Field-Upgradeable Lamination Modules Now Available For Fargo Electronics HDP820-LC and DTC525-LC Professional Series Card Printer/Encoders

Business Wire, Nov 5, 2002

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

CARTES 2002

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2002

Fargo Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:FRGO), the world's leader in innovative technologies for desktop plastic card personalization systems, today announced that field-upgradeable lamination modules for the HDP820-LC and DTC525-LC Professional Series Card Printer/Encoders are now available. The announcement came at CARTES 2002 (Stand 3J035), the leading European trade show and conference for smart cards and advanced security technology, here at the Paris Nord Villepinte. CARTES 2002 will focus on secure access, data networks and, in particular, biometrics applications.

Based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Fargo card printer/encoders create personalized plastic identification cards complete with digital images and text, lamination, and electronically encoded information.

"These additions to our product line are important to the ID card personalization business," said Gary R. Holland, Fargo's President and Chief Executive Officer, "because they will allow two of Fargo's most popular and highly-featured printer/encoders to be upgraded with the addition of a lamination module in the field at a later date. The ability to expand printer capabilities in the future is a great insurance policy against obsolescence."

"From now on, when an end user with a Fargo HDP820 or DTC525 wants to upgrade security and durability by applying an overlaminate to their cards, there is no need to dispose of their current printer," Holland continued. "After a call to their authorized Fargo Solution Provider, a lamination module will be readily available and easy to install. By allowing end users and system integrators to quickly (under half an hour) upgrade these printer/encoders with lamination capabilities, Fargo again proves its innovative leadership.

"In addition, the modular features of the new printer/encoders and laminators will allow our resellers to stock fewer printer models, yet offer their customers more options," Holland said.

Featuring a new, enhanced lamination engine, the Fargo Card Lamination Module applies overlaminate to the front and/or back of virtually any card, all in the same pass as printing and encoding. The module has dedicated controls for easier direct lamination control, a Reject Card Hopper that separates miscoded and misprinted cards, and a card lamination flattener to reduce card bowing.

Fargo's HDP820 is the ultimate solution for high-end and critical security card applications. Using Fargo's High Definition Printing(TM) (HDP(R)) technology, the HDP820 produces outstanding print quality, edge-to-edge, on CR-80, CR-90 and CR-100 cards. It also prints on cards that are extra thick or have irregular surfaces, such as clamshell proximity cards or smart cards. The HDP820 accommodates Fargo's E-Card Docking Station, which permits it to read or encode contact smart cards, contactless smart cards, proximity cards and mag stripe cards.

The DTC525 prints edge-to-edge on standard CR-80 cards, and its patented dual input hopper design holds 200 of the same card or 100 of two different cards. The DTC525 also accommodates Fargo's E-Card Docking Station, which permits it to read or encode contact smart cards, contactless smart cards, proximity cards and mag stripe cards. A SmartScreen(TM) LCD Control Panel, SmartGuard(TM) Printer Security access control, and Lockable Card Hopper are also features of the DTC525.

Fargo's patented PolyGuard(TM) Overlaminates provide up to 25 times more protection from abrasion, color fading and dye-migration than standard protective overlays, and compatible with either of the lamination modules, or in Fargo's Pro-LX and Pro-L printer/encoders. A polyester "patch," is applied over a printed card in the lamination station. It not only makes card designs tamper-resistant, but it also protects printed cards from abrasion and fading. It is available in a 0.6 mil and a 1.0 mil version. For the utmost in laminated card security, choose from clear, generic or custom holographic PolyGuard Overlaminates.

A generic Holographic Globe PolyGuard, with a globe image and the word "SECURE" in microtext, offers an added level of security by making end user's cards more unique. For the ultimate in card security, Fargo offers custom holographic overlaminates to help protect against the threat of counterfeiting, and make an end user's entire ID system and facility more secure. Creating a unique hologram takes a great deal of skill, time and very costly precision equipment. Embossing the hologram on clear overlaminate material adds another step to the process. To make the equation even trickier, multiple security features can be added to a hologram, such as microtext, UV printing and precision repeats.

Fargo's SmartShield(TM) security feature allows end users to automatically print a custom transparent security image - a logo, symbol or text - directly onto their cards using the clear overlay panel of a standard print ribbon. (Not available on the HDP820 or HDP820-LC.) Once printed, this image appears only when the card is viewed under ultraviolet (black) lighting or when viewed at an angle under normal lighting. These unique security images enhance the security of every card end users produce and helps protect them from counterfeiting.