Plastic Cards
In previous articles we’ve covered Christmas cards, booklet printing, and most recently business cards. This time we’re going to be looking at plastic cards – in particular what are the characteristics that make them special and what they are used for. Let’s start by examining what’s different about them.
The key characteristics of plastic cards
For starters, they’re made of plastic, although we already knew that! What this gives them, over cards made of paper or card, is durability i.e. they last far longer. Years, if looked after properly. You only have to consider your own credit or debit cards to confirm this – chances are that they expire long before they fall apart.
It’s worth pointing out at this point that some “plastic cards” have a compressed card core – this does reduce their cost … but makes them much less durable and thus defeats the object somewhat.
And it’s because they’re made of a hard-wearing material such as plastic that so many additional things can be done with them, which we’ll look at below. So versatility is another key characteristic.
Now, when we’re thinking about making a good first impression and being remembered – not forgetting that “you only make a first impression once” – a well-designed expensive-looking plastic card simply cannot fail to impress (and is far less likely to be discarded). So we might add image or perhaps positive brand awareness to the list.
Additionally, and some readers might be surprised about this, plastic cards can be more environmentally friendly than card, which often ends up in landfill. They can be easily re-cycled, and in some instances can bio-degrade when coming into contact with certain organic materials. So we’re now adding eco-friendly to the list too!
We could go on, but you get the gist – plastic cards are fabulous!
So what are plastic cards used for?
They have a very wide range of uses – here are a few of the common ones:
- Membership cards
- Loyalty cards
- Smart cards
- NFC business cards
- Discount cards
- Key cards
- Contactless cards
- Gift cards
- Promotional cards
- Key tags
So we can see that they are very versatile, covering all sorts of applications.
You’ll notice above that we mentioned “Smart cards” and “NFC business cards”. NFC chips, magnetic strips, bar codes, signature strips, sequential numbering, personalisation – these are all options that are hard if not impossible to incorporate onto paper or card …
… I’m convinced – so where do I get my plastic cards from?
You’re in the right place! Our friendly experts know all there is to know about printing plastic cards, and will be delighted to help you. So now that you’ve found us, click here for a direct link to or plastic card options, here for our home page or here if you want to contact us. Alternatively call us on 0121 622 6959.
You won’t be disappointed, and neither will your clients!