IDP Smart 21S Card Printer

IDP Smart 21S ID Card Printer Overview

The IDP Smart 21S is a compact, entry-level printer built for small organisations, schools, and clubs that want to print ID cards in-house without a big upfront cost. It offers single sided card printing in 24 seconds for full colour and just 6 seconds for monochrome.

How It Prints

The Smart 21S uses direct-to-card printing. Direct-to-card printing works by pressing the printer ribbon directly against the surface of the card as it passes under the printhead, transferring colour or black text straight onto the card in a single pass. It's the same principle as a thermal transfer label printer, just applied to a plastic card instead of paper. Because the printhead sits right against the card, it's fast and inexpensive per card.

The Smart-21 feeds one PVC card at a time, fed in by hand, so it suits steady, on-demand printing rather than large unattended batches. It prints up to 150 full-colour cards an hour or 600 in monochrome, at up to 1200 dpi, which is sharp enough for photo IDs, logos, and small text without looking soft or pixelated.

SmartMark comes as standard with most IDP printers. This is a visible security overlay that can be customised with your own text, logo, or design, making a card harder to convincingly copy or tamper with. An optional Kensington lock can also add physical security if the printer's sitting somewhere accessible rather than in a locked office.

Is This the Right Printer for You?

This printer doesn't encode cards, and it's not suited to access control cards with an embedded chip, the chip can damage the printhead over time. If you need to encode magnetic stripe or contactless cards for door access, look at the IDP Smart 31 instead.

If you're printing straightforward photo ID, membership, or visitor cards without encoding, the IDP Smart ID card printer range is an excellent choice. It's one of the easiest-to-use card printers on the market and makes printing staff ID cards a really straightforward process.

Software and Compatibility

A free copy of EasyBadge Lite card design software comes included with this printer, which is Windows-only, as is the ID printer itself.

Please note: ribbons and blank cards aren't included with this printer. Add compatible consumables to your order so you're ready to print as soon as it arrives.

Key Features:

• Direct-to-card, single-sided printing
• Hand-fed card feeder
• Print speeds up to 150 full-colour cards/hour, 600 monochrome cards/hour
• Resolution up to 1200dpi
• SmartMark visible security overlay, customisable, included as standard
• Optional Kensington lock
• Dimensions: approx. 179mm x 169mm x 259mm
• Weight: 2.7kg
• 2-year manufacturer warranty (3-year optional extension available; printhead covered for 3 years)
• Includes EasyBadge Lite design software (Windows only, 100-record limit)
• Compatible with Windows only

What's Included:

• IDP Smart 21S ID Card Printer
• Power Supply
• USB Cable
• Install Disk & Quick Setup Guide
• Free EasyBadge Lite ID Card Design Software