Do you want to print customized pictures on your greeting cards right at home? Is Christmas around the corner, and you want to save money on cards? Are you interested in starting a small printing business? If the answer is yes, then you have come to the right place.
Since cardstock printing requires a larger quantity of ink and toner, it can lead to paper jams in ordinary printers. In this article, we have reviewed some of the best printers for greeting cards. These are specifically designed to handle high-quality printing on thick cardstocks.
Comparison Of Best Printers For Greeting Cards – In 2020
| Image | Product Name | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Magicard Enduro 3e ID Card Printer |
| |
  | Epson Workforce Pro WF-3730 Printer |
| |
  | HP Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw Laser Printer |
| |
  | HP OfficeJet 7510 Printer |
|
Best Printer For Greeting Cards.
We have listed some of the best printers for greeting card making in the following section. If you want to save time and money, read the reviews thoroughly and choose one that suits your needs.
1. Magicard Enduro 3e Id Card Printer- Best Double-sided Id Printer.
Magicard Enduro Printer is designed to make high-quality membership cards, ID cards, and photos. The device allows you to customize your images and designs to make top-notch greeting cards for your business too.
In fact, this brand has included a handy camera, full-color ribbons, 300 PVC cards, and Bodno ID card software to start you off with your small company. Hence, you can use all these features to create your ID or greeting cards in no time.
Moreover, the Bodno bronze software has multiple easy-to-use features for all the users. Not only does it have a user-friendly interface, but it also contains pre-made professional templates for your cards. Along with this, you can even customize your template using its various options.
Magicard printer only takes 35 seconds to produce a colored, or seven seconds to give you a black and white image. Its fast action makes it one of the best printers for printing greeting cards at home.
- Compact
- Durable
- High-speed printing
- Includes a handy camera
- User-friendly features
- Flips automatically to the backside
- Edge-to-edge printing
- Low-quality ink
- Slow printing
2. Epson Workforce Pro Wf-3730 Printer- Best Compact Versatile Printer.
Founded in 1942, Seiko Epson is an electronics company based in Nagano, Japan. It is one of the top manufacturers of computer printers in the world. Their WF-3730 printer is quite multi-functional and suitable for small printing businesses.
To start off, this all-in-one printer runs on PrecisionCore, which enhances its performance beyond even laser printers. Such that, it also costs almost 30% less than color laser printers for printing your greeting cards.
It can hold 500 sheets at a time and comes with a 2.7” touchscreen. This user-friendly feature allows you to control the settings in no time. Moreover, the printer automatically feeds a 35-page document and prints on both sides.
Coming to its versatility, this all-in-one printer includes a copier, fax, and even a scanner. Therefore, it makes your life easier when it comes to printing on a business level.
This compact printer has a small footprint and can be stored anywhere in your study or office. Since it works on only Epson cartridges, it will not work with other inks properly. Epson makes sure that all its products are eco-friendly and produce low amounts of greenhouse gases too.
Besides this, WF-3730 printer prints 20 ppm in black and ten ppm in color, making it one of the fastest printers in the market. This inexpensive printer includes Ethernet, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct, and NFC connections for speedier operation. These connectivity features allow you to print using just your mobile phones.
- Compact design
- All-in-one printing features
- Fast printing
- Double-sided printing
- Wi-Fi Direct connectivity for phones
- Touchscreen
- High running costs
- Not suitable with cardstock
- No duplex printing
Also Read: Best Printer For Cardstock Printing – Reviews And Buying Guide
3.Hp Color Laserjet Pro M479fdw Laser Printer- Best High-speed Versatile Printer.
HP is an American IT company, which is based in California and manufactures the world’s best printers for greeting cards. Their LaserJet Pro is one of their multi-functional top-selling printers.
Not only is this printer wireless, but it can print, copy, fax, and even scan all your documents. Its versatility can help you grow your small business exponentially. Along with this, it is quite energy-efficient and supports double-sided duplex printing.
The LaserJet Pro offers world-class security to protect your data from theft. It sends threat notifications instantly and provides a pin/pull printing option for added protection.
Besides this, it includes a touchscreen control panel that can help you automate a complicated workflow. This feature will help you save your time by applying your customized settings through the user-friendly control settings.
Apart from this, the printer offers high-speed, double-sided printing and scanning. It prints about 28 ppm in black or color to save your time and increase productivity. Moreover, it automatically feeds a 50-page document and has a 250 sheet capacity in its hopper.
If this was not enough, HP has made sure that its printers are environment-friendly by saving 18% of energy than other printers. The Wi-Fi Direct technology allows you to print even without a network by connecting your printer with your mobile phone.
- Versatile
- Also includes auto-duplex printing
- Wi-Fi Direct connection to smartphones
- Customizable workflow settings
- Energy-efficient
- Heavy
- Expensive
Also Read: Best Printer Scanner For Small Business Our Hand Picks Printer Reviews.
4.Hp Officejet 7510 Printer- Best Wide Format Printer.
One of the best inkjet printers for greeting cards, OfficeJet 7510 allows you to print, scan, fax, and copy your documents in no time. Its AirPrint feature will enable you to connect your smartphone to the printer through its smart HP ePrint app. Thus, the Wi-Fi Direct technology can help you print even without a network connection.
The printer’s performance rivals that of laser printers in terms of quality and color brilliance. In fact, its unique wide-format printing can help your business stand out from the competition. You can use this printer to print images or documents measuring from 3×5 and 11×17 to 13×19 inches.
Moreover, the printer automatically feeds documents and copies multiple pages at one time. The original HP ink cartridges give the best results and offer two times the prints compared to regular refillable cartridges.
Apart from this, OfficeJet is truly versatile since it supports various types of media. This includes plain paper, index cards, letters, envelopes, and even greeting cards.
