阅读说明：本技术 带有油墨托盘的按需喷墨卡片打印机 (On-demand ink-jet card printer with ink tray ) 是由 A.扎博罗夫斯基 R.乔丹 J.瓦拉 T.弗里奇 C.沃尔德里奇 D.萨基宁 于 2020-03-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种按需喷墨塑料卡片打印机,包括在按需喷墨打印期间布置在塑料卡片下方以收集在塑料卡片上打印期间可能出现的任何溢出油墨的托盘。该托盘可以是一次性的,因而可移除和弃置该托盘。在该托盘中可布置吸墨垫,以吸收溢出的油墨。该吸墨垫可与托盘一起弃置,或者与托盘分开弃置。(A drop on demand plastic card printer includes a tray disposed below a plastic card during drop on demand printing to collect any spilled ink that may occur during printing on the plastic card. The tray may be disposable, so that the tray may be removed and disposed of. A blotter pad may be disposed in the tray to absorb ink spills. The blotter pad may be disposed of with the tray or separately from the tray.)

1. A plastic card printer comprising:

a drop on demand printing station comprising at least one drop on demand printhead;

a card conveyor configured to convey plastic cards to a printing position below the at least one drop-on-demand printhead; and

a tray mounted on the card transport such that the tray is positioned below the plastic card during printing on the plastic card by the at least one drop-on-demand printhead and the tray protrudes beyond at least one edge of the plastic card.

2. The plastic card printer of claim 1, wherein the tray projects beyond each edge of the plastic card.

3. The plastic card printer of claim 1, wherein the tray includes an ink collection channel, an edge of the plastic card being disposed directly above the ink collection channel, and the tray further includes an ink pad disposed in the ink collection channel.

4. The plastic card printer of claim 1, wherein the tray is removably mounted on a card feeder.

5. The plastic card printer of claim 4, wherein the tray includes a plurality of magnets affixed thereto that interact with corresponding magnets on the card feed to magnetically affix the tray to the card feed.

6. The plastic card printer of claim 1, further comprising a radio frequency identification tag affixed to the tray, the radio frequency identification tag having data stored thereon, the data indicating one or more of: the number of plastic cards printed and the date the tray was installed.

7. The plastic card printer of claim 1, wherein the card feeder includes a vacuum platen, and the vacuum platen extends through the tray.

8. A plastic card processing system comprising the plastic card printer of claim 1, a card input device holding a plurality of cards to be printed, and a card output device holding a plurality of printed cards.

9. A plastic card printer for full width printing on a plastic card having a peripheral edge, comprising:

a drop on demand printing station including at least one drop on demand printhead for printing with ink;

a card conveyor configured to support the plastic card during printing and configured to convey the plastic card to a printing position below the at least one drop-on-demand printhead for full-width printing on the plastic card;

a disposable tray removably mounted on the card transport such that the disposable tray is positioned below the plastic card and the disposable tray protrudes beyond the periphery of the plastic card to collect ink that overflows the periphery; and is

The disposable tray includes an ink collection channel, and a blotting pad disposed in the ink collection channel to absorb spilled ink.

10. The plastic card printer of claim 9, wherein the disposable tray includes a plurality of magnets affixed thereto that interact with corresponding magnets on the card feeder to magnetically affix the disposable tray to the card feeder.

11. The plastic card printer of claim 9, further comprising a radio frequency identification tag affixed to the disposable tray, the radio frequency identification tag having data stored thereon, the data indicating one or more of: the number of plastic cards printed, the estimated amount of ink absorbed by the blotter, and the date the disposable tray was installed.

12. The plastic card printer of claim 9, wherein the card feeder includes a vacuum platen, and the vacuum platen extends through the disposable tray.

13. The plastic card printer of claim 9, wherein the peripheral edge of the plastic card is disposed directly above the ink collection channel.

14. A plastic card processing system comprising the plastic card printer of claim 9, a card input device holding a plurality of cards to be printed, and a card output device holding a plurality of printed cards.

15. A method of drop-on-demand ink-jet printing on plastic cards, comprising:

transporting the plastic card into a drop-on-demand printing station using a card transport, the plastic card being positioned in a print position beneath at least one drop-on-demand printhead, the card transport including a tray positioned beneath the plastic card at the print position, the tray projecting beyond at least one edge of the plastic card; and is

Printing on the plastic card using the at least one drop on demand printhead while the tray is positioned below the plastic card.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising sensing the presence of the tray prior to printing on the plastic card.

