Entrust Corporation

Entrust Datacard Corporation

Jon Wawra

Cory D Wooldridge

Brendan Hinnenkamp

Daniel Sarkinen

Randy Jordan

Tim Flitsch

Timothy J Flitsch

Andrew Luu

Thomas J Wagener

Benjamin H Sannel

Milo B Squires

Kyle Johnson

Lex Prenevost

Alex Zaborowski

Norbert Kill

Wade Kragtorp

Brian O'Dell

Utpal Vaidya

Stu Bodmer

Marco Freudenberger

Matt Odden

Kevin Bontrager

Bob Steinbrueck

Brett McDonough

Cory Wooldridge

A plastic card personalization system with a drop-on-demand plastic card print station that prints radiation curable material, a plasma treatment station, and a radiation curing station. By using a combination of controlling plasma treatment conditions on the surface of the plastic card prior to DOD printing together with controlling the dwell time of the printed material applied to the plastic card prior to full curing of the printed material, a surprising and unexpected improvement of the adhesion of the printed material to the plastic card is achieved.

Drop-on-demand identification document printing with improved print adhesion

A drop-on-demand plastic card printer includes a tray disposed underneath the plastic card during drop-on-demand printing to catch any overspray that may occur during printing on the plastic card. The tray may be disposable so that the tray is intended to be removed and disposed of. An ink absorbent pad can be disposed in the tray to absorb the oversprayed ink. The ink absorbent pad can be disposed of along with the tray or disposed of separately from the tray.

Drop-on-demand card printer with ink tray

A DOD print station has at least one DOD print head that applies radiation curable material, to a surface of an identification document. A curing station is adjacent to the DOD print station. The curing station includes at least one radiation emitting device, for example a UV light emitting device, that cures the radiation curable material applied to the surface. The curing station is configured to prevent stray radiation emitted from the radiation emitting device from impinging on the DOD print head(s) and prevent exposure to the operator of the DOD print station.

Cure lamp shutter

Techniques are described herein for reducing bowing effects on a substrate while the substrate is being transported, for example in an elevator mechanism, from a first travel path to a second travel path, where the first travel path is offset from the second travel path so that the first travel path is not collinear with the second travel path. The substrate can be any substrate that is bowed and for which one wishes to eliminate or reduce the bow. One specific substrate that can benefit from the techniques described herein are personalized documents such as plastic cards including but not limited to financial (e.g. credit and debit) cards, drivers' licenses, national identification cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, employee badges, and other plastic cards which bear personalized data unique to the card holder and/or which bear other card or document information.

Elevator with debowing mechanism

Maintenance routines that can be used to maintain the operability of one or more DOD print heads in a card processing system. The maintenance routines can include, but are not limited to: a cover routine where a cover or cap is selectively and automatically located over the print head(s) to protect the print head(s); a shake pulse routine that energizes the nozzles of the print head(s) without causing an ejection of ink; a spit routine where the nozzles of the print head(s) are energized to eject one or more drops of ink; and a purge routine where the nozzles are not electrically energized but the pressure holding the ink in the nozzles of the print head(s) is reversed to push ink out of the nozzles.

Card processing system with drop-on-demand print head automated maintenance routines

Systems and methods where a delay time between a first card processing mechanism, such as a drop-on-demand printer that prints with UV curable ink, and a second card processing mechanism, such as a UV curing station, can be altered to adjust the travel time of the card from the first card processing mechanism to the second card processing mechanism. First and second card buffers can be provided between the first card processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism. Each of the first and second card buffers is independently logically controlled to permit independent control of the transport time of a card through each card buffer. Alternatively, a single card buffer or more than two card buffers can be provided between the first card processing mechanism and the second card processing mechanism.

Card processing system with adaptable card transport delay

A single plasma nozzle of a plasma treatment station is used to treat the card surface prior to performing drop-on-demand printing on the card surface. The single plasma nozzle has a plasma discharge width that is less than the width of the card. The card and the plasma nozzle are moved relative to one another using a two direction control scheme during plasma treatment in order to be able to plasma treat a desired area of the card surface. The card and the plasma nozzle may also be moveable toward or away from one another to change the distance therebetween.

Drop-on-demand identification document printing with surface pre-treatment

A card processing system that includes a card transport mechanism having at least first and second separate card transports that separately transport first and second cards in the card processing system. Each of the first and second card transports can be actuated between a common card pick-up location and common card discharge position. At least one card processing mechanism that can perform a card processing operation is located between the common card pick-up location and the common card discharge location, with each of the first and second card transports transporting respective cards to the card processing mechanism to perform the card processing operation and transporting the cards from the card processing mechanism after processing.

Dual card transport in a card processing system

A label printer mechanism that is configured to produce and affix custom printed customer engagement labels to personalized plastic cards and other substrates. The custom printed customer engagement labels can be used for a number of purposes including, but not limited to, instructions to the intended recipients of personalized plastic cards for activation of the personalized plastic cards, marketing of products and/or services to the recipients, and combinations of activation and marketing.

Label module for printing custom customer engagement labels

Growing community of inventors

Shakopee, MN, United States of America

Jon Wawra