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Magtek ExpressCard 500 User Manual

Dual-sided color flat card printer
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ExpressCard 500

User Guide

The ExpressCard 500 delivers dual-sided color printing, magstripe encoding, and contact and contactless smart card personalization all in the fastest flat
card printer on the market. The ExpressCard 500 personalizes cards in bulk or individually for sophisticated, premium-quality, edge-to-edge production for a
variety of card applications. Financial institutions will appreciate the printers' flexibility, print quality and ease-of-use coupled with the high-quality, affordable
consumables for producing all kinds of payment cards including ATM, Gift, Debit and Credit cards.
MagTek offers flat card printing
MagTek® Inc., 1710 Apollo Court, Seal Beach, CA 90740 | p 562-546-6400 | f 562-546-6301 | 800-788-6835 | www.magtek.com
Registered to ISO 9001:2008 © Copyright 2014 MagTek, Inc. PN 99875172 rev. 10.06 8/14

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Summary of Contents for Magtek ExpressCard 500

  • Page 1: User Guide

    User Guide The ExpressCard 500 delivers dual-sided color printing, magstripe encoding, and contact and contactless smart card personalization all in the fastest flat card printer on the market. The ExpressCard 500 personalizes cards in bulk or individually for sophisticated, premium-quality, edge-to-edge production for a variety of card applications.
  • Page 2 About MagTek Since 1972, MagTek has been a leading manufacturer of electronic devices and systems for the reliable issuance, reading, transmission and security of cards, checks, PINs and other identification documents. Leading with innovation and engineering excellence, MagTek is known for quality and dependability.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Help Getting started Warnings and Diagnosis Unpacking Diagnosis Help Description Troubleshooting Installation Poor print quality Ribbons Partial or Incorrect printing Cards 10-14 Freeing jammed cards Printing Replacing the cleaning rollers Installation and Management Replacing the print head 33-36 Graphics and Tools tabs Updating the Firmware (under Windows)
  • Page 4 About your new printer Thank you for choosing an ExpressCard 500. Using your new printer, you will be able to create a wide variety of high-quality cards and badges which can be printed in various thicknesses, colors and styles. This printer uses consumables and accessories available from MagTek.

  • Page 5: Getting Started

    MagTek dealer, who will tell you the procedure to follow. MagTek takes great care over the quality of its packaging and we ask that you keep this packaging somewhere clean and dry.

  • Page 6: Description

    1-2 Description of the printer and its functions Control No cards Cover button open End of Cleaning ribbon - Output hopper - Carrying handle - Cover opening button - DB-9 connector (option) - Card input feeder - Power cable socket - Control panel - USB socket (std) - Manual card feed (option)
  • Page 7 - Card turnover area - Magnetic encoder (option) - Cleaning roller - Card thickness adjustment gauge - Thermal print head - Serial number label...

  • Page 8: Installation

    1-3 Installation 1-3a CONNECTING THE PRINTER >> Connection to the power supply The printer must be connected to a properly protected and earthed electrical installation. FI: Laite on liitettävä suojamaadoitus koskettimilla varustettuun pistorasiaan. NO: Apparatet må tilkoples jordet stikkontakt. SE: Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag. 1.

  • Page 9: Ribbons

    1-3b RIBBONS MagTek original ribbons optimize your printer’s operation and avoid causing damage to it. The use of ribbons from other suppliers is liable to damage your printer and voids the manufacturer’s warranty for the printer. For optimum print quality, MagTek recommends that the printer is fully cleaned every time the ribbon is changed.

  • Page 10: Cards

    1-3c CARDS For optimum quality, the cards used must be ISO 7810 certified. Use only the card types recommended by MagTek. Do not touch the printable surface of the cards in order to preserve print quality. Do not use cards that have been damaged, folded, embossed or dropped on the floor.
  • Page 11 >>Removing printed cards Once the print cycle is complete, cards are delivered into the output hopper found on the left of the device. This output hopper is de- signed to collect the printed and/or encoded cards. The printer is equipped with an output hopper with a capacity of 50 x 0.76 mm cards.
  • Page 12 >>Adjusting card thickness The printer is equipped with a manual card thickness adjustment mechanism which can be reached either through the card feeder or through the inside of the printing unit when the cover is open. The printer accepts cards between 0.25 mm and 1 mm thick. The factory setting for card thickness is 0.76 mm.
  • Page 13 Adjusting card thickness from inside of the printer: 1. Open the printer cover by pressing on the opening lever, then tilt the cover up. 2. If necessary, remove any ribbon inside the printer. Then adjust the thickness of the cards used by moving the lever from right to left to the desired card thickness 3.

  • Page 14: Cards

    >>Inserting cards manually The printer may optionally be equipped with a manual feeder for inserting cards individually. The manual feeder option needs to be configured via the printer driver’s Properties, under the “Graphics” tab. Choose “Manual feed” from the “Card management - input” menu and select the desired output method from the menu. The manual card feeder is installed as follows: 1.

  • Page 15: Printing

    It is therefore essential to proceed in stages, changing settings only when you are completely sure. MagTek offers the option to revert to the factory settings at any time if the adjustments made do not give the expected results.