17. A method of printing in full width on a plastic card having a peripheral edge in a plastic card printer, comprising:

transporting a plastic card to a print position in a drop on demand printing station comprising at least one drop on demand printhead printed with ink, wherein the plastic card is transported by a card transport;

sensing whether a tray is mounted on the card conveyor, the tray being positioned below the plastic card and the tray protruding beyond the periphery of the plastic card to collect ink that may spill over the periphery during drop-on-demand full-width printing on the plastic card;

if the tray is sensed, performing ink-jet full-width printing on the plastic card according to requirements; and is

If the tray is not sensed, drop-on-demand full-width printing on the plastic card is prevented.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein sensing whether a pallet is mounted on the card feeder comprises sensing a radio frequency identification tag affixed to the pallet.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said sensing whether a tray is mounted on the card feeder occurs after feeding the plastic card to the print position.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a card processing system for drop-on-demand (DOD) printing on plastic cards, including but not limited to financial (e.g., credit, debit, etc.) cards, drivers' licenses, national identification cards, business cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards. In some embodiments, the concepts described herein may be applied to substrates other than plastic cards, including but not limited to passport pages and non-personalized substrates, such as paper.

Background

When printing on the surface of a plastic card, it is often desirable to print in full width on the surface of the card so that the applied ink extends all the way to each edge of the card or to selected edges of the card, for example to the front and/or back edge and/or each side edge. Full-width printing eliminates white borders that may appear where the applied ink does not reach the edges.

In DOD printing of plastic cards, ink is ejected from one or more print heads onto the card surface. During full-width printing, as the print approaches the edge of the card, the ejected ink can "spill over" the edge and fall onto the structure of the document printer (e.g., vacuum belt) below the edge. Over time, spilled ink can accumulate on the structure, requiring periodic replacement or cleaning of the structure. To prevent such overflow, printing may be stopped at a predetermined distance from the edge. However, this does not result in full-width printing and a white border is created at the edges.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention describes a DOD plastic card printer (also known as an inkjet plastic card printer) that includes a tray disposed beneath a plastic card during DOD printing to collect any spilled ink that may occur during plastic card printing. The tray may be disposable, so that the tray may be removed and disposed of. In one embodiment, a blotter pad may be disposed in the tray to absorb ink spills. The blotter pad may be disposed of with the tray.

The techniques described herein facilitate printing on plastic cards in full-width or near at least one edge of the plastic card where spillage may occur. Thus, the techniques described herein are not limited to printing near all edges of a plastic card. In some embodiments, a print job may require that ink be applied to the surface of the plastic card only near one or more edges and not near one or more other edges. The term "full width printed" on the plastic card as used herein is intended to encompass printing near all edges of the plastic card or near at least one edge of the plastic card.

The tray may be mounted on a card conveyor that conveys plastic cards to and from a drop-on-demand printing station that includes at least one drop-on-demand printhead. In one embodiment, the tray may be configured to be removably mounted on the card feeder, thereby allowing an operator of the DOD card printer to manually remove and mount the tray using his/her fingers/hands without the operator having to loosen or tighten any mechanical fasteners. In one non-limiting example, the tray may include one or more magnets that magnetically interact with one or more corresponding magnets on the card transport to magnetically removably secure the tray to the card transport.

In another embodiment, means may be provided to allow the DOD card printer to sense the presence of the tray. If the tray is sensed, full-width printing on the plastic card is allowed. If the tray is not sensed, full printing is prevented. In one non-limiting example, the means for sensing the presence of the tray may include a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag affixed to the tray. Alternatively, one or more magnets for removably securing the tray to the card transport may be sensed. Other means for sensing the tray may also be used, such as a proximity sensor or photocell. If an RFID tag is used, the RFID tag may store various data thereon and allow data to be read from and/or written to the RFID tag. Examples of data that may be stored on the RFID tag include, but are not limited to, the number of plastic cards that are printed in full width with the tray in place, an estimated amount of ink absorbed by the blotter of the tray, and the date the tray was installed.

In one embodiment, a plastic card printer includes a drop on demand printing station including at least one drop on demand printhead and a card conveyor configured to support and convey a plastic card to a printing position below the at least one drop on demand printhead during printing. A tray is mounted on the card transport, the tray being located below the plastic card and the tray projecting beyond at least one edge of the plastic card. With this arrangement, the tray is able to collect any ink that overflows the at least one edge.

