The Entrust Artista® CR805 retransfer printer gives card issuers a way to produce photo-quality credentials in-house, on demand, without sending work to a service bureau. Its 600 dpi pigment ink retransfer process prints over the edge of the card, so ID badges, government documents and access credentials come off the printer with full-bleed colour, sharp fine text and scannable 1D and 2D barcodes — every time.
Photo-quality cards that stay readable for years
Retransfer printing applies the image to a clear film first, then bonds the film to the card. That means no white border, clean printing over embedded chips and antennas, and consistent results on technology cards that direct-to-card printers struggle with. Pigment ink resists UV fading, so cardholder photos and organizational branding still look right at the end of a multi-year credential cycle.
- 600 dpi resolution — renders microtext, OCR characters and dense 2D barcodes reliably
- Over-the-edge printing — full-bleed card designs with no unprinted margin
- Pigment ink — lifelike skin tones for stronger card-to-cardholder verification
- Single or dual-sided — up to 110 cards per hour simplex, up to 65 cards per hour duplex
Simplex or duplex — choose the configuration you need
The Artista CR805 is available in a single-sided (simplex) or double-sided (duplex) configuration. Choose simplex where the card back carries only a magnetic stripe or pre-printed policy text; choose duplex where both sides need full-colour personalization, such as student cards, transit passes and government-issued identification.
Security built into the printer, not bolted on
Because a card printer sits on your network and handles cardholder data, the CR805 includes protections at the device level as well as on the card itself.
- UV printing — adds a covert security element to the card design
- Secure Boot and TPM — verifies printer firmware integrity at startup
- IEEE 802.1x with RADIUS — supports Zero Trust network requirements
Encoding and finishing options
Configure the CR805 around your credential program rather than the other way around. Available options include:
- Magnetic stripe encoding — ISO/IAT and JIS standards
- Smart card encoding — contact and contactless (ISO 7816, ISO 14443, MIFARE, FeliCa), plus HID iCLASS
- Inline lamination module — adds tamper resistance and extends card life
- Tactile Impression Module (TIM) — applies a raised, tamper-evident impression for high-security documents
- Multi-hopper — six 125-card compartments for multi-card-stock programs
- Wi-Fi module — 802.11g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- 125-card output hopper — upgrade from the standard 25-card output
Supplies you will need
The CR805 runs a two-part supply set: a colour ribbon and a clear retransfer film. Primerless CMYK ribbons yield up to 1,000 single-sided images (500 dual-sided), and clear retransfer film yields up to 1,000 images. Plan supply orders around your annual card volume so issuance never stops mid-run.
Who the Artista CR805 is built for
- National, provincial and municipal government ID programs
- Colleges, universities and school boards issuing student and staff cards
- Enterprise employee badging and physical access control
- Any program printing on smart cards, contactless cards or non-PVC card stock
Ahearn & Soper Inc. is an authorized Entrust supplier serving customers across Canada and the United States, with product selection, configuration and after-sale support from our team.
Shop compatible ID card printing supplies, retransfer film and blank cards, or browse our full range of ID card printers. Need help choosing between simplex and duplex or specifying an encoder? Contact our team and we will spec it with you.
