Zebra ZXP Series 8 Printers Debut

Zebra Technologies has rolled out a printer that addresses global industry requirements for on-demand printing of bank credit, debit and ATM cards. Zebra's ZXP Series 8 Secure Issuance printer, in conjunction with application providers, is capable of printing activated debit, credit and ATM cards on flat, non-embossed cards, which can be done directly onsite at the financial institution.

The ZXP Instant Issuance printer also allows banks, retailers and higher education institutions to print cards on demand at remote locations. Leveraging the technology of the ZXP Series 8 retransfer card printer, the Secure Issuance printer features a locking mechanism to protect the input, reject and media inside the printer from unauthorized access, obstructed view of input and output hoppers, and includes encryption to protect sensitive cardholder data during network transmission.

It also meets industry security specifications for smart card encoding such as EMV Level 1 Type Approval, which tests for compliance with the electromechanical characteristics, logical interface and transmission protocol requirements defined in the EMV Specifications.

Company partners include DemoTeller Systems, which offers instant issuance solutions coupled with Zebra hardware through resellers in the United States, and Dynamic Card Solutions, which is a provider of financial instant issuance solutions in the United States.

"Flat cards are becoming more widespread throughout the U.S. and globally, offering an array of benefits over printing the cards off-site and having them mailed to the cardholder," said Mark Zucherman, product manager at Zebra Technologies. "As this trend grows, Zebra recognizes the opportunity to apply our extensive high-performance card printing experience in this emerging market with the ZXP Series 8 Secure Issuance Printer."

Earlier this year, the company unveiled the R110Xi4 printer/encoder, which features on-pitch encoding, the ability to print/encode small tags very close together with a distance as narrow as .6-inch/16 mm; variable inlay placement, allowing the printer to automatically sense the RFID inlay position; and global certifications, which allows organizations with multinational supply chains to deploy the same R110Xi4 printer/encoder in multiple countries through Zebra's global certification process.

"The industry acceptance and adoption of the ZXP Instant Issuance Printer by leading application providers is exciting and a testament to the power and strength of our product and the commitment Zebra is marketing to this market," said Zucherman.

According to a recent survey from VDC, average corporate investment in RFID solutions is expected to grow by more than 200 percent over the next year to nearly $7 million in 2011. This increase can be attributed to spillover demand from retail to manufacturing, health care and other industries for item-level tracking to better monitor inventory levels and track assets, noted Zebra product manager Carolyn Ricci.