Product Info

33
SP Series Info Central
• Use the Datacard method for setting up printer pooling, not the Enable Printer Pooling check box on the
Properties dialog box for the printer. Windows permits checking this box but does not permit displaying
a message if the printer does not support it.
• Special features that require interactive mode, including reading magnetic stripe and programming
smart cards, do not work with printer pooling. (The PC must communicate directly with the printer about
a specific job, and this information is not available to the PC.)
• Shared printers cannot be part of a printer pool.
Set up printer pooling
To set up a printer pool on a PC:
1 Install each printer and its driver on the PC. See Install the printer and Installing the driver for steps to
follow.
2 Set up each printer with the same settings, especially print ribbon type, print on both sides, magnetic
stripe settings, and topcoat or overlay “apply material.” See Printer Setup if needed.
3 Verify the operation of each printer on its own.
4 Install the SmartDriver printer pool (described in the following procedure).
5 Set up the pool with the same values that each printer uses. See Printer Setup if needed.
6 Verify the operation of the printer pool.
Install the SmartDriver printer pool
1 Begin with Windows running and all printers installed.
2 Start the installation program by doing one of the following:
– Insert the SmartDriver CD-ROM. When the dialog box appears, click “Install the Printer”.
– Double-click the SD-2K-XP-n_n.exe file to extract downloaded driver files and start the installation
program (the n_n represents the version of the driver, such as 6_0).
3 On the dialog box, click “Install the Printer.”
4 Choose “SmartDriver Printer Pool” from the list and click Next.
5 Respond to the Microsoft dialog box to complete installation:
– For Windows 2000, click Yes on the Digital Signature Not Found message.
– For Windows XP, click Continue Anyway on the Software Installation message.
6 The installation program runs to install the printer pool.
Use a printer pool
Begin with the PC powered on and the driver and port installed.
Tips for success
• To use the printer pool effectively, each different card must be sent from the application as a separate
job. Some applications, such as Datacard’s ID Works, send each card in a batch as a separate job,
while others send the batch as one job. (Multiple copies of the same card are sent as one job.) Test the
application you use to determine the best way to send multiple cards to the printer pool.