Prima 2e manual

Prima 2e Re-transfer P rinter Printer Driver Manual[...]

Welcome to the high performance printer driver for the XID5xxi series printer. This manual will help you to install, set-up and configure the driver to get the best results for your prints. The driver runs on 32-bit Windows platforms and was successfully tested under Wind ows 2000 and Windows XP Professional. This driver was designed for the best p[...]

Table of contents 1. Legal and Copyright Information ................................................................................................ ......... 5 2. Installa tion ................................................................................................................... ........................... 6 2.1. Printer Driver Insta[...]

6.7. Precoding ...................................................................................................................... ..................6 4 6.8. Encoding String ................................................................................................................ ...............6 5 6.8.1. Encoding stri ng examples.........[...]

1. Legal and Copyright Information This product is provided on an "as is" basis, witho ut any other warranties, or conditions, expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantable quality, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or those arising by law, statute, usage of trade or course of dealing. Yo[...]

2. Inst allation 2.1. Printer Driver Installation Note 1: It is recommended to install the driver before you connect the printer to the PC! Note 2: System administrator privileges ar e required for driver installation! Log on to Windows as system administrator. Start the installer program "Setup XID5xx 5.3.exe" from your driver CD ROM. Fo[...]

Note: Please note that you have to choose the exact name of the delivered member of our XID Printer Family. The wrong choice will result in a non-working printer!!! An administrator password can be set during initial installation. This password grants access to the Administration Center. Note: It is possible to leave this field empty, but it is rec[...]

Note: It is recommended to use the proposed default path. Please verify the path shown and click " Next ". Click " Install " to continue. Click " Continue Anyway " to continue the installation. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 8 of 77[...]

Click " Continue Anyway " to continue the installation. Now the files will be installed. Click on " Finish " to complete the installation. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 9 of 77[...]

A reboot may be necessary, as shown below. Please wait until the driver installatio n is completed, then click " Finish ". The selected printer should appear here (see arrow): Under Start -> Programs -> XID5xx Printer , you should see the related modules Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 10 of 77[...]

By calling the printer properties, from the " General " tab, you can print a test page as follows: After your test page has been printed successfully, click " OK ". After the installation has been completed, connect the printer to the PC and power on. The Hardware Wizard appears and shows a signature warning: Click " Contin[...]

The Wizard will ask you to connect to Windows Update: Choose " No, not this time " and click " Next ". Choose " Install the software automatically " and click " Next ". Note: The hardware name (" CX-320 U6 ") may differ depending on the firmware and the ID of the printer. The Hardware Wizard appears[...]

The wizard will ask you for the location of the driver files. In the " Files Needed " window, click on the dropdown list box and choose the first entry. Click " OK " to continue. Click " Finish " to close the Hardware Wizard. Congratulations! You have successfully finished the printer driver installation. Prima 2e Driv[...]

2.2. Advanced Printer Configuration If the printer is used in a network environment and will be shared with other users, th en click " Shared as: " and name the printer. Afterwards other users can select t his printer within the network environment. Note: The screenshot may differ depending on system configurations: The required printer p[...]

The Color Management settings should only be used by experienced users. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 15 of 77[...]

Note: The screenshot may differ depending on system configuration: On the " About " tab you will find the version of the installed printer driver: Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 16 of 77[...]

3. Printing Preferences 3.1. Introduction into driver and print technology In graphic user interfaces all options are shown dy namically as there are card feeding, loading card in magazine, card leaving the printer etc. The printing technology contains printing of the colors as a mixture from Yellow, Ma genta and Cyan ("Y", "M",[...]

3.2. Layout / Setup 3.2.1. Page Orientation This option will be used to setup the page orienta tion between Portrait and Landscape. 3.2.2. Set-up for Control of Printing / Encoding This option sets up the control of " Print and Encode ", " Encode only " or " No Enco ding ". Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 18 of 77[...]

