Evolis Agilia Duplex 600 dpi Retransfer ID Card Printer | RFID Market (RB655)

Card printers are highly specialized, precision-engineered electromechanical devices utilized for the professional personalization and issuance of plastic cards, including corporate identity badges, employee credentials, student IDs, membership cards, and highly secure smart cards. Among these, retransfer (reverse transfer) card printers represent the pinnacle of printing technology. Unlike standard direct-to-card printers, retransfer models first print the high-resolution image in reverse onto a clear, flexible transfer film. This film is then thermally fused directly onto the card's surface, guaranteeing flawless, edge-to-edge printing, superior image durability, and the ability to print on uneven surfaces with absolute perfection.

Evolis Agilia Duplex 600 dpi Retransfer ID Card Printer

The Evolis Agilia Duplex Retransfer ID Card Printer is a state-of-the-art solution meticulously developed for high-resolution, professional-grade dual-sided card issuance. Leveraging advanced retransfer printing technology combined with an exceptional 600 x 600 dpi printhead resolution, this device is capable of reproducing microscopic details, intricate security patterns, and vibrant color gamuts across the entirety of the card's surface without leaving any unprinted white borders. It is the ultimate hardware choice for organizations demanding uncompromising aesthetic quality and stringent security in their credentialing programs.

Engineered for high-volume productivity, the Agilia Duplex is capable of producing up to 150 cards per hour in single-sided color mode, and up to 100 cards per hour when executing complex dual-sided color prints. To support this continuous industrial throughput, it features a massive 200-card input feeder and a 100-card output hopper, drastically minimizing the need for constant human intervention. Equipped with versatile USB and Ethernet connectivity, the printer can be comprehensively customized with magnetic stripe, contact smart card, and contactless RFID smart card encoding modules. Furthermore, its advanced thermal processing accommodates a wide array of industrial card materials, including standard PVC, composite PVC, highly durable PET, Polycarbonate (PC), and ABS.

Features

• Employs highly advanced Retransfer (Reverse Transfer) printing technology for flawless over-the-edge coverage.
• Equipped with a micro-precision printhead delivering 600 x 600 dpi high-definition print resolution.
• Natively supports fully automated dual-sided (duplex) card printing, flipping the card internally without operator assistance.
• Guarantees true edge-to-edge printing, ensuring the transfer film covers the entire surface area of the card.
• Features a massive 16-million color gamut capability, powered by an integrated color profile system to strictly optimize photographic accuracy.
• Achieves high-speed production rates of up to 150 cards per hour during single-sided YMCK color printing.
• Maintains exceptional throughput of up to 100 cards per hour during dual-sided YMCK-K (color front, black back) printing.
• Features a high-capacity 200-card input feeder designed for seamless, uninterrupted batch printing operations.
• Incorporates a 100-card output hopper and a dedicated, secure 10-card reject hopper for defective or mis-encoded cards.
• Provides a manual single-card feeding slot for immediate, on-the-spot individual card issuance.
• Supports versatile enterprise connectivity through high-speed USB 2.0 and TCP/IP Ethernet networking interfaces.
• Integrates a robust internal processing architecture featuring 4 GB of Flash memory and 256 MB of RAM for handling massive, complex graphic spool files.
• Facilitates intuitive user operation and real-time status monitoring via a full-color 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen interface.
• Supports comprehensive multi-technology encoding options, including magnetic stripe, ISO 7816 contact smart cards, and ISO 14443 contactless smart cards.
• Compatible with a highly diverse range of card substrates, including PVC, Composite PVC, PET, Polycarbonate (PC), and ABS materials.
• Seamlessly accommodates varying card thicknesses ranging from 0.76 mm to 1.25 mm (30 mil to 50 mil) without manual recalibration.
• Can be seamlessly upgraded with an optional card lamination module for extended physical durability and holographic security.
• Physically secured via a Kensington security lock slot, with optional electromechanical locking systems available.
• Backed by a comprehensive 3-year printer warranty and a lifetime warranty on the critical printhead component (under specified operating conditions).

