Evolis Smart Card Setup

Owned by Joe Large
Nov 13, 2024
2 min read

Overview

This guide explains how to configure a printer for use with EliteID's smart card functionality. The instructions specifically cover the Evolis Primacy and Evolis Primacy 2 models featuring the Elatec TWN4 HF/LF board provided by Vision Database Systems.

To complete the setup:

  1. Follow the configuration steps outlined below

  2. Sign-in to EliteID

  3. Set up a Smart Template, selecting the card technology (Prox, iClass, etc.)

  4. Open the Credential for editing in the Card Designer and under Personalization, select the Smart Template

After the setup is complete follow the Print a Smart Card instructions to print a test card. Confirm the smart card number(s) written to EliteID match the expected smart card number(s).

Compatible Card Formats

The following card formats are supported:

  • Prox ID

  • iClass CSN

  • iClass ID/PACS

  • DESFire CSN

  • Mifare CSN

Important Note: Reading HID brand cards requires an upgraded license for the Elatec reader.

Installation Steps

1. Install Elatec TWN4 Driver

  1. Right-click Command Prompt and select "Run as Administrator"

  2. Navigate to the driver installation directory

  3. Execute the install.bat file

2. Configure Elatec Reader in VDS PrintManager

Initial Setup

  1. Launch VDS PrintManager

  2. Either register a new printer or select an existing ID card printer from the list

Printer Configuration

  1. In the Registered Printers section, select your printer

  2. Click "Card Printer Settings"

  3. Configure the following settings:

    • Printer Brand: Select either

      • "Evolis Primacy" or

      • "Evolis Primacy 2"

    • Smart Card Reader Brand: Select "Elatec"

Smart Card Settings

  1. Navigate to the "Smart Card Encoding Profile" tab

  2. Set Smart Card Reader to "Elatec SmartCard Reader 0 Slot 0"

  3. Leave Server Name blank

  4. Click "Save" to apply your changes

  5. Close VDS PrintManager

Troubleshooting

VDS PrintManager

VDS PrintManager debug logging can provide valuable insight into the root cause of a technical issue that involves printing.

  1. Open VDS PrintManager

  2. Click Help > Debug

  3. Restart when prompted

To confirm debug mode is enabled:

  • Click Help and check if Debug has a checkmark next to it

Reproduce the Printing Issue

  1. With debug mode enabled, attempt to reproduce the print issue

  2. Once reproduced, you may disable debug mode by repeating the above steps

Collect Log Information

  1. Open Event Viewer (Start menu > search for "Event Viewer")

  2. Navigate to Windows Logs > Application

  3. Under Actions, select "Filter Current Log"

  4. In Event sources, select "Vds.PrintManagerService"

  5. Click "Save Filtered Log File As"

  6. Save the file to a known location

Submit Logs

Share the saved log file with Vision Support.

Elatec TWN4

The TWN4 board upgrade options and firmware version may be requested by Vision Database Support.

  1. Open AppBlaster.exe located in the Elatec TWN4DevPack package.

  2. Click Program Firmware Image

  3. Click Read Version

Example:

(1) TWN4/B1.64/NPF4.80/S2SC1.60/PI

 

image-20241113-181947.png

For the Elatec board to work with EliteID (VDS PrintManager to be specific) it must be flashed with a TWN4 Multi CCID 2 Slot Standard firmware. The current version as of this writing is 4.80.

To flash a firmware .bix:

  1. Open AppBlaster.exe

  2. Select Program Firmware Image

  3. Click Select Image > (select the bix file) > Program Image

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