Entrust Sigma DS1 ID Card Printer, Single Sided

The Entrust Sigma DS1 is best suited to low-to-medium volume users printing up to around 3,000 cards per year. It is a good fit for offices, schools, clubs and organisations that need secure, reliable in-house ID card printing without moving into high-volume production.

If you are new to card printing, start by thinking about how many cards you expect to print each year, whether you need single-sided or double-sided printing, and whether you need any encoding features. You can also take our printer quiz or read our guide on what to consider before buying an ID card printer.

Yes. The Entrust Sigma DS1 includes starter ID card software, giving you the basics needed to design and print simple cards. If you are not sure what card software does, our guide explains what ID card software is and why you need it.

Yes, but it is a manual process. The Entrust Sigma DS1 is a single-sided printer, so it prints one side of the card automatically. You can still print on both sides manually by printing one side, flipping the card, then reinserting it into the printer and printing the reverse. For a fuller explanation, read our guide on printing double-sided cards on a single-sided printer.

Yes. The Entrust Sigma DS1 is a direct-to-card printer, which means it prints directly onto the surface of the card. This is a good option for everyday staff ID cards, visitor passes and membership cards. If you are comparing print technologies, our guide explains direct-to-card vs retransfer ID card printers.

The ribbon you need depends on whether you are printing in full colour or single colour. For full-colour cards, you will usually need a colour ribbon such as YMCKT. For simple black text, numbering or barcodes, a monochrome ribbon may be more cost-effective. If the ribbon letters feel confusing, our guide explains what ID card printer ribbon letters mean.

The Entrust Sigma DS1 is designed for standard plastic ID cards, usually CR80 credit-card size. If you are printing on access control, RFID or smart cards, check the card thickness and print area before ordering. For raised chip areas or expensive technology cards, a retransfer printer may be a better option.

The best ID card printer depends on what you need it to do. A small office printing a few hundred cards a year will need something very different from a university, gym chain or access control provider printing thousands. The easiest way to choose is to compare your volume, print quality needs, card type, software requirements and budget.

Take the price of the printer ribbon and divide it by the number of prints it provides. Then add the cost of a blank card. This gives you a simple per-card running cost, which is often more useful than looking at the printer price alone.

It is sometimes possible, but you need to avoid printing over raised chip areas or uneven parts of the card. For expensive access control or RFID cards, a retransfer printer is often the safer option because the printhead does not come into direct contact with the card surface.

ID card printers can be used for more than staff ID cards. Common uses include visitor passes, membership cards, car park permits, training certificates, event badges, discount cards and information cards. They are useful anywhere you need durable, credit-card sized printed cards in-house.