Evolis Agilia Printer Drivers & Documentation

Applications

The Evolis Agilia Duplex Retransfer Card Printer is strategically deployed in high-security, mission-critical environments requiring impeccable credentialing. Its primary applications include the issuance of corporate identity badges, government and military ID cards, university student credentials, highly secure physical access control cards, financial institution payment cards, transit passes, healthcare provider badges, and premium membership cards.

Because of its ultra-high 600 dpi resolution, it is specifically required for printing advanced security features that standard 300 dpi printers simply cannot render, such as microscopic text (micro-text), intricate guilloché (banknote-style) patterns, highly dense 2D QR codes, and complex vector graphics.

Furthermore, its retransfer technology makes it the mandatory choice for organizations utilizing contact smart cards or contactless RFID cards. Standard printers struggle to print over the uneven surfaces created by embedded microchips or internal antennas; the Agilia's film-fusing process completely bypasses these surface irregularities, ensuring perfect prints every time.

Blog Post: Understanding Evolis Agilia Retransfer Printing Technology

The Evolis Agilia Duplex, operates on a fundamentally different electromechanical principle compared to standard Direct-to-Card (DTC) dye-sublimation printers. In a standard DTC printer, the printhead applies the colored ribbon directly onto the rigid PVC surface of the card. While cost-effective, this direct contact method cannot print all the way to the absolute edge of the card (leaving a small white border) and performs poorly on cards with uneven surfaces, such as those containing embedded RFID chips or contact smart card modules. The Agilia completely revolutionizes this process by employing Reverse Transfer (Retransfer) technology.

The retransfer process occurs in two distinct, highly controlled stages deep within the printer's chassis. In the first stage, the 600 dpi printhead fires and sublimates the YMCK (Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, Black) dyes not onto the card, but onto a continuous, transparent, flexible retransfer film. In the second stage, a heated thermal roller applies intense, calculated heat and pressure to fuse this printed film permanently onto the physical plastic card. Because the flexible film can conform perfectly to microscopic dips and bumps on the card's surface, the resulting image is absolutely flawless, truly edge-to-edge, and highly resistant to daily abrasive wear and tear. Furthermore, the printhead never touches the rigid plastic card, which drastically prolongs the lifespan of the critical printhead component.

Agilia Duplex Printing Performance and Architecture:

Despite the complex two-step thermal fusion process, the engineering behind the Agilia Duplex ensures that speed is not sacrificed for quality. The internal spooling and mechanical transport systems allow the device to achieve staggering production rates: up to 150 single-sided color cards per hour, and up to 100 fully dual-sided color cards per hour. This speed is heavily supported by the printer's internal computing architecture, which features a massive 256 MB of RAM and 4 GB of Flash memory. This processing power allows the printer to rapidly rasterize and buffer massive, high-resolution 600 dpi image files sent from the host computer without suffering from mechanical pauses or data bottlenecking over the Ethernet network.

To support high-yield, uninterrupted industrial issuance, the Agilia is outfitted with an exceptionally large 200-card input feeder. This is double the capacity of standard desktop printers, meaning operators spend significantly less time reloading blank stock. Post-printing, successfully personalized cards are stacked sequentially in a 100-card output hopper. Crucially, the printer also incorporates a dedicated, secure 10-card reject hopper. If the internal sensors detect a mechanical misfeed, or if the integrated smart card encoder fails to write data to a defective chip, the printer autonomously routes the failed card into this locked reject bin, ensuring that un-encoded or misprinted secure credentials are never mixed with successful batches.

