The Badgy 200 printer is what we recommend for printing ID cards on-site via PhotoMatch
What is the Badgy 200?
It's a single sided thermal ID card printer made by Evolis, that prints on 3.37x2.12 inch pvc cards. Cards can be printed in horizontal or vertical orientation. You can print on *punched or non-punched cards.
Where can I buy the Badgy 200 Printer?
The Evolis Badgy 200 is available from multiple vendors, including Amazon.
What do I need to buy?
Aside from the printer, you need to purchase enough cards and ribbon to print for each student/staff that needs an ID Card and expect to have some extras or reprints. You can print on punched or non-punched cards.
*Note: Because it's a thermal printer, if you choose to print on punched cards you need to make sure your card design has no color where the hole is located on the card, otherwise you can damage or jam your printer when it tries to "print" where there is a hole.
How many printers do I need?
Each photographer will need a printer and we recommend at least 1 backup printer and supplies.
How long does it take to print an ID Card?
From the time you click "Print" to the time it exits the printer, takes between 45-60 seconds. So you need to factor that time into the schedule by adding at least 1 minute per student so you don't get behind.
Example: You need to photograph and print ID cards for 500 students
If you normally take 1 minute per student, you now need to calculate 2 minutes per student.
If you need to finish photographing by noon and you start at 8am that is 4 hours of photo time.
You have 500 students x 2 minutes = 1000 minutes or 16.6 hours
So you'll need to divide 16.6 hours of shooting time by the 4 hours you have to shoot to determine how many photographers you will need.
16.6 divided by 4 = 4.16 photographers, so to be safe, you should schedule 5 photographers (once you are practiced, you could probably do it with 4 photographers)
How do I setup my printers?
We recommend that printers be paired with your PhotoMatch tablets, that way you know the tablet will recognize the printer. That means the same printer and tablet are used together each time.
NOTE: You will NOT install the printer software that came with the printer. You will not need this software as you'll be using COREPrint to create the ID Cards and PhotoMatch to print them.
- Log into your tablet and connect the printer, while printer is not powered on (we recommend connecting via the same USB hub you'll use at the event).
- Make sure you have ribbon in the printer and the top is closed
- Power on the printer
- Your tablet should automatically recognize the print and install any necessary drivers
- Open Printers & Scanners on your tablet and see if you see the Badgy 200
- If you don't see the printer, you may have to install the driver by clicking here
- After the driver is installed, go back to Printers & Scanners and see if you find the Badgy 200
How do I print via PhotoMatch?
Click here for the detailed how-to