In another embodiment, a plastic card printer for full-width printing on a plastic card having a peripheral edge is provided. The plastic card printer may include a drop on demand printing station including at least one drop on demand printhead that prints using ink and a card conveyor configured to support the plastic card during printing and convey the plastic card to a printing position below the at least one drop on demand printhead for full-width printing on the plastic card. A disposable tray is removably mounted on the card transport such that the disposable tray is positioned below the plastic card and the disposable tray projects beyond the periphery of the plastic card to collect ink that overflows the periphery. The disposable tray may include an ink collection channel, and a blotting pad may be disposed in the ink collection channel to absorb ink spills.

In some embodiments, the plastic card printer described herein may be part of a plastic card processing system that includes a card input device that holds a plurality of cards to be printed and a card output device that holds a plurality of printed cards.

In one embodiment, a method of drop-on-demand printing on a plastic card includes transporting the plastic card into a drop-on-demand printing station using a card conveyor, the plastic card being positioned in a print position below at least one drop-on-demand printhead, wherein the card conveyor includes a tray disposed below the plastic card at the print position, the tray projecting beyond at least one edge of the plastic card. The plastic card is then printed using the at least one drop on demand printhead while the tray is positioned beneath the plastic card.

In another embodiment, a method of full-line printing in a plastic card printer is provided. Printing occurs on a plastic card having a perimeter. The method includes transporting a plastic card to a print position in a drop on demand printing station that includes at least one drop on demand printhead that prints using ink, wherein the plastic card is transported by a card transport. The plastic card printer senses whether a disposable tray is mounted on the card feeder. The tray is configured to be positioned below the plastic card and the tray protrudes beyond the perimeter of the plastic card to collect ink that may spill over the perimeter during drop-on-demand full-width printing on the plastic card. If the disposable tray is sensed, ink-jet full-width printing is performed on the plastic card as required. If the disposable tray is not sensed, drop-on-demand full-width printing on the plastic card is prevented.

In some embodiments, the concepts described herein may be applied to full-line printing on substrates other than plastic cards, including but not limited to passport pages and non-personalized substrates such as paper, labels, and the like.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one example top/bottom surface of a plastic card that may be printed as described herein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the plastic card printer described herein.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the tray and blotter pad.

Fig. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the tray.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the card feeder and a tray to be supported on the card feeder.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the tray and card.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the card feeder, tray, and card on the card feeder.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates one embodiment of a plastic card processing system in which the plastic card printer described herein may be implemented.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, there is shown an example of a plastic card 10 that can be DOD printed using the DOD plastic card printer described herein. Plastic card 10 may include, but is not limited to, financial (e.g., credit, debit, etc.) cards, drivers' licenses, national identification cards, business cards, gift cards, and other plastic cards. The plastic card 10 is made partially or entirely of a plastic material, as is well known in the art of plastic card printing. In some embodiments, the concepts described herein may be applied to full-line printing on substrates other than plastic cards, including but not limited to passport pages and non-personalized substrates such as paper, labels, and the like.

The plastic card 10 includes a first surface 12 and a second surface 14 (visible in fig. 7) opposite the first surface 12. The first surface 12 may be considered a top surface of the plastic card 10 or a bottom surface of the plastic card 10. Likewise, the second surface 14 may be considered a bottom surface of the plastic card 10 or a top surface of the plastic card 10. For simplicity of illustration, the first surface 12 will be considered the top surface, while the second surface 14 will be considered the bottom surface.

In the top view of fig. 1, the plastic card 10 has a peripheral edge that includes a first end edge 16, a second end edge 18, a first longitudinal side edge 20, and a second longitudinal side edge 22. A length L is defined between the first and second end edges 16, 18 and a width W is defined between the first and second longitudinal side edges 20, 22. In one embodiment, the plastic card 10 may have a length L of about 85.60 millimeters and a width W of about 53.98 millimeters. However, other card lengths L and widths W are possible.

