Content:
Embossed cards or non-embossed cards - the overwhelming majority of owners do not care what category their card belongs to, because today this name can only tell us about its design or status. But these terms did not appear at all to describe the beauty of the card, but in the process of the evolution of the technology of payment by bank cards and the fruits of this evolution, we can use to this day. You will also learn about slips, imprinters and tipping in the article.
Embossed card. What is it?
The term "embossing" itself came to us from the history of credit cards and denotes the mechanical process of squeezing out certain information on the surface of a plastic card (on its front side). All letters and numbers on it are convex. In fact, this is a method of personalizing a bank card, making it easier to identify it during payment.
Such personal data are:
Embossed cards are usually more privileged (classic, gold or platinum), nevertheless, it does not make sense for a bank to spend extra money on plastic production if the card is, for example, a salary (debit) card or with an entry-level payment system (Maestro, Electron, etc.).
You can also find various types of plastic cards (not necessarily bank cards), the design elements of which (usually the card number) are embossed.
The history of the emergence and development of embossed plastic cards
The first plastic cards were made from paper. All data from payment carriers had to be rewritten manually, since there were no special devices for automating this process.
While there were few card transactions, sales checks, called slips, were easy to fill out: there was enough time. But as soon as the popularity of the cards increased, blots appeared in a hurry, which were considered a gross violation of existing rules.
A slip is a document (it is also called a check), which confirms a payment transaction on a bank card. With the help of an imprinter (see later in the article), the seller or the cashier makes an imprint of the embossed (embossed) bank card details on the check (slip). On the check, in addition, there is an imprint of a cliché with information about the outlet. The necessary data about the performed operation (amount, date of the operation, etc.) by the seller is filled in manually in the slip. Then all copies (in a slip there are usually 3 layers of self-copying forms) are signed separately by the cashier and the client. After that, one copy is given to the cardholder, the second remains at the outlet, and the third is sent to the bank.
A correctly prepared slip confirms that the transaction was carried out with the physical presence of the card, and has almost the same effect as a card payment transaction, confirmed by a PIN code. This type of payment confirmation is possible when the POS terminal is not working or when cellular communication is not working (but in some country it is practically not used).
To speed up the process and at the same time avoid inaccuracies, metal plates were invented in 1928, on which the address of the owner of such a "card" was applied. The American company "Farrington Manufacturing" acted as the issuing company, and it carried out the selection very strictly: only the most trustworthy customers, who had already managed to prove their solvency, became holders of metal "cards".
15 years later, imprinters appeared that significantly simplified the process of identifying a customer before making a purchase. A metal card-plate was placed in an imprinter, which imprinted the numbers and letters embossed on it directly onto a sales receipt - a slip. And errors in filling were completely eliminated.
Later, the metal was replaced by plastic, which was much easier to give in to the required processing. And today ready-made plastic blanks lend themselves to embossing.
How is embossed and what is an embosser
To carry out the embossing process in automatic mode, you need a very complex technical complex, which resembles a mini-printing house. It is called an embosser, and its principle of operation consists in the movement of a drum with numbers, which squeezes out the required information on a plastic card. A special micro-sized computer controls the actions of the drum. The embosser can reach a printing speed of up to several hundred cards per hour.
Coloring raised numbers and letters in different colors is called tipping. It is carried out with special paint or foil. Color engraving on plastic cards looks very rich and sophisticated, which explains the considerable popularity of embossed cards among clients who want to emphasize their status.
The standard colors for tipping are gold and silver; less common is black and white. The rest of the shades are very rare. This is due to technological difficulties that are not economically justified.
Since embossed plastic cards require strict adherence to technology, their production takes much longer. It is necessary to wait for such a card from 2 to 7 days, while non-embossed ones can even be instantaneous (though in this case they are unnamed).
- Embossed card. What is it?