Card Materials and Advanced Encoding Mechanics:

Traditional dye-sublimation printers require cards with highly porous PVC surfaces to absorb the ink. The Agilia's retransfer thermal fusion process bypasses this chemical limitation entirely. The transfer film acts as an independent layer, meaning it can be securely bonded to virtually any card substrate. This allows organizations to move away from fragile PVC and utilize highly durable, temperature-resistant materials such as Polycarbonate (PC), PET, ABS, and Composite PVC. These materials are heavily favored by government agencies for driver's licenses and national ID cards due to their 10+ year lifespans.

Beyond visual printing, the Agilia functions as a comprehensive edge-computing encoding terminal. Depending on the customized configuration, the printer can house internal magnetic stripe encoders, ISO 7816 contact smart card stations, and ISO 14443 contactless RFID encoders (supporting MIFARE, DESFire, HID iCLASS, etc.). During the printing cycle, the card is paused internally while these modules write secure cryptographic keys, biometric data, or access control credentials directly to the chip. This ensures that the visual identity on the card perfectly matches the digital identity encrypted within it, executed securely in a single, automated pass.

Agilia Duplex High-Level Security Features:

Security is the paramount focus of the Agilia’s design architecture. Graphically, the 600 x 600 dpi resolution allows security administrators to incorporate micro-text—text so infinitesimally small that it appears as a solid line to the naked eye but is readable under a magnifying glass. Standard 300 dpi printers render this text as an illegible blur, making the 600 dpi Agilia a crucial tool against credential counterfeiting. It also perfectly renders complex guilloché patterns and high-density QR codes used for mobile verification.

Physically and digitally, the printer is fortified. It features a Kensington security lock slot to prevent physical theft of the hardware itself. Organizations can also opt for an electromechanical locking system that physically secures the blank card input feeder, the ribbon/film doors, and the reject hopper, preventing unauthorized personnel from stealing blank smart cards or used ribbons (which contain negative imprints of the printed ID data). Furthermore, the printer firmware includes an advanced digital data erase feature. Once a card is successfully printed and encoded, the sensitive personal data (names, photos, cryptographic keys) is irrecoverably wiped from the printer's internal RAM and Flash memory, ensuring absolute compliance with strict data protection regulations (like GDPR).

Evolis Agilia Duplex Retransfer ID Card Printer Features:

1. Utilizes state-of-the-art 600 x 600 dpi Retransfer printing technology for impeccable, high-definition image rendering.
2. Executes fully automated, dual-sided card printing without requiring any manual flipping by the operator.
3. Guarantees flawless, true edge-to-edge printing, covering 100% of the card surface without leaving unprinted white margins.
4. Maintains exceptional production speeds, processing up to 150 single-sided color cards or 100 dual-sided color cards per hour.
5. Features a massive 200-card input hopper and a 100-card output hopper, engineered specifically for high-capacity batch issuance.
6. Equipped with versatile IT infrastructure connectivity, including high-speed USB 2.0 and TCP/IP Ethernet networking.
7. Provides an intuitive user experience via a 3.5-inch color LCD interactive touchscreen panel for real-time status diagnostics.
8. Boasts a robust internal architecture with 4 GB Flash memory and 256 MB RAM for processing highly complex spool files without latency.
9. Offers unparalleled material flexibility, supporting PVC, highly durable PET, Polycarbonate (PC), ABS, and Composite substrates.
10. Integrates comprehensive multi-technology encoding stations supporting magnetic stripes, contact chips, and contactless RFID modules simultaneously.
11. Enhances security credentialing through optional add-on card lamination modules for holographic overlays and extreme durability.
12. Backed by an industry-leading 3-year overall printer warranty and a lifetime warranty covering the precision printhead.
13. Deploys advanced anti-counterfeiting graphical capabilities, including crisp micro-text printing and high-density 2D barcodes.
14. Protects sensitive biometric and personal data via physical electromechanical locks and digital memory-wiping protocols.

Note: Advanced features such as magnetic stripe encoders, contact/contactless smart card encoding modules, electromechanical physical locks, and the inline lamination system are highly specialized components and may be optional depending on the specific hardware configuration selected during procurement.