  • Page 16: Graphics And Tools Tabs

    >>“Graphics” tab • Ribbon or card types • Front/back printing • Choice of methods for feeding and collecting cards • Card orientation, portrait or landscape • Number of copies >>“Tools” tab • Setting and testing magnetic encoding options • Test card printing •...

  • Page 17: Printing Using Qwickcards.com

    2-2 Printing a card from QwickCards.com QwickCards.com is an Instant Card Issuance and PIN Selection System used to securely issue ATM, Debit, Credit, and Gift Cards. The system also provides inventory functionality for maintaining card and ribbon products used by the system. QwickCards.com is accessed from any PC with an Internet Explorer browser and attached IPAD device.

  • Page 18: Maintenance

    Any failure to follow the maintenance and servicing procedures described in this section voids the print head warranty. MagTek declines any liability where there has been a failure to carry out required maintenance on the printer. The print head is a wearing part and an extremely sensitive printer component.

  • Page 19: Routine Cleaning

    3-2 Routine printer cleaning The print head warranty is directly linked to routine cleaning of your printer. If you do not carry out this cleaning at the required times, the print head warranty will cease to be valid. Recommended cleaning cycle: whenever the ribbon is changed Mandatory cleaning cycle: when the cleaning warning is triggered...
  • Page 20 Follow the procedure below: Repeatedly running the cleaning card through the printer cleans the feed rollers, the cleaning rollers and the print head. Remove the card feeder from the printer as shown. Using the lever, set the card thickness to the MAX position. Remove any cards found in the feeder.
  • Page 21 5. Put the feeder back into the printer, then press on the upper section of the feeder until it clicks. 6. Open the cover. 7. Remove the ribbon as shown on the diagram. 8. Close the cover and check it has clicked shut. 9.

  • Page 22: Servicing The Cleaning Rollers

    3-3 Servicing the cleaning roller(s) In addition to routine printer cleaning, we suggest that you clean the cleaning roller(s) using the special wipes available from MagTek. The cleaning roller(s) remove(s) any dust or particles from the cards before printing. Recommended cleaning cycle: whenever the ribbon is changed...

  • Page 23: Servicing The Print Head

    (whenever the ribbon is changed) using the cotton buds supplied by MagTek. You must also protect the print head and its components from any discharge of static electricity.
  • Page 24 Follow the procedure below: 1. Take a MagTek cotton bud and press the middle of the tube until the end of the cotton bud is impregnated with alcohol. 2. Open the cover and find the print head 3. Gently rub the cotton bud from left to right along the print head for a few seconds.

  • Page 25: Help

    MagTek technical support. 4-1 Warnings and diagnosis Although the ExpressCard 500 was designed to work independently, keeping user involvement to a minimum, it may nonetheless prove useful to gain some familiarity with the main warnings.
  • Page 26 RIBBON • No ribbon in the printer. • End of ribbon. • The ribbon is not correctly fitted • The ribbon is torn. Check the condition of the ribbon in the printer. If you have a print job in progress, this restarts with a new card. •...
  • Page 27 Card jammed in the printer. PROBLEM • Mechanical component fault. Press the control button for one second. If the problem persists, contact MagTek for assistance. MAGNETIC • The magnetic strip is facing the wrong direction in the feeder. ENCODING ERROR •...

  • Page 28: Diagnosis Help

    4-2 Diagnosis help In this section, you will find all the information you need to carry out a few simple checks that you may be asked to run by your MagTek dealer to help you as effectively as possible. 4-2a PRINTING A TEST CARD We recommend that you print a test card to ensure that your printer is working properly.

  • Page 29: Troubleshooting

    Check that the ribbon is not finished or damaged. Replace it or re-install it if necessary 2. The print head may be damaged Print a test card. If the test card does not print, contact an MagTek dealer for technical support or visit the website at www.magtek.com.

  • Page 30: Poor Print Quality

    Dirty printer or cleaning rollers. Use of incompatible cards. Check that the cards used match the specifications We recommend that you obtain your cards from MagTek. Use of cards obtained elsewhere is liable to adversely affect print quality and/or damage the print head.

  • Page 31: Partial Or Incorrect Printing

    Check that the ribbon spools freely. 6. Check the print head Should horizontal straight lines appear on printed cards, it is likely that the print head is dirty or damaged. See the section on maintenance and troubleshooting. If the problem persists, contact MagTek.

  • Page 32: Freeing Jammed Cards

    4-3b FREEING JAMMED CARDS Control panel displays MECHANICAL • Print jobs are interrupted PROBLEM Do not turn your printer off, as this cancels pending print jobs in the printer’s memory. Remove the card as follows: 1. Open the printer cover and remove the ribbon. 2.

