Please log in to view your pricing and saved details.
ID Card Printer ongoing cost
ID Solutions cost guide
What does it cost to run an ID card printer?
A practical New Zealand guide to printer ownership, ribbons, retransfer film, optional lamination, card stock, basic maintenance and depreciation.
1
The cards cost the same
Standard white PVC cards are a common cost across the printers shown. Select the annual quantity required and the appropriate ID Solutions per-card price is applied automatically.
2
Consumables make the difference
Direct-to-card printers use a ribbon. The CR805 retransfer printer uses both a colour ribbon and retransfer film, producing a different finish and a different running cost.
3
Maintenance is usually modest
Routine cleaning is simple. Entrust ribbon kits include cleaning supplies; SMART printers require periodic cleaning, typically around every 1,000 cards. Add an allowance if your organisation wants one.
Estimate your ownership and card-printing costs
Change the settings below. Results update automatically and are rounded to whole consumable packs.
Printer and setup
Editable, so a quotation or future price can be used.
Shown as a one-off cost, not an annual subscription.
Sigma DSE/DS3: part 529346-001, $825. CR805: part 533761-002, $895.
For a smart-card encoder, network option or other capital equipment.
Available in this guide for Sigma DS3 and CR805 configurations.
Card use
Cards are priced individually but supplied in quantities of 500.
Uses the supplied quantity price. If a tier has no listed price, the closest available lower tier is used.
Automatically selected from ID Solutions' quantity pricing.
Optional. Routine cleaning costs are normally very small.
Depreciation assumptions
Editable. The default 40% is the current IRD rate listed for printers.
Optional current tax treatment
Your estimated costs
Entrust Sigma DS3 — duplex, 1,000 cards per year for 3 years
Prices exclude GST
Ongoing cost per card$0.00Consumables, card stock and maintenance; excludes the printer purchase.
Total cost per card$0.00Includes the printer, encoder, software, selected options, consumables, blank cards and maintenance.
Ongoing costs$0Across 3 years.
Total cash outlay$0Printer, selected options, software and operating costs.
Cost item
Calculation
Estimated cost
View indicative depreciation schedule
Year
Opening tax value
Investment Boost
DV depreciation
Closing tax value
What is an ongoing cost?
Ribbons: required for colour or black printing and replaced when their rated yield is reached.
Retransfer film: required as well as the colour ribbon on the CR805.
Laminate: required only when an optional laminator is fitted and used.
Blank cards: the same white-card price applies across the printer choices and is selected automatically from the annual quantity.
Cleaning: a small but important routine task; many ribbon packs include the cleaning supplies required.
Depreciation is not another bill
Depreciation spreads the cost of a capital asset through the accounts. It is shown separately because adding both the complete printer purchase and depreciation to cash costs would count the same printer twice.
Inland Revenue's March 2026 general rates list printers with an estimated five-year useful life at 40% diminishing value or 30% straight line. Eligible new assets may also receive a 20% first-year Investment Boost before normal depreciation on the remaining value.
Important: This calculator is a guide, not a quotation or tax opinion. Prices are based on the supplied April 2026 consumable list and may change. Yields are manufacturer-rated yields; actual results can vary with printer settings, card design, cleaning cycles, rejected cards and operating conditions. Whole ribbon, film and laminate packs are used in the calculation, so the estimate includes any unused capacity remaining at the end of the selected period. Confirm depreciation treatment, Investment Boost eligibility and GST treatment with your accountant or Inland Revenue.
