Fargo Printer Questions and Answers

Check out the questions below for information about Fargo printers questions.
If you can't find help there, e-mail support@oaktreedata.com.

Question:  The printer doesn't seem to work at all.

Answer:  Make sure that the power cord is plugged in securely on both ends and that the printer is ON. Confirm power is applied by pressing the on/off button or the Power button . Also, be sure the printer is ready. Both the LEDs should be illuminated, or the LCD panel will show "Ready" when the printer is ready to print. Make certain that the printer cable is securely connected. An error message in the software application telling you that the printer is not responding is often due to a missing or defective interface cable.

Question:  The printer seems to skip ribbon panels, print ribbon panels out the usual YMCK order (resulting in strangely colored output), or simply wind the ribbon.

Answer:  Check that the proper ribbon type is installed according to the ribbon type option selected in the printer driver. Calibrate the Ribbon Sensor

Question:  The card or ribbon is jammed.

Answer:  If your dye-sublimation ribbon is sticking to the card, check to see that you are using blank cards with a polished PVC finish. A card with a dull or sticky finish can cause the ribbon to stick to its surface causing the ribbon to jam or even break.

If you are using an acceptable video imaging card stock and the ribbon is still consistently being jammed down into the drive roller, you may need to reposition the Headlift Assembly of the Printhead. To do this, close the printer's Top Cover. With the printer powered ON, push down both control panel buttons at the same time. You should then hear the Headlift Assembly rotate and realign itself. Review the proper procedures for clearing ribbon jams and card jams in your User Manual.

Question:  A card jammed in my printer. I removed the card and pressed resume, but it still says card jam.

Answer:  Restart the printer. The printer assumes that the card is still there.

Question:  Why do I have little white lines or specks on my cards after I print them?

Answer:  Sounds like its time to clean your printer. Most likely due to dust inside the printer. Clean the inside of the printer.

May also be caused by dust or embedded contaminants on the card. Be sure the cards you are using are clean and stored in a dust free environment. Some cards have embedded contaminants in their surface and should not be used.

May also be caused by a dirty Cleaning Roller or Feed Rollers. Clean these rollers.

Look in your printer manual for cleaning instructions. If you do not already have a Fargo® brand cleaning kit for your printer, go check them out at our online store by clicking here!

Question:  My prints have a thin line or scratch traveling the entire card length.

Answer:  There may be dust on the Printhead. Clean the Printhead.

There may be dust on the Cleaning Roller or Feed Rollers. Clean these rollers.

Your blank cards may have scratches on them. Check your card stock and replace if necessary.

There may be a scratch or a burned out element in the Printhead. Contact your authorized reseller for assistance.

Question:  My printed cards have off-colored lines or steaks in them.

Answer:  The print intensity may be set too high for your image, causing the print ribbon to stretch and wrinkle. Reduce the Dye-Sub Intensity setting within the Image Color tab of the printer driver by moving the value 5-10% down.

This may also be caused by an improper internal printer setting. Check the Image Darkness value, and verify it matches the factory default value given on the settings label on the printer's rear or bottom panel.

Question:  After my card prints, the printer expells another blank card

Answer:  This means that you have a one sided printer but your software is configured for duplex printing. Check the FAQ page for Asure ID or ID Magic for more information.

Question:  My card is printing on two cards, the front on one card and the back on another, what do I do?

Answer:  If you have a single sided printer you will have to print two sided cards one side at a time. If you have a two sided printer, make sure that the driver is set to print both sides (Duplex). See your printer manual for instructions on how to make changes to the driver.

Question:  Two or more cards feed at the same time, or the cards won't feed at all.

Answer:  Be sure the cards are inserted all the way into the Card Input Hopper and that you haven't inserted more than the recommended number of cards in the hopper.

Be sure the cards you are using are not sticking together. Manually separate the cards if you suspect they are sticking to one another. If separating cards, remember not to touch the surface of the card where you intend to print, since dirt or oil from your hands will impair print quality.

Are you attempting to feed thicker or thinner cards? Remember, some printers only accept standard CR-80 sized cards with a thickness of 20-30 mil (.020" - .030" / .5mm - .76mm). If printing with 20 mil CR-79 adhesive backed cards, you may need to adjust the Card Separator. Check your User Manual for instructions.

The Card Feed Rollers are extremely dirty. Clean these rollers.

Question:  Before every card my printer says "Wrong Ribbon Error".

Answer:  This means that your driver is not configured for the ribbon in your printer. You must change the ribbon type in the driver. You can find out what kind of ribbon you are using by looking on the packaging, it will be either YMCKO, YMCKOK, or Resin. See your printer manual for instructions on how to make changes to the driver.

If this error persists after you reset the driver, then the printer needs to have the ribbon sensor either recalibrated or replaced. Check your printer manual for instructions on how to recalibrate, or contact us for repairs.

Question:  The print ribbon has torn or broken.

Answer:  If your dye-sublimation ribbon is sticking to the card, check to see that you are using blank cards with a polished PVC finish. A card with a dull or sticky finish can cause the ribbon to stick to its surface causing the ribbon to jam or even break. Review the proper procedures for clearing ribbon jams and card jams.

If you are using an acceptable video imaging card stock and the ribbon is still consistently being jammed down into the drive roller, you may need to reposition the Headlift Assembly of the Printhead. To do this, simply open the printer's Top Cover. With the printer powered ON, push down both control panel buttons at the same time. You should then hear the Headlift Assembly rotate and realign itself.

The print intensity may be set too high for your image, causing the print ribbon to stretch and tear. Reduce the Dye-Sub Intensity setting within the Image Color tab of the printer driver by moving the slider 5-10% to the left. May also be caused by an improper internal printer setting. Check the Image Darkness value and the Image Placement value, and verify these match the factory default values given on the settings label on the printer's rear or bottom panel. Sometimes, if the Image Darkness is set too dark or if the Image Placement is set too close to the card's leading edge, this can result in ribbon breakage.

Question:  My ribbon broke! Do I need to buy another one?

Answer:  No. The ribbon can be easily repaired so that you can continue to use it. Just scotch tape it back together neatly. If the ribbon continues to break, it may indicate a larger problem; check the question above or contact tech support.

Question:  The magnetic stripe is on the wrong part of the card and/or is not encoding, what's wrong?

Answer:  Make sure that your cards have the magnetic stipe facing down and towards the back of the printer.

Question:   I am trying to print using a solid resin ribbon in my DTC printer, and I keep getting a "No Ribbon Installed" error. I can see the ribbon is there, why can't my printer?

Answer:   Printers needs sensors to tell them what ribbons are installed. For the DTC 500 series, optical sensors read the spaces between color panels to determine what kind of color ribbon is present. Resin ribbons use a radio chip in the tube of the feed spool of ribbon to tell the printer a resin ribbon is installed. The printer uses a very low power radio signal to bounce off the chip--so low in power that if it is too far away from the sensor in the hub, it won't work!
When this problem shows up, check out the ribbon spool at the right side of the printer. There should be a plug in the spool, near the large hub of the printer. If it isn't there, or isn't close to the end of the spool, push the plug down or take a plug from another. used ribbon of this type and stick it in the spool. This should fix this kind of error, unless the tiny transmitter in the printer has gone bad. In that case, contact an authorized Fargo service center (like us!) for repairs.