The first surface 12 may be printed with background graphics (not shown) and the card issuer's logo and name (not shown). In some embodiments, the first surface 12 may also be printed with various data (not shown) relating to the intended cardholder, such as, but not limited to, an image of the intended cardholder, the name of the intended cardholder, an account number, an expiration date for the card, and other print data known in the art of plastic cards. At least a portion of the printing on the first surface 12 is produced by DOD inkjet printing using an ink suitable for application to plastic cards. In one non-limiting embodiment, the ink applied by DOD inkjet printing is a radiation curable ink, such as an ink curable by Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In addition to DOD inkjet printing, other printing techniques may be used to apply printing to first surface 12, such as retransfer printing, laser marking, thermal transfer, and other printing techniques known in the art.

The second surface 14 may also be printed with background graphics (not shown); various data (not shown) relating to the intended cardholder such as, but not limited to, the intended cardholder's name, account number, card verification number, card expiration date, and other print data known in the plastic card art; contact information of the card issuer; as well as other data. At least a portion of the printing on the second surface 14 can be produced by DOD inkjet printing using the same type of ink or a different type of ink applied to the first surface 12. In addition to DOD inkjet printing, other printing techniques may be used to apply printing to the second surface 14, such as retransfer printing, laser marking, thermal transfer, and other printing techniques known in the art.

A portion of the printing that occurs on the first surface 12 or the second surface 14 can be performed by DOD inkjet printing using an ink (e.g., a uv curable ink). For ease of explanation, it will be assumed that the first surface 12 is the printing surface to which ink is to be applied. However, the second surface 14 may be a printing surface, or, after printing the first surface 12, the second surface 14 may be subsequently subjected to DOD inkjet printing and rendered a printing surface.

The card 10 may also have various other features. For example, as shown in fig. 1, the card 10 may be provided with an integrated circuit chip 26 that is accessible through the first surface 12 (or through the second surface 14), or the chip 26 may be completely embedded in the card 10. The card 10 may also include a magnetic stripe 28 (shown in phantom) on the second surface 14. The integrated circuit chip 26, which may be a contact chip or a contactless chip, may be electronically programmed with data and/or data may be electronically read from the chip using integrated circuit chip programming devices known in the art. Data may be magnetically written to and/or read from magnetic stripe 28 (if present) using suitable magnetic stripe read/write devices known in the art.

Assuming that the first surface 12 is a printing surface, a portion of the DOD inkjet printing may occur near one or more of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22, or, in the case of true full-width printing, the inkjet printing may occur near all of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22. However, when ink jet printing is performed near one of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22, a portion of the ink delivered from the DOD printhead may spill over the edge. The term "bleed" as used herein means that ink ejected from the DOD printhead does not fall onto the card surface. As discussed further below, the tray 30 is positioned below some or all of the edges of the card 10 to collect any ink spilled and prevent the spilled ink from contaminating non-contaminating structures of the DOD card printer, such as the card transport used to transport the card 10.

Figure 2 shows a portion of the DOD plastic card printer 32 described herein. The plastic card printer 32 is configured to perform DOD inkjet printing at a drop on demand printing station 34 that includes at least one drop on demand printhead. The printing by the card printer 32 may be monochromatic or multi-color. Fig. 2 shows that the printing station 34 includes five drop-on-demand printheads 36a-e, each printing a different color of ink or other material to be applied to the card surfaces 12, 14. The print heads 36a-e are arranged side-by-side to print onto the surfaces 12, 14 of the card 10 in sequence as the card 10 is transported past the print heads 36a-e (e.g., beneath the print heads 36 a-e). However, a fewer or greater number of printheads, including one of the printheads, may be used. Each printhead 36a-e is supplied with a respective ink from a respective ink or material supply 38 a-e.

The printheads 36a-e may print using any suitable ink or coating used in drop-on-demand printing and suitable for the type of cards described herein. For example, the ink may be an ultraviolet curable ink, a thermally curable ink that may be cured by applying heat to the thermally curable ink, or other ink or material that may be deposited by printheads 36 a-e. In the case of five printheads 36a-e of fig. 2, each printhead may print a particular color of ink. For example, printhead 36a may print cyan ink, printhead 36b may print magenta ink, printhead 36c may print yellow ink, printhead 36d may print black ink, and printhead 36e may print white ink. One example of a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer that prints using ultraviolet curable inks in a card printing system is the Persomaster card personalization system available from Atlantic Zeiser GmbH, germany. If printing on both sides 12, 14 of the card 10 is desired, a card flipper or card orientation adjustment mechanism (not shown) may be included to flip or rotate the card 10 180 degrees so that the surface 14 is now facing up and the surface 12 is facing down, and then return the card 10 upstream of the print heads 36a-e to print on the surface 14. Examples of card flippers are disclosed in U.S. application publication 2013/0220984 and U.S. patent 7,398,972, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In other embodiments, a card inverter may be provided behind which a second DOD plastic card printer, which may be the same as card printer 32, is disposed for printing on both sides of the card. This can eliminate the need to return the card 10 to the print head 36a-e of a single card printer upstream.

