YMCKO Ribbons: High
Tech Innovations Result In Affordable, Photo Quality ID Cards
Getting photo quality results from your ID Card printer is easy, thanks
to innovations in ribbon technology and card printer engineering. Today’s
multi-panel color ribbons –and a YMCKO
ribbon is called a five-panel ribbon -- use dye sublimation technology
and a four-color printing process to achieve results that are simply
stunning. Don’t let yourself be confused by the YMCKO description
– the printing process is easily understood once you know the basics.
But What Do All Those Letters Mean?
All colors in the visible spectrum can be produced using a combination
of four colors: Yellow (Y),
Magenta (M), Cyan (C), and Black (K). For example,
Yellow and Cyan combine to make green. The brilliant design of your
card printer, along with your ID card software, allows you to print
literally millions of color variations and nuances using combinations
of these colors – resulting in stunning photo realistic effects not
possible just a few years ago. Simply put, an YMCKO ribbon is designed
to print vivid full color on single-sided cards that meet even the most
stringent requirements.
The “O” in the ribbon name signifies a clear overlay that
eliminates the need for a laminator. YMCKO ribbons add years of
life to your cards and badges, eliminating the need for the time and
hassle of laminating them. If your ID Cards will be kept strictly in
a badge holder, using a ribbon with a clear overlay panel may not be
necessary. In that case, an YMCK ribbon will do just fine. However,
when ID cards are hung from a lanyard or neck strap, an “O panel”
overlay will reduce the wear and tear
caused to cards by abrasion, as well as reduce dye migration
that occurs during the printing process. Similarly, a YMCKOK ribbon,
or a six-panel ID Card ribbon, will print full color on one side, along
with a clear overlay, and black (represented by “K”) on side two.
(In case you’re wondering why “K” is used to represent the color
black, that came about in the early days of conventional four color
process printing when black was referred to as the “Key”
for registering the other three colors on the press. It also helped
to avoid confusion with the names blue and brown.)
The In-House Revolution
With the advent of the affordable desktop ID printer, owners of businesses
of all sizes, as well as public and non-profit organizations, are benefiting
from the ability to design and print custom cards using easy
to learn ID card software. All leading card printer companies manufacture
printers utilizing YMCKO ribbons that are quite sophisticated, with
some offering high-tech features like RFID Technology (Radio
Frequency Identification), guaranteeing proper ribbon selection and
error-free alignment, while others deliver security options that prevent
access by unauthorized users, for example.
These printers utilize thermal transfer technology along with
dye sublimation ribbon technology to reproduce any color -- including
realistic skin tones and other difficult to match colors --at a very
low cost per card, making them very attractive for business owners considering
creating custom ID cards in-house using their own ID printer
and card software, and the appropriate YMCKO ribbon of their choice.
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