Zebra 104524-101 30 Mil Composite ID Cards for Z5-Series Printers
Overview
The Zebra 104524-101 is a 500-count box of 30 mil composite cards purpose-formulated for Zebra's Z5-series card printers. If you run a Zebra Z5 in a corporate badge, access control, or government ID environment, this is the Zebra-matched media that keeps your printer running cleanly and your cards printing consistently. Pulling from the Zebra card media line — part of the wider Zebra Cards product family — this stock is manufactured in the US and carries a UNSPSC classification of 55121802 (plastic identification cards), confirming it as genuine card stock, not a generic equivalent.
Unlike plain PVC cards that crack under flexing or delaminate in demanding carry conditions, the composite construction in the 104524-101 (often searched as 104524 101) blends PVC with polyester, yielding a card that handles repeated swipe, tap, and lanyard use without splitting at the edges or separating at lamination layers. That matters in access control deployments where a card gets swiped dozens of times per day at readers and handed through security checkpoints.
Key Features
- 30 Mil Composite Construction: At 30 mil thickness, these cards match the ISO CR-80 standard for ID and access badges — the same gauge as a credit card. The composite blend (PVC + polyester) resists flexing cracks that affect pure-PVC cards, directly extending the usable life of each badge in high-cycle environments like employee access or student IDs.
- Z5-Series Printer Compatibility: Formulated specifically for Zebra Z5 card printers, meaning the card surface chemistry is tuned to accept Z5 ribbon dye transfer cleanly. Using off-spec cards in a Z5 can cause ribbon wrinkle, incomplete dye transfer, or voided printer warranty — this media eliminates that risk.
- 500 Cards Per Box: A full box of 500 cards makes this practical for mid-to-large badge issuance runs — enough for a typical mid-size company's annual re-badge cycle or a school district's semester ID print run without re-ordering mid-job.
- US Origin: Manufactured domestically in the US, which satisfies TAA compliance requirements on many federal and state government procurement contracts where card media country of origin is a gating factor.
- Sealed Box Packaging: Cards arrive in a box measuring 4.25 in × 17.75 in × 2.75 in, sized for standard supply-room shelving. The 5.7 lb gross weight means a single box ships easily via standard parcel without freight-class complications.
- Genuine Zebra Media: Sourced from Zebra's own manufacturing supply chain — no grey-market, no parallel imports — so you get consistent card-to-card quality across every print job rather than the batch variation common in third-party card stock.
Integration & Compatibility
The 104524-101 is documented under Zebra's Z5 product family. Verify your specific Z5 model's supported media list before ordering if you're running an older Z5 variant, as Zebra occasionally segments card-stock compatibility across sub-models in the Z5 line. These cards work within ID card printers that accept standard CR-80 composite media — but the Z5 optimization is the key selling point here. If you're running a different Zebra card printer family (ZXP, ZC, or ZD-series card), confirm media compatibility against your printer's spec sheet before substituting this stock. For procurement teams building a printer supplies catalog, the 500-count box format pairs well with bulk ribbon orders to minimize per-badge consumable cost.
What's in the Box
- 500x Zebra 30 mil composite ID cards (CR-80 format)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which Zebra printers is the 104524-101 compatible with?
A: The 104524-101 is formulated for Zebra Z5-series card printers. Verify your specific Z5 sub-model's supported media list against Zebra's documentation before ordering if you are running a non-standard Z5 configuration.
Q: How thick are the 104524-101 cards?
A: 30 mil — the ISO CR-80 standard thickness, equivalent to a standard credit card. This is the correct gauge for most corporate ID, access control, and government badge applications.
Q: What material are these cards made from?
A: Composite construction — a blend of PVC and polyester. This resists the flexing cracks and delamination that can affect pure-PVC cards in high-swipe-cycle access control environments.
Q: Are these cards TAA compliant?
A: These cards are manufactured in the US, which satisfies the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) domestic or designated country-of-origin requirement for most federal and state government procurement contracts.
Q: How many cards come in a box?
A: 500 cards per box. Packaged in a 4.25 in × 17.75 in × 2.75 in box with a gross weight of 5.7 lbs.
Q: Can I use third-party composite cards in my Zebra Z5 instead of the 104524-101?
A: Technically possible, but Zebra's Z5 printers are tuned to their own card stock surface chemistry. Off-spec cards can cause ribbon wrinkle, incomplete dye transfer, or affect print quality consistency. Using non-Zebra media may also affect your printer warranty coverage.
The 104524-101 is one of those consumable SKUs that gets taken for granted until someone substitutes an off-brand card and starts troubleshooting ribbon wrinkle or patchy dye transfer on a Z5 mid-badge-run. The 30 mil composite spec here is doing real work: the polyester content stiffens the card enough to prevent the micro-bending that causes pure-PVC cards to crack at the magnetic stripe or chip contact zone after a few hundred swipes through a reader.
Technical Highlights:
- 30 Mil Composite Thickness: Matches ISO CR-80 exactly — you won't get card-feed jams from undersize or warped stock, and the composite blend handles the repeated flexing of daily access-control swipe cycles without delamination.
- 500-Count Box: Right-sized for a single re-badge cycle at a mid-size site (200–400 employees, accounting for reprints and visitors). One box order covers the job without splitting a run across multiple shipments.
- US Country of Origin: Directly relevant for TAA-regulated government contracts — procurement teams can document origin without chasing a certificate of compliance from an overseas supplier.
Deployment Considerations:
- Confirm your Z5 sub-model is on Zebra's supported media list for this card stock — the Z5 family has several sub-models and Zebra occasionally restricts specific media to specific configurations. A 30-second check against your printer's media guide before the first print run avoids a wasted box.
- Storage matters: composite cards absorb humidity over time if left unsealed. Keep unopened boxes in climate-controlled storage and don't break the seal until you're ready to load the printer — humidity uptake causes feed issues and can degrade dye-transfer fidelity on the first few cards in the stack.
For a corporate access control re-badge project running a Zebra Z5 — where you need clean, consistent prints on cards that will survive daily reader swipes for 12–24 months — the 104524-101 is the correct media call. It's not the right card if your printer is outside the Z5 family; in that case, verify the supported media list for your specific model before ordering.