The specific construction and operation of printheads 36a-e is well known and may be the same as the construction and operation of DOD printheads known in the art. The print heads 36a-e each include a bottom surface that faces downwardly toward the card to be printed and on which is disposed a nozzle plate that ejects ink.

With continued reference to fig. 2, the card printer 32 also includes an input 40 through which the card 10 may enter the card printer 32 for printing on the card 10, and a card output 42 through which the card 10 may exit the card printer 32 after printing (or if printing does not occur). The input 40 and output 42 may take any form suitable for allowing cards to enter and exit the card printer 32, such as input and output slots. The card printer 32 also includes a card feed mechanism that feeds the card 10 from the input end 40 through the print station 34 and then to the output end 42. In some embodiments, the card feed mechanism may also feed the card 10 toward the input end 40. In the illustrated embodiment, the card transport mechanism has at least first and second independent card conveyors 44a, 44b (or first and second card transport devices 44a, 44b), each of which can receive a card 10 from the input end 40, support the card 10 as the card 10 is transported in the card printer 32 and during printing in the printing station 34, and ultimately transport the card 10 to the output end 42. Although the card feed mechanism is shown with two card feeds 44a, 44b, additional card feeds may be provided, or only one of the card feeds 44a, 44b may be provided.

Each card transport 44a, 44b may include a vacuum platen 46a, 46b (best seen in fig. 5). Each vacuum platen 46a, 46b is configured to apply a vacuum to the cards 10 disposed thereon much like a conventional vacuum belt to hold the cards 10 in place on the platens 46a, 46b during transport and during printing in the card printer 32. A pair of rails 48a, 48b (shown schematically in phantom in fig. 2) are provided, and the vacuum platen 46a is movably supported on the rails 48a, while the vacuum platen 46b is movably supported on the rails 48 b. Each card transport 44a, 44b forms a dual axis or X-Y axis transport system in which each vacuum platen 52 is actuatable along the X and Y axes, as indicated by the double arrows in fig. 2.

A common card pick-up position is defined adjacent the input end 40 and a common card ejection position is defined adjacent the output end 42. The common card pick up position and the common card eject position are positions in the card printer 32 that allow each of the vacuum platens 46a, 46b to respectively pick up a card input via the input 40 and transport the card to the output 42 to eject the card at the same position in the card printer 32 at different times. Thus, the term "common" in the common card pickup position and the common card ejection position means that the vacuum platens 46a, 46b may each occupy the same space in the card printer 32 at different times, and the card conveyors 44a, 44b are suitably designed to drive the vacuum platens 46a, 46b between the common card pickup position and the common card ejection position without the vacuum platens 46a, 46b interfering with each other. Further information regarding the construction and operation of card conveyors 44a, 44b is disclosed in U.S. application publication 2018/0326763 entitled "Dual card conveyor in card processing System," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Fig. 2 shows a card transport 44b and its vacuum platen 46b positioned below the print heads 36a-e, with a card (not shown) held in place by the vacuum platen for printing on the card. After printing is complete, card transport 44b may be driven to output 42 to output the printed card. Card feeder 44b would then be driven back to input 40 to pick up a new card to be printed. When this occurs, the card transport 44a and the vacuum platen on which the card 10 to be printed is supported will be driven into position under the printheads 36a-e to print on the card 10.

