A printer profile stores one card printer’s calibration: how far to shift the image, how much to scale it, and whether to turn the back side over. Create one profile per printer under Admin > Printers, choose it as this computer’s station printer, then print the alignment test card and adjust until its border sits evenly on the card.
Create a profile
Under Admin > Printers, press Add printer profile. You need the permission to manage printers.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | Say where the printer is, for example “Front office · HID Fargo DTC1250e”. |
| Brand, Model | For your records. They do not change how cards print. |
| Printer type | Direct-to-card or Retransfer. |
| Prints both sides | Tick it for a duplex printer. |
| Offset X (mm) | Positive moves the image right. From −10 to 10. |
| Offset Y (mm) | Positive moves the image down. From −10 to 10. |
| Scale (%) | 100 is true size. From 50 to 150. |
| Rotate back side 180° | Turn it on if backs come out upside down. Only for printers that print both sides. |
| Notes | Ribbon type, driver settings, a service contact. |
Offsets take tenths of a millimetre, with a point or a comma.
Choose the station printer
Each computer that is connected to a card printer picks its own profile. The choice is saved in that browser, not on your account, so set it on every computer that prints, and again after clearing the browser’s data.
Set it in the This station panel on the Printers page, or with the Station printer picker when you print. The top bar shows the current choice. With No profile (true size, no offsets), cards print at true size with no shift.
Calibrate with the alignment test card
- Set up the driver first: see print ID cards from Chrome or Edge.
- In the profile’s row, press Print alignment test card.
- The card has a border line half a millimetre inside the edge, millimetre ticks along the top and left edges labelled every 10 mm, a crosshair at the center, and “TOP” with an arrow. A two-sided profile prints a front and a back.
- Look at the border. If it is closer to the left edge than the right, increase Offset X; closer to the top than the bottom, increase Offset Y. Use the ticks to measure how far.
- If the border runs off two opposite edges, the image is too large: lower Scale a little.
- Save, print another test card, and repeat until the border sits evenly on every side.
The test card is always a CR80 in landscape, whatever size your designs use, and it prints with the profile’s current offsets, scale and back rotation applied.
Good to know
- Deleting a profile does not change past print jobs. Computers that used it print at true size until someone chooses another.
- A direct-to-card printer leaves a thin white border however well it is calibrated. Keep names and photos inside the safe zone: in the designer, Card panel, tick Show safe zone.