Datasheet
Theory of Operation
Card Printing Basics
980006-001 Rev. A Zebra P630i & P640i Card Printer Service Manual 93
3.2.2 Printing Technologies and Ribbons
There are two types of printing technology used in the printer: Dye Sublimation and Thermal
Transfer. The technology to use is determined by the type of dye or ink on the ribbon.
Monochrome Ribbons have a single color ink on the length of the ribbon. The printer is
programmed to use Thermal Transfer printing for monochrome ribbons. Multi-Panel Ribbons
have a repeating sequence of panels of different dye.
RFID Multi-Panel Ribbons have an RFID
tag on the supply spool; the
RFID code identifies the ribbon type and panel count. (Note that
the lack of an
RFID tag will be interpreted by the printer as being a Monochrome Ribbon.)
Printing with a Multi-Panel Ribbon requires multiple passes of the card under the Print Head,
once per panel.
For dual-sided printing, a typical situation would be to print a full-color graphic (such as a
person’s picture) along with black text and/or bar-coding on the front, and black text and/or
bar-coding on the rear. In this case, a
YMCKK Multi-Panel Ribbon would be used. A YMCKK
ribbon has successive panels as follows:
Other ribbons are available for the printer; see the Supplies List on the Driver and
Documentation CD that came with your printer, or go to the Zebra Card Printer Solutions
website at www.zebracard.com
.
Color Technology Function / Usage
Yellow (“Y”) Dye Sublimation Full-Color Printing and Dye
Sublimation Black Printing
Magenta (“M”) Dye Sublimation Full-Color Printing and Dye
Sublimation Black Printing
Cyan (“C”) Dye Sublimation Full-Color Printing and Dye
Sublimation Black Printing
Black Resin (“K”) Thermal Transfer K Resin Black Printing (for the
front of the card)
Black Resin (“K”) Thermal Transfer K Resin Black Printing (for the
back of the card)
Ribbon Movement From Supply Spool
Yellow
(“Y”)
Dye
Magenta
(“M”)
Dye
Black
(“K”)
Resin
Dye Sublimation
Printing Process
Black
(“K”)
Resin
(YMCKK
Pattern
Repeats)
Cyan
(“C”)
Dye
Thermal Transfer
Printing Process