  • Page 33: Replacing The Cleaning Rollers

    Before doing anything else, please contact your MagTek dealer in order to check the advisability of replacing the print head. The dealer will supply a new print head if need be. MagTek has set up a scheme for exchanging defective print heads during the printer’s warranty period. Your equipment is eligible under the scheme if: •...
  • Page 34 To exchange the print head, please proceed as follows: Before changing the print head, please unplug the power cable. Step 1 - Removing the defective print head 1. Open the printer cover. 2. Locate the print head. 3. Press on the metal part found at the bottom as shown on the diagram, in order to free the lugs from the holding fork, then remove the lugs from their slots.
  • Page 35 Step 2 - Installing the new print head 1. Note the code shown on the white label stuck on the print head. You will be asked for this code in Step 3. 2. Pick up the new print head and turn it towards you, with the white connector visible. 3.
  • Page 36 Step 3 - Configuring the new print head 1. Power up the printer and check that it is properly connected to a computer on which the printer’s print driver is installed. 2. Under the print driver’s Properties, click on the “Tools” tab. 3.

  • Page 37: Updating The Firmware (Under Windows)

    Updating the firmware is a simple operation but one which, if not properly completed, can result in your printer breaking down Before any update, please contact your MagTek dealer who will be able to guide you on the advisability or otherwise of carrying out an upgrade.

  • Page 38: Updating The Print Driver

    Updating the print driver is a task that is required in order to fix malfunctions or gain the benefit of new option Before any update, please contact your MagTek dealer who will be able to guide you on the advisability or otherwise of carrying out an upgrade.

  • Page 39: Appendices

    Appendix A A1 - Technical specifications This section presents your printer’s technical printing properties. General technical features • Color printing module • 300 dpi print head (11.8 dots/mm) • USB connection • Ethernet TCP/IP connection as an option • 16 MB RAM allowing two color cards (front and back) to be stored •...
  • Page 40 Ribbon types • 2-panel KO monochrome black ribbon – 500 cards/roll • 5-panel YMCKO color ribbon – 200 cards/roll • 6-panel YMCKO-K color ribbon – 200 cards/roll • Half-panel YMCKO color ribbon – 400 cards/roll • Monochrome ribbons – up to 1,000 cards/roll: available in black, gold and silver Options Encoding options (can be combined) •...

  • Page 41: Magnetic Stripe Encoding

    B1a - MAGNETIC STRIP ENCODING A printer fitted with a magnetic encoder works in exactly the same way as a basic card printer. ExpressCard 500 encoder encodes the magnetic strips in a single pass then runs a data check. Configurable as high coercivity (HiCo) or...
  • Page 42 >>Configuring the Windows print drive When first installing the Windows print driver, the magnetic encoder functions need to be configured. The magnetic encoder functions are found in the print driver’s Tools dialogue box by clicking on the Encoding Settings button. >>“Magnetic Encoder”...
  • Page 43 ISO 7811 magnetic encoding standards Track # Separator Density Character set Number of characters Track 1 210 ppp Alphanumeric(ASCII 20-95) Track 2 75 ppp Numeric(ASCII 48-62) Track 3 210 ppp Numeric(ASCII 78-62) bits per inch Except for the “?“ character Including the start, stop and LRC characters which are automatically handled by the magnetic encoder.

  • Page 44: Smartcard Encoding

    B1b - CONTACT SMARTCARD ENCODING A printer fitted with a smartcard contact station works in exactly the same way as a basic card printer. The ExpressCard 500 smartcard contact station is used to program chips to ISO 7816-2 standards. >>Contact station location The contact station is a module fitted in the factory.
  • Page 45 The card is pushed upwards to make contact with the station. • The printer connects the contact station to the DB-9 connector. • The chip is programmed via the computer’s serial interface and the external coupler. Refer to the ExpressCard 500 Programming Guide for further details on programming smartcards.
  • Page 46 ExpressCard 500s may be equipped with an encoding device for contactless smartcards (RFID). This consists of an encoding module and sometimes a detachable antenna. Integration of such a module must be carried out by specialist. The MagTek product catalogue has printers equipped with a built-in encoder for contactless chips. Depending on the model, these encoders connect to the PC via an RS-232 interface (DB-9 socket) or a USB interface.
  • Page 47 A card is moved from the feeder towards the antenna and is positioned nearby. • The chip is programmed via the computer’s serial (or USB) interface connecting the built-in encoder and the computer. Refer to the ExpressCard 500 Programming Guide for further details on programming contactless smartcards.

  • Page 48: Appendix C

    Appendix C Description Cards per Roll 93400048 YMCKO Color Ribbon 93400047 YMCKOK Color Ribbon 93400050 ½ YMCKO Color Ribbon 93400049 Black Monochrome Ribbons 1000 93400052 Gold Monochrome Ribbons 1000 93400051 Silver Monochrome Ribbons 1000 93400054 KO Monochrome Ribbon 96700022 50 Cleaning Cards 96700025 Single Cleaning Cards (minimum order of 13)

  • Page 49: Limited Warranty

    MagTek warrants that the products sold pursuant to this Agreement will perform in accordance with MagTek’s published specifications. This warranty shall be provided only for a period of one year from the date of the shipment of the product from MagTek (the “Warranty Period”). This warranty shall apply only to the “Buyer” (the original purchaser, unless that entity resells the product as authorized by MagTek, in which event this warranty shall apply only to the first repurchaser).

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