The PVC cards also referred to as plastic cards have become an essential part of a society’s lifestyle. Whether simple ID cards, membership cards or gift cards and the like – these robust and customizable cards are versatile in their usage in all companies and sectors. As the popularity of PVC cards rise, so has the services that offer PVC card printing services increased a lot.
This all-inclusive guide is designed to provide you with informative and essential information about PVC card printing services in one place – understanding the types of PVC cards, recognizing the most prevalent printing methods, selecting a card printer and the printing service, and comprehending the numerous and diverse uses of PVC cards.
Types of PVC Cards
PVC is an acronym for polyvinyl chloride, which is a hard-wearing and adaptable plastics that is utilized to create ID cards, license cards, membership cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, access cards, and more. Some of the most common types of customizable PVC cards include:Some of the most common types of customizable PVC cards include:
PVC Employee ID cards- these are the most commonly printed PVC cards in the market today followed by student IDs and other government issued IDs. They often contain basic information such as name, picture, organization, and number of identification.
Membership Cards – These cards are used by gyms, clubs, libraries, and any center that needs to identify its members so that they can provide them with customized services and access. They contain information such as name, photo, membership number and the date of renewal of membership.
Bulk Gift Cards and Loyalty cards- Through the retail business, companies can design gift cards and loyalty or reward cards for customers to complete with features such as company logos and codes.
Identification cards – There are special identification cards with names, photographs and codes, which allow persons to access certain areas such as garages, buildings, and rooms.
Another important application in the card printing is in the hospitality industry for use in hotels for opening room doors.
Some of the attributes associated with PVC cards such as convenience, durability and security features such as the magnetic stripes and bars make the cards ideal for these uses.
PVC Card Printing Techniques
PVC card printing services use the below common printing methods to create customized plastic cards:PVC card printing services use the below common printing methods to create customized plastic cards:
Dye Sublimation – In this method, the dye is transferred to the card surface using heat for creating high-DPI full-color photo-quality cards. Increase productivity with easy-to-punch ID badges, membership/loyalty program cards with graphics/photos.
Inkjet Printing – This technology allows ink nozzles to spray the CMYK ink on the card to give full, colorful and often detailed cards. Suitable for use in events such as concerts, issuing of loyalty cards and even gift cards.
Card Embossing – A carbon dioxide laser is used to burn the surface of the card to make it reveal a contrasting core card colour. Suitable for simple text in black and white or the bar code type of card.
Thermal Printing – This is a technique that employs heat to transfer a wax or resin ink into the card making a more accurate and economic approach. Suitable for those containing monochrome text or barcodes such as those belonging to the barcode types category.
Heat Transfer Printing – Prints the images and texts on an intermediate object and transfers them on to the card. Formatting produces high quality colour images and texts, especially when used in identification cards, club memberships and gift cards.
The considerations when selecting a PVC card printer and the printing service
The use of in-house PVC card printer is slightly expensive since one has to purchase the printer and also occasionally replace worn out parts. However, the benefits associated with this include the fact that the cards can be printed as and when they are needed. This may make even less sense for lower volumes since it outsources the printing process, which saves on equipment costs while at the same time having access to specialized card printers.
Here are helpful tips on choosing PVC card printing equipment or service:Here are helpful tips on choosing PVC card printing equipment or service:
– Decide on no. of cards/ timelines for printing – for lower volumes outsourced services are preferred.
– Assess the requirement of the card’s duration according to the usage environment
– Choose whether to go with minimalistic text on the card or is it time to go for more creativity and add photos or complex graphics?
– Evaluate the service’s printing quality, rate of service delivery and concerns relating to security.
– Evaluate the support this service provides in integrating it like data management and card issuing software.
– Select proper technique of printing such as sublimation or thermal printing
– This will involve the comparison of equipment costs versus service costs for long-term budgets.
By balancing these major aspects, this paper will be able to determine the most appropriate card printing solution for given business circumstances and uses.
Pvc cards can be used in a number of popular applications as follows:
The versatility of PVC card printing means these customized cards are used extensively across corporate offices, colleges, hotels, hospitals, banks and many more organizations for:The versatility of PVC card printing means these customized cards are used extensively across corporate offices, colleges, hotels, hospitals, banks and many more organizations for:
Employee ID Badges – These ID cards can contain company logo colors, names, photos, contact information and barcode/RFID chip for use in security access and identification.
Student ID cards – Made to be long lasting and with storing of names, photos, emblem of the college along with integrated proximity for library usage or making payments.
Membership Cards – Helps to communicate and give prominence to special programs such as gyms, clubs or retail shopping loyalty via printed name, membership number, renewal dates and incentive codes.
Event Badges – It is possible to develop unique visitor badges for conventions, conferences and seminars that incorporates the event artwork, sponsor messages and personal information of the attendees.
Patient ID Wristbands – Fabricated wristbands that are snap-on and include the necessary patient information for identification and the HIS system integration.
Mobile check-in – A trendy and functional solution for hotels is to design key cards with interesting images, numbers of rooms, guest names, or even a shiny foil on the actively checked-in front desk buttons.
Their innovation is in the field of Printing and Card Technology.
New innovations in PVC card printing process include high quality color printing, possibility to print on the synthetics such as PET, ABS plastics and including electronics in the cards.
Smart card technology enables the insertion of a goldchip in PVC cards that will enhance microprocessor, memory and communication in aspects of security, identification and access.
Biometric cards are also being popularised which provide fingerprint, iris or facial recognition features enhancing the validity of the card and its security to a higher level.
PVC cards are also not only the identification cards but are also effective marketing tools with the use of QR codes to provide connection to the online profile or with NFC technology that allows touching the real world and the digital one to interact effectively creating the integrated physical-digital environment.
The above discussion shows that the future of PVC cards is not bleak after all as some people tend to think.
This is not to mention the fact that PVC cards are now adopted in various industries due to their high durability coupled by their resistance to wear and tear not forgetting that PVC can be fully customized in terms of color, design, and physical features such as signature panels as well as enhanced security and functional technologies.
Newer card materials such as PET plastic are only being introduced for enhanced durability on IDs for example so as they have not affected PVC due to its improved performance and cheaper prices.
PVC cards will remain the market leader in many more years in the fields like corporate ID, health cards, and hospitality and entertainment access cards and in the new technologies such as biometric and internet interaction.
The fact that PVC card printing is affordable, durable and quite flexible to accommodate changes makes it ideal for most uses and ready to be adapted to new uses such as RFID or smart cards.
If planning to get PVC cards printed for business or organizational purposes, then it is advisable to consult a card printing firm that can assist in making right decisions with regard to such aspects as the right printing type to select, security considerations, among others, and the latest technology to incorporate in the project. It is advisable to use more resources to apply and secure PVC card personalization to capture the entire range of their application opportunities and charge credentials!