3.2.3. Set-up for use of cards with magnetic stripe or smartchip (Card Type) If the "Magstripe" or "Smartchip" checkbox is enabled, all options regarding encoding and positioning of card will be enabled. In addition, t he "Card placement in the printer tray" shows dynamically the correct images to the operator. Please [...]

Flip Axis: Here you can setup the orientation of the 'card body', which is the same as the function as former 'Image Orientation'. The advantage is that you do not need to imagine how the card will rotate. Just pick up a card and you will understand the idea behind flipping the card horizontally or vertically. Side A or B: Use t[...]

3.3.3. Selection of text objects to be printed on K-plane By enabling " Text ", you are able to specify if all text or only black text should be printed on the K-plane. Sample: The upper text box was printed with K and the lower box with YMC: Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 21 of 77[...]

3.3.4. Selection of black & white images to print on K-plane By enabling " Black and White Images " you can specify if black or black & grey images should be printed on the K plane. 3.3.5. K Plane options 3.3.5.1. Definition of "special colors" for printing on K-plane If you use special colors to match existing ones on y[...]

It is recommended to choose either black or an extreme color, which will not be used in the rest of the layout. Pure colors (like Magenta) will never appear in digital photos, so it is safe t o use them without introducing side-effects. By clicking "OK" the color will be shown on the button. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 23 of 77[...]

3.3.5.2. Definition of area s for printing on K-plane In combination with the special colors (see chapter 3.3.5), you can define inclusion ar eas: After clicking on the area button the following dialog window appears: Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 24 of 77[...]

To create a new area: Click and draw a rectangle area while pressing and holding down the CTRL -key on the keyboard. To edit an area: Select an area you want to move or resize by clicking on the area itself or choose it from the list. You can move the area pixel by pixel using the cursor -keys. To Delete an existing area: Select the area you want t[...]

Preview of defined sample K-Panel areas Measurement changes The following sample shows a change of units e.g. from Pixel to Inch Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 26 of 77[...]

Tip: Keeping values after disabling gives you the flexibility to design the areas before you enable this setting. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 27 of 77[...]

3.3.6. PO Panel Area Definition (Peel Off) This function is designed to define a reas which will be prevented from printing (e.g. signature fields). The YMCK-PO looks like shown: Yellow Magenta Cyan Carbon (K) Peel Off (PO) Note: A special ribbon type is required to use this option. Default Settings Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 28 of 77[...]

The peel off area is enabled by clicking the checkbox: Warning: Use of full PO area results in non-visible printout. In each case you need to define smaller areas (e.g. signature fields). After clicking on the PO area button the following window appears: Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 29 of 77[...]

3.3.6.1. Definition of areas Peel Off To create a new area: Click and draw a rectangle area while pressing and holding down the CTRL -key on the keyboard. To edit an area: Select an area you want to move or resize by clicking on the area itself or choose it from the list. You can move the area pixel by pixel using the cursor -keys. To Delete an exi[...]

Preview of defined sample K-Panel areas Tip: Keeping values after disabling gives you the flexibility to design the areas before you enable this setting. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 31 of 77[...]

3.4. Advanced 3.4.1. Global Print Offset and K Plane Offset Global Print Offset: Here you can shift the offset of the layout in horizontal and vertical direction by changing the values; this influences the complete layout. K-plane Offset: The changing of the values for K-plane only influences the offset of the K -plane. 3.4.2. Synchronization This [...]

3.4.3. Track Formats The track formats are shown for informational pur pose. Only standard formats are allowed to be encoded. 3.4.4. Card Output By enabling the " Card Output " option, the user can force or override the default setting of the printer driver. Independent from speed or material usage settings, the Card Output options "[...]

3.4.5. Material Usage The " Material Usage " area shows the expected usage of color and retransfer ribbon using the currently selected options. In some rare combinations, the " Save Material " option will become available and lets you enforce material saving over production speed. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 34 of 77[...]

