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Head to Head: IDP Smart vs Magicard ID Card Printers

idp vs magicard: which is the best id card printer?

IDP and Magicard are our top 2 leading ID card printer manufacturers, with both selling a range of machines with different features.

In this blog post, we’re comparing the best ID card printers from both IDP and Magicard, to help you decide which is best for you. Let’s begin.


Entry Level Printers: IDP Smart 21 vs Magicard Pronto100

IDP Smart 21 and Magicard Pronto100 entry level ID card printers

The IDP Smart 21 and Magicard Pronto100 are both entry level ID card printers, great for beginners or small businesses new to ID card printing.

The Smart 21 printer is slightly cheaper than the Pronto100, however the Pronto100 has slightly faster print speeds.

IDP Smart 21 ID card printer vs Magicard Pronto100 ID card printer

Both ID card printers are popular among small businesses printing low volumes of photo ID cards.

We recommend: the Smart 21 if your top priority is affordability and the Pronto100 if you’re looking for a printer with more security options.


Mid-Level Printers: IDP Smart 31 vs Magicard 300

IDP Smart 31 and Magicard 300 mid range ID card printers

The IDP Smart 31 and Magicard 300 card printers are both mid-level printers, suited to SME organisations.

Both printers have similar print speeds, but the 31 can deliver a higher quality print when it comes to monochrome. Alternatively, the 300 offers more security features.

IDP Smart 31 ID card printer vs Magicard 300 ID card printer

Both ID card printers are great options for printing high quality, instant photo ID cards.

We recommend: the Smart 31 if you need to print ultra-high definition black text, lines and barcodes and the Magicard 300 if you need to print clone-proof cards.


Professional Level Printers: IDP Smart 51 vs Magicard 600

IDP Smart 51 and Magicard 600 professional ID card printers

The IDP Smart 51 and Magicard 600 printers are the professional level options.

Both printers offer similar print quality and speeds, however the Smart 51 is slightly cheaper and, just like the Smart 31, offers an unrivalled 5 year warranty. On the other hand, the Magicard 600 printer offers more security features, ensuring ribbon data is protected and regularly runs security scans to ensure complete privacy protection.

IDP Smart 51 ID card printer vs Magicard 600 ID card printer

Both ID printers are easy to use, reliable and deliver outstanding results. As professional-level ID card printers, these 2 machines offer the most features out of all the products mentioned.

We recommend: the Smart 51 if your top priority is affordability and the Magicard 600 if you need a highly secure, easy-to-use machine that supports WiFi connectivity.


But wait, there’s more…

Magicard also offer a retransfer ID card printer: the Magicard Ultima machine. The Ultima is one of our best-selling retransfer printers, ideal for printing onto access control cards and contactless cards with a raised chip.

While IDP don’t sell a retransfer printer, they do offer a high security Smart 51 secure GDPR printer model which comes with various features that take security to the next level and enhance data protection laws.

Now that we’ve compared the best printers from both manufacturers, there’s just one thing left…


IDP Smart vs Magicard: Which is right for you?

IDP vs Magicard

IDP Smart vs Magicard: which one wins? Both printer manufacturers allow users to easily create high-quality ID cards with their impressive machines. IDP and Magicard each have their own selection of ID card printers for all levels of card printing: entry, mid and professional level.

When it comes to price, IDP offers more affordable machines, however, Magicard takes the lead where security is concerned, offering more security features as standard with each printer.

Here’s a quick breakdown: both IDP Smart and Magicard offer their own watermark features with their machines. All IDP Smart printers come with SmartMark and all Magicard printers come with Holokote.

The main difference in security lies with Magicard’s additional features, such as digital shredding and, for the 600, the fact that it is threat benchmarked. Digital shredding involves data that has been used for a print job being fragmented and rendered irrecoverable, protecting an organisation from a breach. With the threat benchmarked feature, this means the machine regularly runs security scans to ensure everything is running smoothly.

What about reliability?

In terms of reliability, all IDP and Magicard machines are extremely reliable, however the IDP Smart 31 and 51 printers come with an unrivalled 5 year warranty, reflecting the faith that IDP has in their machines.

Overall, we recommend: IDP Smart printers if your top priority is affordability and Magicard printers if your top priority is security.

Magicard vs IDP

VIEW IDP SMART PRINTERS                                        VIEW MAGICARD PRINTERS

Regardless of which you choose to go for, all IDP Smart and Magicard ID card printers are guaranteed to deliver outstanding results. That’s why we feature printers from both manufacturers in our guide to the best ID card printers of 2022.


The Experts in Photo ID Card Printing Solutions

We’ve helped over 25,000 happy customers choose their dream ID card printing and access control solutions over the past 3 decades. We’d love to help you, too.

We have IDP Smart and Magicard printers in stock, ready to order and with every printer purchased through Digital ID, you’ll receive free card design software and free delivery.

Give us a call on 0800 988 2095 or email us at sales@digitalid.co.uk to speak to a member of our expert team today. Our team is available Monday – Friday from 9 am – 5 pm and is always happy to help.

Alternatively, if you’d like to see our complete range of card printing machines, you can compare and order ID card printers here.

Disclaimer: All information and prices correct as of 12/05/2022