- The history of the emergence and development of embossed plastic cards
- How is embossed and what is an embosser
Embossed cards or non-embossed cards - the overwhelming majority of owners do not care what category their card belongs to, because today this name can only tell us about its design or status. But these terms did not appear at all to describe the beauty of the card, but in the process of the evolution of the technology of payment by bank cards and the fruits of this evolution, we can use to this day. You will also learn about slips, imprinters and tipping in the article.
Embossed card. What is it?
The term "embossing" itself came to us from the history of credit cards and denotes the mechanical process of squeezing out certain information on the surface of a plastic card (on its front side). All letters and numbers on it are convex. In fact, this is a method of personalizing a bank card, making it easier to identify it during payment.
Such personal data are:
- bank card number;
- its validity period (month and year of expiration);
- name and surname of the holder;
- the name of the company (for clients receiving salaries through the bank, or corporate clients).
Embossed cards are usually more privileged (classic, gold or platinum), nevertheless, it does not make sense for a bank to spend extra money on plastic production if the card is, for example, a salary (debit) card or with an entry-level payment system (Maestro, Electron, etc.).
You can also find various types of plastic cards (not necessarily bank cards), the design elements of which (usually the card number) are embossed.
The history of the emergence and development of embossed plastic cards
The first plastic cards were made from paper. All data from payment carriers had to be rewritten manually, since there were no special devices for automating this process.
While there were few card transactions, sales checks, called slips, were easy to fill out: there was enough time. But as soon as the popularity of the cards increased, blots appeared in a hurry, which were considered a gross violation of existing rules.
A slip is a document (it is also called a check), which confirms a payment transaction on a bank card. With the help of an imprinter (see later in the article), the seller or the cashier makes an imprint of the embossed (embossed) bank card details on the check (slip). On the check, in addition, there is an imprint of a cliché with information about the outlet. The necessary data about the performed operation (amount, date of the operation, etc.) by the seller is filled in manually in the slip. Then all copies (in a slip there are usually 3 layers of self-copying forms) are signed separately by the cashier and the client. After that, one copy is given to the cardholder, the second remains at the outlet, and the third is sent to the bank.
A correctly prepared slip confirms that the transaction was carried out with the physical presence of the card, and has almost the same effect as a card payment transaction, confirmed by a PIN code. This type of payment confirmation is possible when the POS terminal is not working or when cellular communication is not working (but in some country it is practically not used).
To speed up the process and at the same time avoid inaccuracies, metal plates were invented in 1928, on which the address of the owner of such a "card" was applied. The American company "Farrington Manufacturing" acted as the issuing company, and it carried out the selection very strictly: only the most trustworthy customers, who had already managed to prove their solvency, became holders of metal "cards".
15 years later, imprinters appeared that significantly simplified the process of identifying a customer before making a purchase. A metal card-plate was placed in an imprinter, which imprinted the numbers and letters embossed on it directly onto a sales receipt - a slip. And errors in filling were completely eliminated.
Later, the metal was replaced by plastic, which was much easier to give in to the required processing. And today ready-made plastic blanks lend themselves to embossing.
How is embossed and what is an embosser
To carry out the embossing process in automatic mode, you need a very complex technical complex, which resembles a mini-printing house. It is called an embosser, and its principle of operation consists in the movement of a drum with numbers, which squeezes out the required information on a plastic card. A special micro-sized computer controls the actions of the drum. The embosser can reach a printing speed of up to several hundred cards per hour.
Coloring raised numbers and letters in different colors is called tipping. It is carried out with special paint or foil. Color engraving on plastic cards looks very rich and sophisticated, which explains the considerable popularity of embossed cards among clients who want to emphasize their status.
The standard colors for tipping are gold and silver; less common is black and white. The rest of the shades are very rare. This is due to technological difficulties that are not economically justified.
Since embossed plastic cards require strict adherence to technology, their production takes much longer. It is necessary to wait for such a card from 2 to 7 days, while non-embossed ones can even be instantaneous (though in this case they are unnamed).
