ASK THE EXPERT A resource sponsored by SPE’s Decorating & Assembly Division
The Card Market: An Introduction to Process and Materials by Carrie A. Napper, innovation engineer, Klöckner Pentaplast
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redit cards, gift cards, identification and transportation cards, and even hotel key cards are all a vital part of everyday transactions often overlooked in regards to material selection and product performance requirements. Each subsegment has differing requirements in respect to interlaminate strength, printability, durability, etc. And, within each of these subsegment product types, the various manufacturers producing these cards operate slightly differently in terms of equipment, individual process parameters and enduse customer demands.
Q
Can you share a brief overview of construction and the individual steps a basic card will go through? A standard bank card can be exposed to some or all of the following manufacturing process steps, depending on card design: Artwork > Pre-Press (proofing, films, plates, screens) > Printing > Sheet Collation > Lamination > Shear Cutting > Punching > Individual Cards > Inspection > Hologram > Signature Panel > Cavity Milling/ Chip Embedding > Personalization > Fulfillment
Some of these primary steps are carried out with sublayers of a card prior to a finished, laminated specimen being available in card form. Looking below at the individual sub layers of the example construction will demonstrate how the “pieces” all come together in the lamination step to produce the finished card form.
Q
What types of materials are used in card manufacturing? Primarily PVC, in various colors and thicknesses, is commonly used. Polyesters of both clear and metallized natures are used for aesthetics and durability enhancements. Polycarbonate, although an expensive option, has been proven to provide some of the best durability offerings. Adhesive layers can range from solvent to water-based, hot melt, urethane, acrylic and numerous combinations thereof. Ink layers and graphics can be composed of UV cure, waterless, conventional and hybrid ink sets.
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What types of special effects or materials are used to enhance card features? Specialty products – such as IR-blocking inks and films, color shift inks and pigments, UV and IR
Outer surface of card front can include personalization, hologram, chip Thin-gauge translucent PVC overlay with heat-activated coating Print layer on top: an ink-receptive coating applied to a thin-gauge polyester, typically metallized for cosmetic effect Single- to multiple-pass adhesives to bind thin-gauge PET above to a heaviergauge PVC base core Heavier-gauge PVC base core with single- to multiple-pass adhesives to bind thingauge PET below Thin-gauge PET with ink-receptive coating applied for print layer to adhere Heat-activated coating on thin-gauge translucent PVC overlay Outer surface of card back can include personalization, hologram, signature panel, magnetic strip
An example of individual sub layers of a standard bank card
28 www.plasticsdecorating.com October/November 2017