Should You Buy an ID Card Printer or Order Printed Cards?
Buy a card printer if you need cards one at a time, on the day, such as a staff pass with each person’s photo printed on it. Order printed cards if you need 25 or more of the same design, numbers or barcodes from a spreadsheet, or print that’s sealed inside the card. Many organisations do both.
This guide sets out what a desktop card printer costs to buy and run, how its cards differ from cards you order, and which suits which job. Every price on this page is before VAT.
The short versionA card printer costs around £574 to £747 +vat, plus about 29p a card in ribbon and blank cards. It’s the right tool for photo ID and cards needed on the spot. For a batch of 25 or more, ordered cards need no equipment and have the print sealed under clear PVC, and 1,000 cost 24.5p each, printed on both sides.
What is an ID card printer?
An ID card printer is a desktop printer that prints one plastic card at a time. You load it with blank white PVC cards and a ribbon, design the card in the software that comes with it, and it prints each card in turn. Evolis, Zebra, Magicard and HID Fargo all make them.
Most entry-level models are direct-to-card printers. The colour comes from a ribbon with a panel of yellow, magenta and cyan dye for each card, which the printhead heats onto the card’s surface. A black panel prints sharp text and barcodes, and a clear overlay panel lays a thin protective film over the print. The Evolis Zenius 2, for example, prints one side, edge to edge, at up to 180 colour cards an hour.
What does it cost to print your own cards?
These are prices from UK resellers in October 2026, before VAT. Prices change and vary between sellers, so treat them as a guide.
| What you need | Price before VAT | Where the price comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A single-sided card printer | £573.85 to £746.51 | Evolis Zenius 2 Classic (ERS) and Zebra ZC100 (ERS) |
| A YMCKO colour ribbon, 200 prints | £39.79, about 20p a printed side | Evolis R5F002EAA, uSmartCards |
| Blank white PVC cards, 0.76mm | About 9p a card, in packs of 100 | uSmartCards |
| A cleaning kit | £26.04 | Evolis regular cleaning kit, ERS |
| A replacement printhead, when one wears out | £390.86 | Zebra ZC100 and ZC300, ERS |
So a card printed on one side costs about 29p in ribbon and blank card, before the printer, cleaning and your time. Printing both sides needs a dual-sided printer and uses a second set of ribbon panels. Models that also encode magnetic strips or chips cost more than the plain versions above.
| Cards | Ordered from us, printed both sides, delivered | Printer ribbon and blank cards, one side | The same, plus the cheapest printer above |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 cards | £75.00 (£3.00 each) | £7.22 | £581.07 |
| 50 cards | £79.00 (£1.58 each) | £14.45 | £588.30 |
| 100 cards | £85.00 (85p each) | £28.90 | £602.75 |
| 200 cards | £99.00 (49.5p each) | £57.79 | £631.64 |
| 250 cards | £109.00 (43.6p each) | £72.24 | £646.09 |
| 500 cards | £175.00 (35p each) | £144.48 | £718.33 |
| 1,000 cards | £245.00 (24.5p each) | £288.95 | £862.80 |
Our prices are for full colour 760 micron PVC cards, printed on both sides with a High Gloss finish, with free delivery within Great Britain and a free photorealistic proof. The printer columns leave out cleaning, printheads, design software and your time.
Once the printer is counted, ordering costs less at every quantity in the table. If you already own a printer, the ribbon and blank cards for a small run cost less than ordering, but at 1,000 cards our price per card, printed on both sides, is lower than the ribbon and blank card for one side. A printer pays for itself in a different way: it makes a card the moment you need one.
How are the cards different?
The biggest difference is where the ink ends up. A direct-to-card printer prints onto the outside of a blank card and covers it with a thin clear film. On our full colour PVC cards the design is printed on a central sheet, which is then bonded between two clear PVC sheets, so the surface you touch is clear plastic.
Cross-sections, drawn many times thicker than a real card. Both cards are 0.76mm thick.
| A desktop card printer | Cards ordered from us | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the print is | On the surface, under a thin clear film | Sealed between two clear PVC sheets |
| Both sides | Needs a dual-sided printer | Full colour on both sides as standard |
| Print to the edge | Many models can | Yes: the artwork runs 3mm past the edge and is cut back |
| A different photo on each card | Yes Printed on the card | Photoseal Not printed, but a passport photo can be sealed onto each card |
| Names, numbers and barcodes | Yes, set up in the printer’s software | Yes, from a spreadsheet, sealed under the surface |
| Card materials | The blank cards your printer takes | Standard, recycled, biodegradable, EcoTough and Plastic-Free Board, plus hot foil satin black, metallic, frosted and white |
| How many | One at a time, from one card | From 25 cards |
| How soon | Minutes | 7 working days from proof approval and payment, or 3 to 4 with express |
| Upkeep | Ribbons, blank cards, cleaning and printheads | None |
How long plastic cards last explains why sealed print matters for cards used every day, and how plastic cards are made shows each layer.