3.4.6. Sample of magnetic stripe Encoding Sending Track Information Magnetic track data is sent in the form of text strings from the application software to the printer driver, along with all of the other printable objects within your card design. For the printer driver to differentiate between magnetic track data and the rest of the printable obje[...]

4. Advanced Intelligent Printer Management (AIPM) 4.1. Introduction The "Advanced Intelligent Printer Management" wa s developed with a focus on giving the most power and flexibility to the user. All necessary controls and settings are stored centrally in the Dispatcher (DISP) application. The user has direct acce ss to all setting parame[...]

4.2.1. Printers The printer line shows the printer’s status: If the printer is connected and detected by the Dispatcher and has no low level errors (e.g. 'No cards'), the printer’s related signs become active. The 'LED' to the right of the printers ID shows with several colors the relat ed state: - Green Ready - Green flashi[...]

During the run time of DISP the card counter shows the Cards for print and Cards printed . Cards for print shows all jobs in the file list including copy prints. In special cases, e.g. if a cleaning procedure is needed, an info line at the bottom shows the related info message. 4.2.4. Tools The tools from the pull down menu are designed to control [...]

Inside the Print Jobs list, the user can handle sin gle jobs by right clicking with the mouse button as follows: - Delete (e.g. if unwanted after error recovery) - Suspense (e.g. job can wait) - Restart (e.g. after an error occurred) - Move to top (prioritization) Depending on the actual status of the print job, particular fun ctions may not be ava[...]

5. Administration Center The " Administration Center " is the central point for administrative management of hardware related settings, printer driver and LUT/passwor d control. Based on the innovative "Plug-In" architecture, this framework allows you to impl ement administrative functions by copying new DLL files to the Adminis[...]

5.1.1. Re-transfer settings Ribbon Type Counts per roll (1000, 750) Temperature -3 (Low) ..Standard + 2 (High) Speed (Front/Back) -10 (Slow) .. Standard .. +2 (Fast) 5.1.2. Bend remedy Temperature Off .. -5 (Low) .. Standard .. 0 (High) Speed -2 (Slow) .. Standard .. +2 (Fast) Cooling Time 0 sec .. 15 sec Note: Cooling Time is only available if tem[...]

5.1.5. Print setting transfers Load from File An already set file can be loaded Save to File Actual settings can be saved to file From Printer Settings will be read from printer’s memory To Printer Settings will be downloaded and stored to the printers memory Test Print Starts a test print Card Material Predefined settings for several cards Note:[...]

5.2. Options With the "Options" it is possible to enable / disable followin g items: 5.2.1. General Options Start DISP with printers in paused mode If enabled, the next time DISP is started (either by closing or rebooting PC) the printer will stay in paused mode. Dispatch copy print to all available printers If enabled, all copy print job[...]

Windows Applications Send 4 print jobs Virtual Printer (e.g. My printer group A) 3 Physical Printers assigned to the group. DISP Printer. ID = 1 Printer ID = 2 Printer ID = 3 JOB 1 JOB 4 JOB 3 JOB 2 5.2.2. Printer Driver Profiles and Printer Grouping Definition The Printer Group Definition is a unique technique powered by Digital Identification Sol[...]

5.2.2.1. Creation of Printer Groups After clicking on " Add " in Printer Driver Profiles and Printer Grouping , the user needs to enter a new group name and the ID of the printer which will belong to this group. In the following window, the user can enter the following settings. Note: Printer IDs will be enabled only by choosing XID590. P[...]

The following two samples show how to enter the information: Sample A: As a result of this definition the printer appears in the list. 1. 3. 2. 4. Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 46 of 77[...]

Sample B: When checking the maximum number of available pr inters you will get the maximum performance: It is possible to add several groups including overlapping IDs, as shown in the sample two groups named: - " PrinterXID #2 to #4 " with the IDs 2, 3 and 4 was added. - "XID ARF's Printer Farm" with the IDs 1 - 7 was added[...]

