Materials for making plastic cards

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The entire process of manufacturing plastic cards can be divided into several stages, each of which uses different materials. To understand them in more detail, you should consider each stage of production in detail.

Offset printing material​

With this production method, thin PVC plates are used as the starting material, the thickness of which, as a rule, varies in the range of 300 - 320 microns. The thickness directly depends on the laminate that was used during the baking process. It all depends on the final thickness of the product. If it should be 0.76 mm, then the source material can be a pair of laminate sheets, whose thickness does not exceed 60 microns, as well as plastic 320 microns each. By the way, there are possible options here. This could be a pair of laminate plates 80 microns thick and a pair of plastic plates 300 microns thick. Plastic is often produced in A3 or A2 format.

Printing on blanks​

This method is used when it comes to the production of varnished plastic cards. By blanks we mean ready-made plastic cards issued in various colors according to the CR-80 standard. If there is a need, then LoCo and HiCo magnetic stripes are placed on such cards. With this printing technology, the image is simply coated with UV varnish.

Inks used in offset printing​

Plastic, which is used for offset printing, cannot absorb inks applied to it, so for printing it is necessary to use special inks, the polymerization process of which is carried out under the influence of UV radiation. The most well-known manufacturers of such paints include, for example, the English company Apolo or the German company Zigver.

Laminate (overlay)​

Laminate (overlay) is a transparent PVC, the thickness of which is from 80 to 60 microns. It is usually covered with a layer of special glue, which is responsible for protecting the image on the card during use. Laminate comes with LoCo and HiCo magnetic tape integrated into it. The size of the laminate depends on the size of the laminating press used for baking.

Polycarbonate​

This material boasts a very high degree of resistance to both temperature changes (from -100 to +165 degrees) and physical influences. Polycarbonate is often used as a material for the production of identification cards with laser personalization, since under the influence of a laser it can change its color. Polycarbonate cards are sintered at a temperature of 180-220 degrees from several layers. They cannot be delaminated. Quite interestingly, when a card falls to the floor, it makes a special sound.

Lamination pad​

It is an elastic sheet material that can easily conduct heat. These gaskets are used, as a rule, to ensure that the temperature is distributed as evenly as possible over the entire plane of the material.

Personalization and foil stamping​

Barcode and variable data are printed using a black monochrome cartridge. The signature strip is applied using a white cartridge, which makes it possible to obtain the stripe that the customer needs. If tipping (coloring of embossed symbols) is required, then gold, white and black cartridges are used. If you need to personalize plastic cards, then personalization complexes, embossers and thermal sublimation printers are used for this. If the plastic image must be embossed, then gold or silver foil is used for hot stamping, but the use of other shades is also acceptable. There is also the possibility of using holographic foil.

Digital printing method​

This method is suitable if you need to produce plastic cards in quantities from 5 to 3000 pieces. Depending on what format printer is used, the plastic for printing can be A3 or A4 size. Since offset plastic does not absorb ink, digital plastic, which is made from offset plastic, must be coated with a special primer, which creates a sponge on the surface, allowing ink to subsequently be absorbed into it during printing. Glue is applied to the other side of the plastic, designed to connect 2 sheets of plastic of 300 microns each.

Inks used for digital printing​

Pigment or water-based inks are suitable for this technology. The disadvantages of pigment inks include their high cost and the peculiarity of color changes during sintering. Other materials are also used in printing, such as offset rubber, setting powder and many others.

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