Description
The HID FARGO DTC1500 is a direct-to-card ID card printer built for schools, government agencies, healthcare facilities, and growing businesses that need secure credentials at a low cost per card. This configuration, part number 051401 (also listed as 51401), is the single-sided model with a factory-installed ISO magnetic stripe encoder. It writes high- and low-coercivity tracks 1, 2, and 3 as each card prints, so badges come out of the printer ready to swipe. USB 2.0, Ethernet, and an internal print server are all standard.
It prints at 300 dpi, combining dye-sublimation color with resin thermal transfer for sharp black text and barcodes. A full-color card takes about 16 seconds, a monochrome card about 6. High-capacity consumables are the DTC1500's signature: the standard YMCKO cartridge yields 700 prints per roll, so ribbon changes are less frequent and each card costs less. The cleaning roller is built into the ribbon cartridge and is replaced automatically with every ribbon change.
Security comes standard on every unit. The custom watermark feature embeds your logo or text permanently into the card's overlay panel, an inexpensive way to make counterfeiting extremely difficult without holographic overlaminates. AES-256 encryption protects card data in transit, resin scramble renders used ribbon panels unreadable, and password protection locks down printer operation. The DTC1500 is modular, too: dual-sided printing can be activated later with a simple RFID upgrade tag, and a lamination module can be added as your card program grows.