5.2.2.2. Deleting of Printer Groups There are two different ways of deleting Printer Groups: by Dispatcher or by use of the standard procedure in the Windows printer folder. We strongly recommend using Dispatcher. To delete Printer Groups the following steps have to be done: 1. Highlight a group by clicking the right mouse button and 2. Click butto[...]

By clicking on the " Printing Preferences ... " button the user can view and setup the printer settings out of the Dispatcher for the highlighted printer name as shown below: 5.2.3.2. Exporting of Pr inter Driver Profiles By clicking on the " Export ... " button, a save dialog will be opened as shown below: The printer profile w[...]

5.2.3.3. Importing of Printer Driver Profiles If the customer needs to import the printer profiles he can do this by clicking on the 'Import ...' button. The Windows open dialog will be opened as shown below: Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 50 of 77[...]

5.3. LUT / Password 5.3.1. Lookup Table Configuration Inside the Lookup Table Configuration the user has the possibility of using his own LUT tables. LUT tables contain the color control values, which can be used instead of the intern al printer LUT. The Lookup Table contains the values to control the print density for every color separately. It ca[...]

5.4. Driver Config This page allows setting, changing and removing the password of the Administration Center. When you click on " Reset " button, the following dialog appears. If a password has been set during installation, it can be changed here. To do so, retype the old password and type the new password twice to confirm. Click on OK to[...]

6. Advanced Chip Encoding Framework (ACEF) Included in the printer driver is the Advanced Chip Encoding Framework , which is capable of handling all card encoding itself. The mechanism is independent from the application, allowing virtually any Windows based applicati on to perform chip encoding. The main features will be described in detail in t h[...]

6.1. Plugin architecture As the printer driver does not do the encoding itself but loads an additional piece of software that know how to "talk" with a certain encoder hardware and chip card, it is not limited to chips and encoders that are currently present on the market. Such a piece of software is called "Plugin". The driver [...]

6.2. Software and Hardware Setup 6.2.1. Plugin Info When a plugin is installed properly and appears in the list of Installed Plugins , clicking on it will select and activate it. The plugin is loaded and additional information of the plugin is displayed in the Plugi n Info box as shown below: Encoder Position: This shows whether a plugin encodes co[...]

This prevents plugins from crashing the driver by attempting to use unsupported functions of a later driver release. Plugin version The plugin's version number is shown here. This is for support purposes to determine which version of the plugin is installed on the system. Unicode Some applications require to encode Unicode characters on th e c[...]

This mechanism allows easy recognition of the port name of each single encoder device in a multiple printer (and encoder) environment by plugging them in one-by-one. Creating the link between encoder and printer ID When having identified the port name of an encoder that is connected to a specific printer, the link between both must be created so th[...]

6.2.3. Format Templates Some applications require different encodings, depending on the layout of the card, b ut use one chip type. Plugins can be developed to support multiple encoding styles, definition s, formats, and all in combination. In order to understand what " Format Templates " do, let's have a look at the following exampl[...]

Each layout must then contain a "reference" to each format template, along with the encoding data, and the plugin would be able to understand what, where and how needs to be encoded. For an example how this reference looks like, please refer to section 6.8, keyword " ft ". Note that neither the contents nor the usage of " F[...]

6.2.4. Configuration (Global Settings and Test) The most important part in the chip encoding setup is to test the communication with the encoding device and to test if the encoder can access, write to and read from the chip. Some encoders require even global settings like authentication keys or the transfer speed, which is common for COM ports. Eac[...]

6.3. Application Setup The chip encoding features of the driver are application independent, i.e. the applicat ion does not need to be set-up for the specific encoder hardware of the encoding plugins. The entire encoder-specific configuration is done in the Plug in Manager, stored and handled outside the printing application, as well as the encodin[...]

The font, however, is not relevant for parsing, as long as if it is a standard Windows fo nt. So to summarize all of the above: Important - The encoding string must be on front page of the layout! - The encoding string must be in plain standard format with no special effects in the layout! 6.4. Multi-printer encoding By using multiple XID 590i prin[...]