Which one suits you?
For cards made on the spot
Staff or student photo ID, where every card carries its own printed photo. New starters who need a pass on their first morning. A replacement for a lost card the same day. Small numbers of cards, often, all year round.
For cards made in a batch
25 or more cards of one design: membership, loyalty, gift and business cards, key tags and event passes. Numbers, barcodes or QR codes from a spreadsheet. Magnetic strips, signature strips and scratch-off panels. Eco materials and hot foil cards, which a desktop printer can’t make.
Three questions settle it for most organisations. Start at the top.
- Need plastic cards?
- Must each person’s photo be printed on their card?If yes: A card printerOr photoseals on printed cards
- If not: Must each card be ready the moment someone joins?If yes: Write-on panelsPrinted cards you fill in by hand
- If not: Are names added as people join?If yes: Bureau personalisationWe add each name when you send it
- If not: Order printed cardsFrom 25, everything printed at once
Printed cards with names and photos added later
Not knowing every name, or every face, in advance is the usual reason people look at a card printer. There are several ways round it without one.
- Bureau personalisation. We print your cards in full colour and hold them in stock. When people join, you email us their details in a spreadsheet and we print them on one side of a card, in black, white, metallic gold or metallic silver. There’s no minimum, so you can call off one card or hundreds. Allow 3 working days, though we aim to send cards the same day when the file arrives before 1pm. The cards come to you, or to a person you name, for you to hand out. See bureau personalisation.
- Write-on panels. A signature strip or write-on panel takes an ordinary ballpoint pen, so a name, a number or a date can be added at the desk. See writing on plastic cards.
- Photoseals. A photoseal fixes a passport-sized photo to the card under a clear seal. It’s easy to apply at the desk when someone joins, or we can attach them for you. See photoseals.
- Numbers printed in advance. Print a unique number on every card, then link each number to a person in your own records when you hand the card out. See numbered plastic cards.
What about printing on paper and laminating?
The other way to make cards yourself is to print them on an inkjet printer, ten to an A4 sheet, laminate the sheets and cut the cards out. It needs no card printer, but the cards are paper inside a laminating pouch rather than solid PVC. Our guide to making your own membership cards goes through it step by step, and plastic vs paper cards compares the two.
Questions & Answers
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Is it cheaper to print your own plastic cards?
Not if you’d be buying a printer for the job. An entry-level card printer costs around £574 to £747 +vat, and the ribbon and blank card for each card printed on one side cost about 29p. We supply 1,000 full colour cards printed on both sides for £245.00 +vat, which is 24.5p a card. A printer earns its place when you need cards one at a time, such as photo ID for each new starter.
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How much does an ID card printer cost?
Entry-level single-sided printers such as the Evolis Zenius 2 and the Zebra ZC100 were listed at about £574 and £747 +vat by a UK reseller in October 2026. Models that can also encode magnetic strips or chips cost more.
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How much does each card cost to print on a card printer?
About 29p for a card printed on one side: around 20p of colour ribbon and about 9p for a blank white PVC card, at October 2026 prices before VAT. Cleaning kits, replacement printheads and your time are on top.
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Can a desktop card printer print to the edge of the card?
Many can. Evolis lists single-sided edge-to-edge printing for the Zenius 2, for example. The print sits on the surface of the card under a thin clear film, while on our full colour cards it’s sealed between clear PVC sheets.
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What’s the difference between a card from a card printer and one you order?
Where the ink is. A desktop card printer prints onto the surface of a blank card and covers it with a thin clear film. On our full colour PVC cards the design is printed on a central sheet and bonded between two clear PVC sheets, so the print can’t scratch or wear off.
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Can you print a different photo on each card?
No, we can’t print a different photo on each card. A passport-sized photo can be fixed to each card with a photoseal, a clear seal that you can apply yourself or we can attach for you. Names, membership numbers, barcodes and QR codes can be different on every card, from a spreadsheet you send us. If you want each photo printed on the card, a card printer is the better tool.
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Can names be added to printed cards later?
Yes. Our bureau personalisation service holds your printed cards and prints each new member’s details on one side, in black, white, metallic gold or metallic silver, when you email them to us. Allow 3 working days, though we aim to send cards the same day when the file arrives before 1pm.
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How quickly can I get printed cards?
Standard production is 7 working days from proof approval and payment. Express production of 3 to 4 working days is also available: ask us for cost and availability.
Ready to order?
Tell us how many cards you need, how often, and whether names are added as people join, and we’ll quote the cheapest way to do it.
Your free photorealistic proof shows the finished card before anything is printed.