Referring to fig. 3-5, the tray 30 is designed to be removably mounted on the card conveyors 44a, 44b for movement with the card conveyors 44a, 44 b. The tray 30 may be made of plastic or other lightweight material to minimize the weight of the tray 30. In some embodiments, the tray 30 may also be disposable, whereby the tray 30 is intended to be disposed of at the end of its expected life. The term "removably mounted" or the like as used in the present specification and in the claims refers to the manner in which the tray 30 is secured to the card conveyors 44a, 44b in a manner that allows an operator of a DOD card printer to manually remove and mount the tray 30 with his/her fingers/hands without requiring the operator to loosen or tighten any mechanical fasteners.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3-5, the tray 30 has a main body 50 with a tab 52 protruding from one end of the main body 50. The tabs 52 are used to provide a means for a user to hold and retain the tray 30 during removal and installation of the tray 30. The tray 30 includes an ink collection channel 54 for collecting ink spilled. The channel 54 is defined by an outer wall 56, an inner wall 58 spaced from the outer wall 56, and a bottom wall 60 interconnecting the outer wall 56 and the inner wall 58. In some embodiments, a blotter pad 62 may be disposed in the channel 54, the blotter pad 62 being configured to absorb ink spilled over, rather than ink loosely in the channel 54. The blotter pad 62 may be disposed of with the tray 30. In some embodiments, the tray 30 is not disposable, and the pad 62 may be disposable and replaced with a new pad 62 inserted into the same tray 30, whereby the tray 30 may be reused at least once, rather than being disposable with the pad 62.

The tray 30 includes a central opening 64 defined by the inner wall 58. The central opening 64 allows the vacuum platens 46a, 46b to pass through the tray 30 to engage the card 10. As shown in fig. 7, when the tray 30 is properly mounted on the card conveyors 44a, 44b, the upper ends of the vacuum platens 46a, 46b project above the top edge of the inner wall 58 of the tray 30 so that the card 10 is supported on the vacuum platens 46a, 46b at a distance from the upper edge of the inner wall 58 so that the card 10 is not in direct physical contact with the tray 30.

The tray 30 may have any configuration that allows the tray 30 to be removably mounted on the card conveyors 44a, 44b, allows the vacuum platens 46a, 46b to engage the cards 10, and allows the tray 30 to collect spilled ink. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 3-5, the body 50 is generally rectangular, the ink collection channel 54 is generally rectangular, and the central opening 64 is generally rectangular. However, other shapes, such as square, circular, triangular, etc., may also be used.

Tray 30 also includes means for removably securing tray 30 to card feed 44a, 44b, thereby allowing a user to remove and install tray 30 by grasping tab 52. In the example shown in fig. 3-5, the means for removably securing includes a plurality of bosses 66 disposed and configured on the body 50 to engage corresponding sockets 68 on the card feed 44a, 44b (only one socket 68 is visible in fig. 5). The boss 66 may be located anywhere on the body 50 to achieve the removable securing function. For example, the boss 66 may project downwardly from the bottom wall 60.

If it is desired to additionally secure tray 30 to card feeds 44a, 44b, each boss 66 may be provided with a magnet 70 at its bottom, which magnet 70 magnetically interfaces with a corresponding magnet (not shown) within socket 68 to magnetically secure tray 30 to card feeds 44a, 44 b.

With continued reference to fig. 3-4, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag 72 may be secured to the tray 30, for example, to the bottom side of the tab 52. The RFID tag 72 allows various data to be stored thereon, and serves as a means for sensing the presence of the tray 30 by a suitable RFID tag reader/writer (not shown) to determine whether the tray 30 is mounted on the card conveyors 44a, 44b before starting a printing operation in which ink spillage may occur. One or more magnets 70 (if used) may also be sensed by a suitable detection device to detect the presence of the tray 30 prior to initiating a printing operation in which ink spillage may occur. Other means for sensing the tray may also be used, such as a proximity sensor or photocell.

The RFID tag 72 may store data thereon and allow data to be read from the RFID tag 72 and/or written to the RFID tag 72. Examples of data that may be stored on the RFID tag 72 include, but are not limited to, the number of plastic cards that are printed in full width with the tray 30 in place, an estimated amount of ink absorbed by the blotter 62 of the tray 30, and the date the tray 30 is mounted on the card conveyors 44a, 44 b. The amount of ink absorbed by the pad 62 can be estimated by estimating the amount of spilled ink that will occur during each full print job on each plastic card 10. In some embodiments, if the RFID tag reader/writer does not detect the RFID tag 72, the system may prevent the card printer 32 from printing at full width, although the system may allow for non-full printing where ink spillage does not occur.

