Anyone here have a reliable ID card printer setup for schools in the US?

Posted by No-Marionberry8257@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 23 comments

We're looking to upgrade our ID card printer at a mid-sized K-12 district and would love to hear from others who’ve found a solid, dependable setup.

Main priorities are:

Reliability (low maintenance issues)
Decent speed (we run batches at the start of each year)
Supplies & software that aren’t a nightmare
Open to bundled packages that include badge design software
Bonus: Access control or NFC compatibility

Would appreciate any real-world recommendations or “learn from my mistake” stories. Thanks in advance!

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salvage__@reddit

We use Paxton access control with Papercut for Follow-Me printing

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zian@reddit

Supplies & software that aren’t a nightmare

Which country is the school district in? Parts and service availability may vary.

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Garble7@reddit

Zebra 7 series are pretty good. Typically have no issues, Thats what my large warehouse uses.

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TheShitmaker@reddit

We run Fargo's and they're fucking terrible if OP wants reliability.

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ktkaufman@reddit

The HDP6600 is so fragile it’s not even funny. I’ve heard other Fargo printers are better, but I’m honestly not sure I’d even want to take the risk.

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chesser45@reddit

Also not what I’d call easy to source supplies or parts. If broke it’s trash.

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TheShitmaker@reddit

Yep we had 3. All with Various failures. Couldnt source ports so I dismantled one and frankensteined the parts for 2 functional ones. Have to redo our entire ID system though if one more goes down.

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Ziggista@reddit

I have used the DTC 1000 and 1250 quite well, used HID or Desire cards.

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networkearthquake@reddit

Be careful with ID card software. Zebras one is very misleading on features. I liked Easy Badge! Users never ask for help too!

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We’ve been using Bodno’s ID printer bundles for a while now, and they’ve been solid- very B2B-friendly and come with software that’s actually easy for non-technical staff to use. We started with their Magicard model, and it’s been a real workhorse.

They also ship quickly and make the whole supplies and support process pretty painless. Definitely worth a look if you’re upgrading. Hope that helps!

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BackSapperr@reddit

Can +1 Bodno's suite. The Magicards can sometimes be a bitch to install properly working drivers for, but the software is easy to use. I get the bundles off Amazon with the Bronze suite of software, but look at the higher end versions if you need automation.

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KafkaUnderTheTree@reddit

One of our company we support uses 4 konica minolta c300i, have all the requirements you mentioned. After setup we have only one problem, for some reason 2 printer when it is added over networks, does not work properly, so we usually add the drivers manualy, for new users. Evrything else works splended

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hightechcoord@reddit

Lifetouch does our student cards. We use Alpha Card ID Suite Standard and an Alpha Card Pro 550 printer for staff.

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scottisnthome@reddit

Gods speed friend, I remember having to sit at some of the bigger schools when I worked in K12 to babysit the badge printers during the first couple days of the school year

That being said, I use Bodno where I work now and its solid

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