MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT

Title: AFRL HQ AVIS Printer Tech Refresh

Document Date: September 10, 2026

Background: This is a hardware lifecycle technology refresh of credential issuance and lamination equipment for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Visual

Indicator System (AVIS) at Wright-Patterson AFB (AFRL/RYT, Building 620).

Current printers and associated hardware have exceeded their operational lifecycle and are approaching End of Life (EOL) and End of Engineering Support (EOES). To maintain physical security compliance, operational continuity, and system reliability, a comprehensive hardware refresh is required to replace deprecated units with high-reliability, current-production retransfer printing and lamination systems.

Scope: The AFRL Visual Indicator System (AVIS) produces secure, tamper-evident, multi-technology physical identification credentials that authorize AFRL military, civilian, and embedded contractor personnel with appropriate security clearance adjudications to access classified research facilities, Sensitive Compartmented

Information Facilities (SCIFs), and Special Access Program Facilities (SAPFs) across all geographically dispersed AFRL directorates and operating locations.

Historically, routine collaboration across distributed AFRL installations required pre-coordinated administrative visit requests processed individually through the

Defense Information System for Security (DISS, formerly JPAS). AVIS provides machine-readable and visually authenticated indicators that permit frictionless, reciprocal cross-facility access without generating repetitive DISS visit requests.

This automated capability preserves thousands of administrative and research man-hours annually and significantly increases mission velocity across the Air Force science and technology enterprise.

The program currently fulfills this requirement utilizing legacy Magicard 300 series dye-sublimation card printers. Procured over five years ago, these direct-to-card units are fully out of warranty, discontinued by the manufacturer, and no longer supported with firmware or security updates. In daily operation, direct-to-card printing forces the thermal printhead into physical contact with the card surface;

when applied to smart proximity cards containing uneven internal RFID chips and antennas, this contact results in premature printhead damage, surface image voiding, and frequent mechanical failures. These compounding issues cause severe badge production backlogs, elevated maintenance costs, and facility access delays for mission-critical personnel.

To eliminate these vulnerabilities, this technology refresh procures a synchronized fleet of twelve (12) high-definition dye-sublimation retransfer (reverse-transfer) card printers and twelve (12) matching dual-sided inline secure laminators, complete with essential operational consumables and maintenance kits. Retransfer technology resolves legacy failure modes by printing imagery onto a flexible intermediate transfer film that is subsequently thermally fused over the card topography, eliminating printhead contact with embedded microchips and achieving edge-to-edge printing. Combined with inline holographic lamination, the replacement hardware enables the Visual Indicator program to sustain high-volume issuance of tamper-evident PVC and RFID proximity credentials while maximizing equipment reliability, print durability, and lifecycle supportability.

Requirements/Salient Characteristics:

• Must provide a total of twelve (12) dual-sided dye-sublimation retransfer

(reverse-transfer) card printers capable of true over-the-edge (full-bleed) printing on standard CR80 media.

• Must provide twelve (12) matching dual-sided inline card laminators designed to integrate directly with the retransfer printers for automated, single-pass application of thermal security overlays.

• Must reliably print and laminate standard CR80 plain PVC cards as well as high-frequency/low-frequency proximity (RFID) cards across card thicknesses ranging from 10 to 40 mil without manual mechanical adjustments.

• Must support continuous, high-volume credential production with a minimum sustained throughput of 100 full-color (YMCK) cards per hour.

• Must include twenty-four (24) matched sets of full-color dye ribbon and reverse-transfer film (1 YMCK dye film and 1 retransfer film per set) optimized for high-volume color reproduction.

• Must include twenty-four (24) rolls of tamper-evident holographic lamination film featuring an Optical Variable Device (OVD) generic snowflake pattern for advanced counterfeit deterrence.

• Must provide twelve (12) manufacturer-certified cleaning kits (each containing at least 10 cleaning pads and 10 cleaning cards) to maintain internal rollers and optical sensors.

• Must be fully compatible with the program's existing Magicard-compatible card design and issuance software, as well as scheduled future enterprise software updates.

• Must be manufactured within the Magicard product family (specifically the

Magicard Prima series) to leverage existing AFRL operator familiarity, eliminate personnel retraining requirements, and maintain operational efficiency.

The following salient characteristics are firm requirements that any proposed solution must meet:

• Printing Technology: Dye-sublimation retransfer (reverse-transfer) printing technology is mandatory. The printer must image an intermediate clear transfer film that is thermally bonded to the card substrate to provide true edge-to-edge print coverage and protect the thermal printhead from direct contact with embedded proximity RFID microchips.

• Dual-Sided Retransfer Printers (Quantity: 12 EA): Must be Magicard Prima 8

Duo dual-sided retransfer printers or exact form-fit-function equivalents providing 300 DPI resolution, dual-sided printing capabilities, USB and Ethernet connectivity, and minimum 100-card input/output hopper capacities.

• Dual-Sided Inline Laminators (Quantity: 12 EA): Must be Magicard Prima 8

Duo Laminators or exact form-fit-function equivalents configured for physical inline docking with the Prima 8 Duo printer to execute dual-sided thermal lamination in a single automated pass.

• Card Types & Caliper Range: Must reliably feed, print, and laminate standard

ISO CR80 PVC, composite PVC/PET, and contactless proximity/smart cards with thicknesses ranging between 10 mil and 40 mil (0.254mm to 1.016mm).

• Tamper-Evident Holographic Lamination Overlays (Quantity: 24 EA): Must include OVD Generic Snowflake thermal lamination capable of forming a permanent, tamper-evident optical bond that prevents card alteration, surface wear, and delamination.

• Consumable Ribbon & Retransfer Film Sets (Quantity: 24 EA): Must include genuine Magicard Prima 8 matched consumable sets, each comprising one (1) full-color YMCK dye ribbon and one (1) reverse-transfer film roll with yield matched for synchronized replacement.

• Preventative Maintenance Cleaning Kits (Quantity: 12 EA): Must include certified cleaning kits, each containing ten (10) cleaning pads and ten (10) alcohol cleaning cards to support scheduled operator maintenance cycles.

• Production Volume & Throughput: Must deliver sustained production throughput of at least 100 full-color, single-sided cards per hour (or equivalent dual-sided rated throughput) under standard production workloads without thermal pausing or mechanical jams.

• Software & Operating System Compatibility: Must provide plug-and-play driver compatibility with current AFRL standard desktop environments

(Windows OS) and existing Magicard-compatible badging/issuance platforms, ensuring seamless migration without custom middleware development.

• Operator Familiarity & Fleet Commonality: Equipment must belong to the

Magicard Prima product ecosystem so that incumbent AFRL security personnel can operate, configure, load consumables, and maintain the equipment immediately upon installation without government-funded operator training.

• Reliability, Warranty & Logistics Support: All delivered hardware must be brand new, current-production models backed by active manufacturer technical support, firmware updates, and standard commercial warranties. Delivery shall be made to Wright-Patterson AFB, AFRL/RYT, 2241 Avionics Circle, Building

620, Dayton, OH 45433 (Attn: Merle Cox).

0 . 254 mm

1 . 016 mm