 15 to 30 seconds using a parallel interface.

Easy, snap-in ribbon cartridge
The PR5200 features the industry's only replaceable snap-in ribbon cartridge and self-aligning printhead module. Using a side-access door, operators can change the ribbon in two minutes without opening the machine and risking contamination also eliminating problems with winding, tracking, and wrinkling. With other printers, a printhead change can take as long as an hour by a trained service technician, this is reduced to a task of two minutes by an untrained operator with the PR5200. The self-aligning printhead module provides exact positioning of the printhead for reproducable results. Because of its simplified design, 95 percent of the maintenance on the PR5200 can be performed by the user, eliminating expensive service calls.

Precise color control, the PR5200 is enhanced by a thermal-feedback loop and sensor that detects temperature fluctuations at the printhead surface and triggers a cooling unit to keep printhead temperatures within the correct thermal range. The PR5200 offers true 24-bit color images and can print up to 16.7 million colors, at 300 dots per inch.

Simplified diagnostics
The PR5200 features a built-in self-diagnostics system that provides information on printer status, error history, and other functions, greatly simplifying day-to-day operations and maintenance procedures. An external LCD panel enables operators to monitor the status of drive motors, sensor outputs, printhead, image density, and other quality-control points, without opening the printer. More than 100 user- and service-mode functions can be performed at the push of a button.

The PR5200 base platform is available with two option units that maximize security: an internal magnetic stripe encoder module that encodes and verifies high- and low-coercivity magnetic stripes; and an overlaminate heat roller unit for applying tamper-resistant holographic and thick-polyester films.

"The NISCA PR5200 represents a combination of innovative engineering and common sense. No other high-volume card printer in its class can match its speed, print quality, reliability, and ease of maintenance," said Paul Mullen, business development manager for Kanematsu USA, which sells and services NISCA products in North and South America

OPTIONAL INTERNAL MAGNETIC STRIPE ENCODER module (model PR5201) encodes and verifies high/low coercivity magnetic stripes. To maintain security in the event encoding or printing was not properly achieved, the card is automatically routed to a reject port. This prevents issuance of an incorrectly encoded card. This module can either be factory installed or upgraded in the field within minutes.