If all this was not enough, the printer also has a compact design and a touchscreen to customize your complicated workflow settings. It is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
- Compact design
- Compatible with multiple media types
- Versatile function
- Also has easy-to-use features
- HD printing
- Also comes with remote printing
- No duplex prints
- High running costs
- Not ink-efficient
Buyer’s Guide.
Since not all printers support printing on greeting cards, you need to choose one that is compatible with thicker cardstock media. To help you out, we have described all the best features that you need to consider in the best printer for greeting card business.
Media Size.
If you are planning to start a small company for greeting cards at home, you need to check if your printer can support various cardstock sizes. Since this field of business requires versatility, your cards can be of various sizes.
A printer which is suitable for printing images on different sized cardstocks can help you out in the future. You might need it right now, but this investment will be fruitful later on.
Quality.
Greeting cards are usually bright in color with attractive designs and clear prints. Therefore, you must invest in a high-quality printer that gives you professional prints.
In the case where you are planning to start a business, you need to rival other greeting cards business in terms of quality. A printer with a high DPI or IPS will offer the best possible print for your new start-up.
Duplexing.
The automatic duplex printing is a convenient feature that can cut back on time for you. Such that, it involves scanning and printing both sides of the page automatically, without flipping the page over manually.
If your printer has an automatic document feeder or ADF, it will also have an auto-duplexing feature. On the other hand, printers without ADF cannot duplex automatically. Hence, you will have to turn over the page to scan both sides in the latter printer.
As a result of automatic duplexing, you can save paper and money by utilizing both sides of the paper, making your printer eco-friendly.
Paper Capacity.
Even though it might not seem like an important feature, it can be very frustrating when you have to add cardstock over and over again.
When you are printing your cards in stock, you need to invest in the best printer for greeting cards. Its hopper should have a large capacity for holding the sheets or cardstock so that you can focus on another work. Hence, this feature will enhance your productivity.
Speed.
As mentioned above, productivity is vital when it comes to printing a large stock. You do not want to invest in a printer that will take ages to print a stack of cards. Before investing in a printer, make sure to check its speed at printing colored and black and white images, both.
Ink-Efficiency.
Since cardstock utilizes a large amount of ink and toner, a printer with low ink-efficiency can rack up your printing costs. In business, you need to maximize your profit by keeping the overall running cost at a minimum.
Hence, it is vital to find a printer with a high ink-efficiency. Not only will it be economical, but it will also work for a long time without needing a refill.
Ink Types.
Different printer models work with different types of ink. This is another essential feature that you need to consider before investing in the best printer for greeting cards. While some inks have a longer life span, others might fade over.
On the one hand, many printers utilize pigment-based inks, which are weather-resistant. On the other hand, others use dye-inks that can fade as time passes. Apart from this, you can also find UV-resistant inks in wide-format printers, suitable for advertisement projects.
Cost.
Since you have to print quite a few greeting cards, your running costs should be low to achieve maximum profit in your small business. If you plan to invest an expensive printer, you need to keep the cost of your supplies low too.
For example, if your ink cartridges run out fast, it will just add up to the final cost. To counter this, you can always opt for printers that support refillable ink cartridges. Overall, refilling the ink is much cheaper than buying new ones every time they run out.
Besides this, you can research about different ink plans offered by well-known printer brands. Not only do they provide cartridges when you are running low, but they also provide ink cartridges based on a number of pages on subsidized cost.
Connectivity.
You can find printers offering different types of connectivity in the market. The most traditional ones will offer a simple USB connection to a computer. Besides this, some will provide an Ethernet connection to support your whole business.
Meanwhile, most modern printers come with a wireless connection for your mobile phones. Technology, like Wi-Fi Direct, can help you connect your printer to your phone without even needing a network. As a result, this feature can help improve your performance and maximize your profits.
Along with this, these printers also come with suitable software to support printing via your smartphones. Make sure that the software is user-friendly and offers all the features for smart printing.
FAQs.
Q.1 Which Media Type Do You Use For Greeting Cards?
Since greeting cards are thick, you should use cardstocks for them. This is a type of heavyweight paper that is more flexible than other cardboard types, making them suitable for greeting cards.
You can find this cardstock in different thicknesses in the market. Usually, they are measured in terms of points where 10 points refer to 0.01 inches thick.
Q. 2 What Size Of Cardstock Should I Use For My Printer?
Before purchasing cardstocks, find out the size supported by your printer. High-quality ones will support various sizes to offer versatility in your greeting cards.
If you have not purchased your printer yet, make sure that you invest in one that supports cardstocks of various thicknesses and sizes.
Q. 3 Can I Use Cardstock for My Greeting Cards in A Regular Printer?
While some printers are compatible with thicker cards, others might get jammed if you try to print on cardstocks. Moreover, cardstocks take up more ink and toner than paper. Such that, some standard printers do not give high-resolution images on cardstock.
Thus, before you try printing on thick paper, research about the printer, and read reviews. Make sure to also check if it supports the paperweight of your cardstock.
Q. 4 Will My Printer Support Glossy Cardstock?
Glossy greeting cards are preferred over regular, non-glossy, boring ones by almost everyone. However, many printers will not be able to print over glossy surfaces. You will need to invest in one that can handle glossy surfaces and prints deep on the surface so that ink does not blur or runs down.
Conclusion.
Whether you want to print greeting cards at home or start a small business, you will need to invest in one of the best printers for making greeting cards. Thus, you must consider a lot of factors in your printer to get high-quality, professional prints at home.
This article has reviewed all these factors, along with reviewing five of the best printers for greeting cards. Make sure to research and read reviews before investing in a printer for your business.
Also Read: Best Printer For Printing Checks Top 6 Printer Reviews in 2020
