Plastic Cards - Printing Glossary

Click on the letters below to move through our Glossary of Card Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Access Control Card - Plastic cards that are used to gain access to premises. They usually have a magnetic stripe in the back with encoded information for convenient use. They are vey popular in the hotel industry.

B

Bar Code - A bar code is a series of vertical lines that together represent different characters. When a bar code is scanned, the information is passed to a computer that decodes the data into a traditional format. A barcode can be linked to a database that can help you manage your loyalty, gift, and discount card programs.

Bleeds - Printing term that refers to artwork that goes beyond the edge of the card after trimming.

Blister Packs - A package designed for hanging on J-hooks. It consists of a cardboard printed backer, with the card sealed in to a clear plastic blister.

Branding - The application of marketing techniques like strategic planning to help brand positioning.

C

Camera Ready Art – Camera ready art is artwork that can be print without further touch up, preparation or changes.

Combo Card - One or two key tags attached to a credit card size card - Luggage tag sized card (3 1/2" x 2 3/32" x .020). - Standard credit card size (3 3/8" x 2 1/8" x .030).

D

Digital Imaging – Two dimensional image that can be scanned or captured by a camera which may be subsequently edited, filed, displayed or printed on a plastic card.

E

Electronic Art - Graphics in a digital format used by computers with design and imaging applications.

Embossing - Raised letters or numbers usually tipped in either black or gold foil. Usually use for credit cards or debit cards.

Encoding - The process of electronically "writing" information on magnetic stripes.

F

Flat Packs - Designed for hanging on J-hooks.

Foil Stamping - Hot stamp printing is achieved by using pressure and heat to stick foil in to the plastic surface.

Four Color Process - Printing in full color using four color separation negatives - yellow, magenta, cyan and black. When blended, these four colors reproduce only a small portion of all the colors found in nature, but they can reproduce the widest range with the fewest inks when printing.

G

Gift Card - Standard or custom size with a stored value is placed on the card through magnetic striping or bar coding.

H

Halftones - Dot system of color photos to black and white. Hologram - A unique photographic printing that provides a three-dimensional effect on a flat surface. Holograms cannot be easily copied and are used for security and aesthetic purposes on cards.

I

I.D. Card - Card which identifies both the holder and the issuer. All financial transaction cards are I.D. cards.

K

Key Card - Plastic card used to gain access to premises, usually associated with magnetic stripe and proximity cards.

L

Lamination - The process of combining lamination material and core material using time, heat and pressure.

Loyalty Card - Standard credit card or custom size card that have off line accounting for capabilities such as mileage or merchandise purchases.

M

Machine-Readable - A code or characters that can be read by machines.

Magnetic Stripe - Magnetic material, applied as a strip in the surface of a card, used to encode cardholder information.

O

Overlay Varnish - A thin and transparent layer applied to cards to resist scratching and fading from exposure to UV radiation.

P

Personalization - Printing encoding and programming a card with data specific to an individual cardholder.

Phone Card - A prepaid card that allows the user access to long distance calls. The long distance is generally accessed via a PIN number (stored value), which is usually covered by a scratch-off panel for security.

PMS - Pantone Matching System used by printers for color standardization.

Prepaid Card - A card paid for at Point of Sale, permitting the holder to buy goods or services up to the prepaid value.

Prox Card - Short for Proximity card; a form of contactless smart card used for access control applications. Embedded in the card is a metallic antenna coil, which allows it to communicate with an external antenna. Because the cards require only close "proximity" to a RF antenna to be read, they are also referred to as contactless cards.

PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride. The primary material used for typical plastic cards.

R

Resolution - Dimension of the smallest element of an image that can be printed. Usually stated as dots-per-inch (dpi).

S

Signature Panel – Writable material that allows to write on the cards with regular pens or pencils.

Swipe Packaging - Designed to hold a card with a magnetic stripe for point of sale activation.

Y

YMC - Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan are the primary print colors for cards. The three colors are combined in varying degrees to make a full spectrum of colors. YMCKO is the same as YMC plus Black (K) and clear protective overcoat (O).