6.5. Printing and enc oding over network Multiple workstations on the network can print on a PC that has one or more printers attached locally and has shared the printers in Windows. Such a PC is called print server . On the print server, it is mandatory that a user is logged on, otherwise the dispatcher will not be able to process the jobs. As the[...]

6.7. Precoding Introduction A special preprocessing might be required by the application before encoding or printing the card , or both. In some cases, a serial number from a card needs to be processed and the card which has to be produced is selected by this serial number, i.e. the card hold er record is determined by the number that is pre-encode[...]

6.8. Encoding String In an encoding environment, there are many parameter s that must be configured in order to the encoding to be performed correctly. We have seen above how to set-up the hardware, a way to configure the formatting and positioning of the data with sophisticated plugins, and now there's one t hing left: The user data that actu[...]

corresponding section of the application's handbook on how to set up a text field with a string that can hold both, fixed and variable data. There are three types of applications that: - recognize placeholders and replace them inside the fixed text encoding string - require a temporary field and a script to build the full encoding string - can[...]

The following keywords in an encoding string are reserved by the driver and processed in a special way. Keyword Option Format Description pi mandatory Text p lug i n name This name must match with the one shown in the Installed Plugins list in Plugin Manager. ft optional Text f ormat t emplate name This name must match with one of the format templa[...]

6.8.1. Encoding string examples 1. Simple encoding string {pi="Contact" ft="Guest" ...encoding data... } Uses the plugin " Contact " and the format template " Guest " to encode the encoding data, then prints the card. 2. Multiple encoding strings {pi="Mifare" ft="All Access" so="2&quo[...]

4. Visual appearance of encoding strings This example shows how an encoding string does appear in the application window and does no t appear on the printed card Encoding string in the layout Printed card Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 69 of 77[...]

7. T roubleshooting and known limit ations Print Errors As a result of the enhanced error recovery capability of the AIPM driver, the user can decide in case of an error to cancel, delete, recover, pause or re-print jobs. In case the error persists, mostly due to a hardware error, please write down the error message and contact the company from whi[...]

8. Appendix A Layout placement on card The printer driver uses a technology that allows you to quickly setup and adjust the document properties for correct layout placement on the printed card. This section describes the idea behind it and how to find the correct settings in six int uitive steps. For first time users, take the card template that wa[...]

Step 1: One- or two-sided layout Check if the design is a one or two-sided layout, i.e. if the layout has onl y a front side or a front and back side. One sided layout: Select + = Front side of card Back side of card or Two sided layout: Select + = Front side of card Back side of card Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 72 of 77[...]

Step 2: Landscape or portrait Check if the design is a landscape or a portrait design. Landscape Select = or Portrait Select = Prima 2e Driver Manual Page 73 of 77[...]

Step 3: Visible encoding features, Magnetic Stripe or Contact Chip If the card is not blank, it is important to select th e features so the driver knows in which order and the sides must be printed. Magnetic stripe card Select = or Contact chip card Select = Note: If the card has both encoding features , you need to select both types , Magstripe an[...]

Step 4: Flip axis The driver determines the rotation of the layout sides fr om the flip axis of the card, which is the axis around which the card can be flipped and the layout stays in the correct orientation, not upside- down. The following illustration shows a vertical flip axis, i.e. the card is flipped along its short side edge : Vertical flip [...]

Step 5: Rotation of the card For non-blank cards, the layout design must cope with either the conta ct chip or the magnetic stripe or both on each side of the card. In the layout, these areas are usu ally left blank and the Rotation-button allows the print to match the layout, i.e. to place the elements in the correct positions as they were intende[...]

Step 6: Exchange the card sides As seen in the last step, for non-blank cards, the position of the magnetic stripe or contact chip or both must be adjusted to fit the layout. While the Rotation-button rotated the card on both sides, the Exchange-button allows to swap the front and back sides if the magnetic stripe or the chip are shown at the wrong[...]