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The PR-C201 dual-sided ID card printer from Nisca is an industry leader with an impressive 600 dpi print resolution that’s suited perfectly to ID card printing applications requiring the highest possible print quality. Compared to the industry’s standard 300 dpi print resolution, the PR-C201 offers the highest print resolution available for your ID card system!

1. Will the NiSCA printers work with an HP JetDirect?
The NiSCA PR5300 will work with your Parallel based printer. In order to make this work correctly, you will need to download a specific driver from our website’s download section.

2. Can you update the firmware through JetDirect?
No, you can not update the firmware through JetDirect. The printer must be connected directly to a PC to do this.

3. I do not see the status on my PC, is the JetDirect a two-way communication device?
Please keep in mind that the JetDirect system is a one-way communication to the printer which in some instances will cause some problems, including not seeing the status of the printer on your PC.

4. What if I get an unsupported print command error?
If you are receiving an unsupported print command error, then you have an old JetDirect system that does not give true ECP support. The exception to this is if you can update the firmware on JetDirect. Some you can. You may want to take this into consideration and just simply hook the printer up to the back of the PC and use it as a shared printer that way.

5. Will the Nisca printers work with other network print servers?
No – HP JetDirect is the only print server that works with NiSCA printers.

The NiSCA update program does support these operating systems but if you are having problems updating try the following:

  1. Make sure you have the latest update program for parallel or SCSI printers and .dat file from the teamnisca website in the downloads section. Ex. “Firmware Update Utility – SCSI” and “PR5200 Firmware – Ver. XX”
  2. If you are running Windows NT 4, you must be on Service Pack 6A. You can see the service pack number on the blue NT boot screen.
  3. If you are running Windows 2000, you must be on Service Pack 2. You can see the service pack number in the hardware section of the control panel.
  4. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your SCSI card. Windows 2000 and Windows XP install their own version of these drivers.
  5. Make sure you have the latest ASPI drivers. Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not install any ASPI drivers.

If these steps do not work, you can contact us here to request technical support.

This is shown when the actual ribbon and ribbon setting are different. Check for the correct ribbon type and reset in user mode.

If this error is shown even though the correct ribbon is set and used, then there is trouble at sensor 17 (ribbon detection sensor). 

For information on replacing your sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

Cards can not be fed correctly. Check gate adjustment and adjust as needed. Gate should always be adjusted to 1.5 times the thickness of the card stock you are using.

Problem with the card getting stuck when it is being picked up. Check gate adjustment and check sensor 2. 

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

Problem with the card getting stuck inside the flip turn unit which is located inside the printer. Visibly check for a card jam and check sensor 3.

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

Problems with the cards getting stuck in the upper and lower part of the flip-turn unit. Visibly check inside the printer for a card jam and check sensor 4. 

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

This happens when a card is being rejected after correcting a card jam error or a card is getting stuck when being transported to the encoder unit from the flip turn block. Verify if the card is getting stuck-check sensor 3. 

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

The problem is card is getting stuck when it is trying to go forward or backward in the print block area. Visibly check for card jam and carefully remove card jam by turning the green cleaning knob. The card will rotate itself out of the printer. Check sensor 5 and sensor 6. 

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

The card is getting jammed when exiting the printer. Visibly check for card jams. Check sensor 6.

For the replacement/repair of printer sensors, you can contact us here to request technical support.

This error will arise when one of these three occurrences takes place:

  • Check to make sure the power cord is properly connected.
  • Halogen lightbulb could be broken or have a bad heating element.
  • Thermistor has gone bad and the lamp cannot reach the desired temperature.

This is a time-out or sleep mode for the heat roller. After approximately 30 minutes of not being used, the machine will error out and turn its heating element off.

In ROM versions 2.0 and older, you will have to press the clear key and reset the printer and heat roller for barging. With ROM version 2.1 or higher, you will just resume printing and the heat roller will automatically start up at desired temperature. No errors with this ROM version. It just powers down.

This usually occurs when the laminate has been loaded incorrectly around the sensor that detects laminate wind up and as the heat roller initializes, the laminate will become very tight and snap the sensor causing this error, or the laminate settings are not correct i.e.(hardcoat type 1, hardcoat type 2, softcoat type 1, soft coat type 2, etc.)

  • Go into user mode under ribbon type and press exe.
  • Then press menu, then press menu again and you will see what laminate setting you are on.
  • Choose your setting according to the material you will be using – regular clear overlay uses hardcoat type 1, referenced hologram uses hard coat type 2, pure hologram with no patch uses softcoat type 1, 2 or 3.

For further assistance, you can contact us here to request technical support.

This error will come about if the encoder is set to low coercivity and not high coercivity. The encoder will not understand track commands set to lo-co. To change these settings, you will have to go into the user mode and toggle the menu key until you come across encoder settings for this particular setting and press exe. key to change from lo-co to hi-co and vice versa.  

If this problem persists and won’t change anything, contact us here to request technical support.

This is an error that is caused when the encode mode card loading menu is different from the way the cards are being loaded. Encode mode a (backside) means that the cards should be loaded magnetic stripe down and facing the rear of the printer. Encode mode b (front side) means that the cards should be loaded mag stripe up and to the rear of the printer. Also, check that the integrity of the mag stripe is in good condition-no physical damage to the surface of either side of the cards. 