Fig. 6 shows the relative positioning of the card 10 and the tray 30 when the card 10 is in place on the card transport. Vacuum platens 46a, 46b are shown in phantom. The card 10 is positioned so that the edges 16, 18, 20, 22 are directly above the channel 54 of the tray 30. Another way of describing the positioning between the card 10 and the tray 30 is that the tray 30 is positioned below the card 10 and the tray 30 projects beyond at least one edge (preferably all edges 16, 18, 20, 22) of the card so that the edges 16, 18, 20, 22 are aligned with the channels 54. Accordingly, in the top view of fig. 6, there is a gap X between each edge 16, 18, 20, 22 and the outer wall 56. The gap X may be the same for each of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22, or the gap X may be different for one or more of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22.

Due to the positioning between the card 10 and the tray 30, ink that spills from any of the edges 16, 18, 20, 22 of the card 10 may fall into the channel 54 and be absorbed by the pad 62. After printing a plurality of cards, the user can lift the tray 30 from the card transport by grasping the tab 52. The tray 30 may then be disposed of or cleaned for reuse. If the tray is discarded, a new tray 30 can be installed on the card feeder to continue printing new cards.

The card printer 32 may be used as a stand-alone printer or may be used with other systems in a plastic card processing system. Fig. 8 schematically illustrates one embodiment of a plastic card processing system 100 in which the card printer 32 described herein may be implemented. The system 100 is configured as a central distribution system having a plurality of processing stations or modules. One example of a central distribution system is the MX or MPR series of central distribution systems available from Entrust Datacard Corporation of Shakopeee, Minnesota, USA. Further examples of centrally distributed systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,825,054, 5,266,781, 6,783,067, and 6,902,107, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In another embodiment, the card printer 32 may be used in a desktop card processing system. An example of a desktop plastic card processing system is the CD800 card printer available from Entrust Datacard Corporation of Shakopee, Minnesota, USA. Other examples of desktop card processing systems are disclosed in U.S. patent nos. 7,434,728 and 7,398,972, both incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The system 100 shown in fig. 8 includes a DOD plastic card printer 32 and an optional curing station 102, for example, an ultraviolet curing station if the printer 32 prints ultraviolet curable ink. System 100 may also include a card input device 104, one or more optional additional card processing stations 106 between card input device 104 and card printer 32, and one or more optional additional card processing stations 108 between card printer 32 and card output device 110. Each plastic card 10 passes through the system 100 generally in the direction of arrow a.

The curing station 102 (if present) is configured to cure the radiation curable ink applied to the card surface. One example of a curing station that applies ultraviolet radiation in a card printing system is the Persomaster card personalization system available from Atlantic Zeiser GmbH, Emmin, Germany.

The card input device 104 is configured to hold a plurality of plastic cards awaiting processing. Cards are fed one by one from the card input device 104 into the rest of the system 100 where each card is printed and processed individually. The processed plastic cards are ultimately transported to a card output device 110 configured to hold a plurality of printed plastic cards.

An optional additional card processing station 106 may be located between the card input device 104 and the card printer 32. Optional additional card processing stations 108 may be located between card printer 32 and card output device 110. Optional additional card processing stations 106, 108 may be plastic card processing stations known in the art for performing plastic card processing operations known in the art. For example, optional additional card processing stations may include a magnetic stripe read/write system configured to read data from magnetic stripe 28 and/or write data to magnetic stripe 28, and/or an integrated circuit chip programming system configured to program integrated circuit chip 26. Magnetic stripe read/write systems and integrated circuit chip programming systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. patent 6902107 and U.S. patent 6695205, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, and may be found in the MX series central distribution system manufactured by Entrust data Corporation of shakopeee, minnesota. The optional additional card processing stations 106, 108 may also be configured to perform one or more of embossing, laminating, laser marking, and finishing; as a quality control station for checking the quality of the personalization/treatment applied to the card; as a security station for applying a security feature (e.g. a holographic foil) to a card; as well as performing other card processing operations.

In addition to the card feed mechanism used in the card printer 32, the transport of the plastic cards 10 in other parts of the system 100 may be performed using conventional card feed mechanisms known in the art. Examples of card transport mechanisms that may be used are known in the art and include, but are not limited to, transport rollers, transport belts (with and/or without tabs), vacuum transport mechanisms, transport carts, and the like, and combinations thereof. Card transport mechanisms are well known in the art and include those disclosed in U.S. patents 6902107, 5837991, 6131817 and 4995501 and U.S. published application 2007/0187870, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand the types of card feed mechanisms that may be used and the configuration and operation of these card feed mechanisms.

The disclosed examples are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.