Damn, throw this guy a bone guys.
Epson R280
PVC Tray
Inkjet PVC Blanks....
Can get up and running with budget of $400 or less...Trust, I've done it on extreme budget and it'll get you by till you can get the HDP's...
Evolis breaks often, Epson tray is a bitch sometimes too....not sure if it's the drivers or what but its buggy as heck. Sometimes youll print 1, and then flip it...and itll spit it back out for 30 min....
But thats what cheapo offers...
There is actually even a cheaper method with teslin but, Im not sure if any of those id's are valid anymore.
Epson R280 is the budget way to go.