How to Customize Your Plastic Card
Plastic cards are highly versatile and offer a professional, modern way to represent your company. They are also budget-friendly, durable and can be customized to suit your specific needs.
Card manufacturers are adapting their materials and processes to meet eco-friendly demand. They are using recycled substrates like R-PVC and R-PET. They are also minimizing paper waste and reducing carbon emissions to support green initiatives.
Offset Printing
Typically used for printing large-scale publications such as newspapers, brochures, and stationery, offset printing produces high-quality results that are ideal for businesses looking to achieve consistency. It’s also highly effective for ensuring that the printed material accurately depicts the original artwork.
The process works by creating a metal plate that has been etched to print an image or text on a sheet of paper. The ink is then transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket, which then applies the ink to the paper. The printing plates can be re-used up to a million times, making this method an economical choice for high-volume production runs.
Offset printing is highly versatile and can be used on a wide range of surfaces, including leather, vinyl, fabric, metal, varying types of paper and cardstock, and plastic. This means that businesses can create truly unique projects that stand out from the competition.
Unlike paper ID cards, which can be very expensive to produce because of the cost of printer ink, lamination, and cameras, plastic ID card printing is a much more budget-friendly option. Plus, you can add a variety of additional features such as anti-forgery security and holograms.
Digital Printing
Digital printing is a process of applying a digital image directly to different media like paper, fabric, plastic, etc. Unlike offset printing, which requires a special plate for each color, the digital printing process uses a toner-based printer that illuminates the printed surface using a laser beam. The toner sticks to the surface of the paper, but does not permeate it, leaving a thin layer of toner that allows for the colors to shine through.
This type of printing is ideal for producing a single copy of a plastic card or for the monochrome personalization of information printed on the card. It also works well for the prompt production of cards. Unlike laminated printing, it does not require the use of a large-sized offset machine, a cutter and a laminator.
Distributor of identification plastic card systems & supplies for small businesses, government facilities, law enforcement, transportation, education, healthcare, membership organizations and professional associations. Systems include PVC ID card printers with bar code encoding, encoded mag stripes, digitized signatures and chip-enabled printers. Also offers thermal card printers & ribbons, printer supplies, lanyards, badge reels, slot punches & software. LINSTAR has more than 120,000 systems sold worldwide. Also provides custom card design & print services. plastic card supplier Offers a wide variety of high-quality, full-color cards made from durable PVC plastic. Prints custom business cards, personalized gift cards, plastic loyalty cards, fundraising cards, and more.
UV Printing
If you want your plastic card to stand out from the crowd, consider adding a spot UV coating. This technique is a popular way to highlight logos, patterns, or text on your business cards. It’s also ideal for highlighting specific areas on matte finished cards. This is because the shiny coating will contrast well with the matte background.
The polymers used in plastic cards are essentially non-stick, which makes them challenging to print on. Getting solid print adhesion is an ongoing challenge for many manufacturers. Tantec offers a wide range of services to help improve ink adhesion, including plasma surface treatment and barcode printing. With its highly experienced engineers, the company’s solutions are designed to meet or exceed customer expectations.
Plasma surface arrangement technology removes natural contaminants from the plastic substrate, allowing for better ink adhesion and higher print quality. This method is a great option for high-volume production runs, as it ensures consistent results and increased color durability.
This card features a raised UV printed logo, which looks special and unique and helps the relationship between this company and clients get closer. The colors on the card are green and yellow, which represent health, peace, hope, and comfortability. The black background shows the company’s rigorous and reliable image, which can leave a good impression on the clients.
Embossing
Embossing is a great way to create a three-dimensional effect that brings emphasis to your logo, text or other image on a printed piece. It’s done using a die that presses into the stock of your print job, raising or depressing images depending on the type of die used.
A single-level die raises an image to a consistent height or depth, while multi-level dies make for more complex embossing effects. The results are a raised, shiny surface that stands out and commands attention. This type of plastic card supplier effect works well on paper, but can also be applied to materials like leather and metal for a more luxurious feel.
Often times, embossing is combined with other techniques, such as foil stamping and color printing. Adding ink to the embossing powder adds a rich, glazed look and can help make your designs pop. Foils are common, but solid colors can also work to add a bolder visual quotient to your stationery.
Card embossers are available as standalone systems or in combination with PVC card printers for a more all-in-one solution. IdentiSys offers both options, including high-volume machines that allow for color embossing and mag and/or EMV encoding capabilities. The Combi 300 Flexi system, for example, is described as the fastest and most intelligent solution for delivering embossed cards in high volume.