If this problem won’t go away, contact us here to request technical support.

This error is generated when either the improper encode command has been sent or there are characters in a track that should not be there. Please recheck your encode string and verify your encode data.

If the problem persists, contact us here to request technical support.

Vertical lines on cards are usually caused by two different types of scenarios:

  • Firstly, the signal may be coming from the power supply in broken segments. This is also known as line chatter. It is caused by the printer being hit by a power spike, poor voltage in the current location, or body damage to the printer from shipping or falling off of a table. The lines in this case are white.
  • The second scenario is that the ribbon take-up motor is bad. This is rare only consisting of approximately 1% of cases. In this case, the lines are not caused by line chatter but due to the fact that the printer can not pull the ribbon away from the card fast enough. The lines in the situation have color.

In the Window2000 environment, after installing the drivers for the first time you will get this message. What you will need to do is the following:

  • Press the “Next” button as if you were going to proceed with setting up a new device.
  • Continue to press the “Next” button until you are finished with the installation. You will not see this message appear the next time you reboot.
  • Pressing the “Cancel” button will only allow you to proceed with your normal operation but the pop-up box will subsequently appear each and every time you reboot.

You would need to change a print head if you experience one or more of the following issues. If you print landscape or portrait and have white lines that look similar to scratch lines going from left to right or up and down. These are blown pixel lines. Blown pixels are the result of dirt or dust on the head or on the printable surface.

Another reason for changing the head would be faded colors or not suitable printing images. The result of this could be due to a lack of cleaning or the print head and ROM chip do not match. 

If you are experiencing these issues, contact us here to request technical support.

If you are printing and portions of your cards are coming out smeared or with unprinted cloudy spots this can be due to a damaged print head carrier push plate, which is the mechanism of transport of the print head.

It has been determined that improper removal of the ribbon cassette is the main cause of the damage to the carrier.

The PR5300 printer ribbon cassette cannot be removed until the print head is in the retracted position. The print head can be placed into the retracted position by pressing the “Ribbon ChangeMenu” button on the front panel. It is also recommended that the PR5300 printer be flashed to the latest version of the firmware.

For optimum printing quality, we recommend that you use:

  • 10mil to 33mil card in the PR5100.
  • For the 5200, we recommend that you use nothing smaller than a 10mil card and nothing larger than a 50mil card.
  • For the 5300, we recommend that you use nothing smaller than a 10mil card and nothing larger than a 45mil card.

Reasons for the difference are?

The 5100 was made with adjustable print block pinch rollers that can tighten to accept a 10mil card or loosened to accept a 33mil card. These rollers have springs on them, which only allow the rollers to spread apart so far limiting the size of the cards. Nisca introduced the 5200 with the thicker card use market in mind

These print block rollers and pinch rollers automatically adjust for card thickness. Whether thick or thin this printer can handle it. The 5300 is set up exactly like the 5200 except that the rollers are limited in how far they will stretch and will accommodate up to a .045mil card. In addition, these rollers are automatically adjusted as well.

The contents of a cleaning kit are as follows:

  • A print head cleaning Pen
  • 5 alcohol swabs
  • 5 sticky cleaning cards.

To encode the cards you must first make sure that all of the encode settings are set properly:

  • First, get into the User Mode of the printer. You will then need to make sure that the Encode first option is set to ON.
  • Then you must make sure the encode mode is set to Encode mode A (backside).
  • You must also make sure that the Encoder is set to Hi Coercivity rather than Low Coercivity.

These are the only options you will need to set. Try to print and encode again. 

If the problem persists, despite having the settings correct,  contact us here to request technical support.

Ribbon breaking can be due to a number of issues:

First, most problems associated with ribbon breaking are excessive heat. This can be resolved by lowering the printer’s OD or Optical Density in the service mode of the printer under adjustment mode

Second, most people do not realize that poor image positioning on the card can cause ribbon breaking as well. An image printing off the format of your card can cause ribbon breaking also. When the printer is in the process of printing an image, the card acts as a heat sink and it absorbs a lot of the print head’s energy. If the image is of the card, there is no card to absorb the energy, and your print head transfers all its energy into the ribbon causing it to break.

Finally, not using genuine Nisca Ribbons can cause ribbon breaking as well as poor image quality.

ADVANTIDGE offers a wide variety of card printer systems, or other visitor management devices, to fill any of your asset tracking, visitor management, or identification card needs. From card printers and supplies for issuance to badge clips and other peripherals to put them into your users’ hands. With more than 40 years of combined industry experience, we’re ready to help you achieve your identification goals. For specific information, contact us today!

Security Upgrade from Prox to iCLASS SEOS

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Traditional RFID cards, referred to as proximity cards, are not as secure as they used to be. Just like with any security technology, they longer they exist, the more that people can learn to get around it. With proximity

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OUR BLOG

Security Upgrade from Prox to iCLASS SEOS

Traditional RFID cards, referred to as proximity cards, are not as secure as they used to be. Just like with any security technology, they longer they exist, the more that people can learn to get around it. With proximity