Entrust Sigma DS2 ID Card Printer, Single Sided

The Entrust Sigma DS2 is best suited to medium-to-high volume users printing around 5,000 to 10,000 cards per year. It is a good fit for organisations that need secure, reliable ID card printing with faster output, Ethernet connectivity and room to scale with add-ons.

Start by thinking about your yearly print volume, whether you need single-sided or double-sided printing, your card type, and whether you need encoding features now or later. 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 DS2 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. The Entrust Sigma DS2 can support optional add-ons such as magnetic stripe encoding, smart card encoding and Wi-Fi connectivity. This makes it a useful choice if your card printing needs may grow or become more technical over time.

Yes, but this model is a single-sided printer, so printing both sides is a manual process. You would print one side, flip the card, then reinsert it into the printer and print the reverse. For a fuller explanation, read our guide on printing double-sided cards on a single-sided printer.

Yes. The Entrust Sigma DS2 is a direct-to-card printer, which means it prints directly onto the surface of the card. This is a good option for staff ID cards, visitor passes, membership cards and general card issuance. 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 DS2 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 Entrust Sigma DS2 can print up to 225 full-colour cards per hour and up to 880 monochrome cards per hour, making it a strong option for organisations with regular or higher-volume card issuance.

The Entrust Sigma DS2 is designed for higher output than the DS1. It offers faster print speeds, Ethernet connectivity and a reject hopper, making it better suited to organisations printing more regularly. If your print volume is lower, the DS1 may be enough. If you need faster, more connected printing, the DS2 is usually the better fit.

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.