
Professional credentials, printed at your desk
The IDP SMART-51S is a single-sided ID card printer built for daily, higher-volume badge printing in offices, schools, hospitals and government agencies. It is built on a ruggedized metal frame with steel ball bearings, and it takes cards from 15 to 40 mil, including thicker composite and smart cards.
It prints a full-color card edge to edge at 300 dpi in about 17 seconds, up to 212 cards per hour, and monochrome at 720 per hour. The hopper holds 100 cards, or 200 with the cover open, and a two-line LCD shows printer status. Genuine IDP ribbons carry an RFID tag the printer reads to recognize the ribbon type, and the same ribbons fit the SMART-31. A YMCFKO ribbon adds an invisible UV image, and passwords, PC authentication and encrypted print data protect the printer, with optional physical locks. The Ethernet module prints and encodes over your network; a Wi-Fi kit can be added to it.
This is the print-only configuration with USB and Ethernet. To encode cards, add a magnetic stripe, contact or contactless smart card encoder from the upgrades in the buy box; IDP installs some contactless encoders and the CR79 card size at the factory only, so choose those with the printer. The SMART-51S can be field-upgraded to dual-sided printing with IDP's flipper, or to a SMART-51L with the laminator. IDP's SMART IDesigner card design software is included free (Windows, download). If you design on a Mac or print from a bigger database, ID-ALL is the step up; it supports IDP SMART printers on Windows and Mac.
Consumables
A complete list of compatible consumables for the IDP SMART-51. Click any part number for details.
| Part Number | Description and Yield |
|---|---|
| 659366 | IDP YMCKO Ribbon, 250 Prints |
| 900900 | IDP YMCKO Ribbon Cassette, 250 Prints |
| 659863 | IDP YMCKO Ribbon, 100 Prints |
| 900903 | IDP YMCKO Ribbon Cassette, 100 Prints |
| 659378 | IDP ymcKO Half-Panel Ribbon, 350 Prints |
| 659380 | IDP YMCFKO UV Ribbon, 200 Prints |
| 653307 | IDP YMCPKO Pearlescent Ribbon, 200 Prints |
| 659367 | IDP Black Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 900901 | IDP Black Ribbon Cassette, 1,200 Prints |
| 659385 | IDP KO Ribbon, 600 Prints |
| 659389 | IDP BO Ribbon, 600 Prints |
| 659370 | IDP White Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 659371 | IDP Red Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 659372 | IDP Blue Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 659373 | IDP Metallic Silver Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 659374 | IDP Metallic Gold Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| 659375 | IDP Scratch-Off Ribbon, 1,200 Prints |
| Part Number | Description |
|---|---|
| SPID-9630 | Specialist ID Blank White PVC Cards, CR-80 30mil |
| SPID-9790-WHITE | Specialist ID HiCo Mag Stripe PVC Cards, CR-80 30mil |
| SPID-8670-WHITE | Specialist ID Composite PVC/PET Cards, CR-80 30mil |
| CR8030COMP | Composite PVC/PET Blank Cards, CR-80 30mil |
| SPIDPROX | HID Compatible Prox Cards |
| SPIDprox26H | Prox Cards With Magnetic Stripe |
| COM/D41 | MIFARE DESFire EV1 4K Cards |
Technical Specifications
- Print method
- Dye-sublimation direct-to-card
- Print sides
- Single-sided (field upgradable to dual-sided with the 651366 flipper, or to SMART-51L with the 651310 laminator)
- Resolution
- 300 dpi color and monochrome; 600 and 1200 dpi monochrome only
- Print area
- Edge to edge
- Print speed, color (YMCKO)
- Up to 212 cards per hour (max. 17 seconds per card)
- Print speed, monochrome
- Up to 720 cards per hour (5 seconds per card)
- Card capacity
- 100-card input hopper (200 with the hopper cover open); 40-card front output (optional 100-card rear stacker)
- Card size
- ISO CR80 (2.12 x 3.38 in); CR79 available as a factory-installed option
- Card thickness
- 15 to 40 mil (0.38 to 1.0 mm)
- Card types
- PVC, PVC/PET composite
- Ribbon capacity
- YMCKO 100 or 250 prints; monochrome 1,200 prints
- Ribbon recognition
- RFID tag on genuine IDP ribbons
- Encoding
- None (print only; magnetic stripe, contact and contactless encoders available as upgrades)
- Connectivity
- USB and Ethernet (SNMPv3); Wi-Fi kit available
- Security
- Administrator and user passwords, PC authentication lock, data encryption over USB and SSL over Ethernet; optional physical locks
- Display
- 2-line LCD, 2 LED buttons
- Memory
- 64 MB RAM
- Frame
- Metal frame with steel ball bearings
- Operating systems
- Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), macOS 11 and later, Linux
- Power
- 24 V DC adapter, 48 W
- Operating environment
- 59 to 95 F (15 to 35 C), 35 to 70% humidity
- Dimensions
- 6.5 x 15.4 x 8.3 in (W x L x H); 165 x 390 x 210 mm
- Weight
- 10 lb (4.5 kg)
- Certifications
- CB, CE, FCC, KC
- Software
- SMART IDesigner included (Windows)
- Warranty
- IDP 3-year Advanced Exchange (optional 4th-year and 4th-and-5th-year extensions)
Compatible Supplies
Genuine IDP ribbons and supplies matched to the SMART-51.




























