Plastic Cards – With the personal touch

Adding variable data to your plastic cards could not be easier when producing cards digitally with Company Cards.

When it comes to manufacturing plastic cards, digital print technology allows for high quality personalised print jobs. What’s more, it also enables us to fulfil short run orders of just a handful of plastic cards, which can all be customised on press. Digital printing also makes possible a faster turn around time than the more traditional methods of printing.

Digital press uses technology called a Photo Imaging Plate (PIP) and traditional printing plates are not required. The PIP is made from a photo sensitive material which can be re-written with a laser up to 100,000 times before it needs replacing. The laser technology enables us to rewrite the image on the PIP with every revolution; this is what allows for the variable data on our plastic cards.

Here at Company Cards, we pride our selves on the ability to produce high quality personalised plastic cards. The laser writing head within the press controls the location of the ink particles with such precision, that we can accurately place particles which are as small as one micron.

We produce a wide range of on-press personalisation on our plastic cards. Another benefit of digital personalisation, as well as the high quality image and fast turn around time, is that the images and data are printed onto the core material, which is then PVC laminated. This means that the variable data on our plastic cards is protected underneath the laminate and can never be washed, scratched or rubbed off.

Traditional methods of printing in the plastic card industry will thermal the personalised data onto cards. This is done over the top of the laminate. This type of personalisation does not stand the test of time and does wear away if the card is used frequently.

At company Cards we produce thousands of membership cards and loyalty cards every day, the majority printed with variable data; whether that be a name, sequential number, barcode, QR code etc. We also produce photo ID cards, with a high quality photographic image. Due to the digital technology we can produce as little as one plastic card, we specialise in fast turn around small run orders.