Installation Guide

3
SP Series Info Central: Setup
Card design checklist
Use this checklist to guide your selection of set up tasks to perform.
Before you print the design:
• Does the card include a smart card or magnetic stripe on the printed side of the card? If yes, set topcoat
blocking to prevent application of topcoat over that feature. See "Working with Properties and Printing
Preferences" to use the Printing Preferences, Properties, or Document Defaults dialog box.
• Does the card include additional features, such as a signature panel, that require print or topcoat blocking? Is
the PC running the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system? If yes to both questions, see
"Customizing blocking regions" for more information.
• Does the card include a custom image in the topcoat? Is the PC running the Windows XP or Windows 2000
operating system? If yes to both questions, see "Customizing blocking regions" for more information.
• Does the card include a magnetic stripe? If yes, see "Magnetic Stripe Setup" for more information.
• Does the card include a smart card? If yes, see "Smart card setup" for more information.
• If the printer is an SP75 printer, does the card include topcoat or patch applied using a laminator? If yes, see
"Laminator Setup" for more information.
• Do you want to power off the printer when fixing problems, or is saving ribbon very important to you? The
Ribbon Initialization setting determines whether the printer moves ribbon to the start of a panel set when it
powers up. If saving ribbon is very important, leave this setting unchecked and fix any problems in the printer
with the power on. If powering off the printer to fix problems is more important than saving ribbon, check this
setting so cards printed after printer power-on will print correctly. See
"Working with Properties and Printing
Preferences" to use the Printing Preferences, Properties, or Document Defaults dialog box.
Make several cards using your card design and evaluate the quality of the card.
• Are you printing bar codes? If yes, check the cards in your bar code reader to make sure they are easy to read.
If needed, change the printing intensity for K to improve bar code readability. See "Change printing intensity".
• Are you printing both photos and a logo in color? Use the following sequence to obtain the best color quality:
— Check the color quality of the photos first.
— Change the image capture system (If used) to get the best quality photos. For example, work with distance,
lighting, and camera settings to obtain consistent, high quality photos. If your capture equipment provides a
color profile, you can also install the color profile for the printer, named SP_Prof.icc and located in the
Support folder of the driver CD-ROM.
— After you optimize the image capture system, evaluate the quality of printed photos. If needed, change the
Color Settings for optimal printing of photos. Color settings affect all colored areas of the card, but you can
change other components to return them to optimal color. See
"Color settings" for more information.
— Next, evaluate the other colored areas of the card, such as text or logos.
— You might want to use settings in the application to improve the printed color of text.
— You might also want to use an image editing application (such as PhotoShop or PaintShopPro) to change
the color of a logo file (bitmap) for optimal printing.
• If you print without a margin (the setting is edge-to-edge), observe whether the both long edges of the card
appear evenly printed. If not, change the position of printing on the card. See
"Fine-tune edge-to-edge printing"
for steps to follow.
If you print with only one color (monochrome or K ribbon), decide whether to perform the following setup
tasks:
• If you print photos: