Plastic / Bank & ID Cards
Plastic / Bank & ID Cards
Plastic / bank cards are a day to day part of our life.
Typically these cards are made in 4 laminated layers of PVC material. The graphic layer is usually printed in offset and gets a screen printed specialty. This could be a special security ink, a solid strong color or a precious metal effect ink to improve the cards appearance. In some cases, screen printing is used to lay down a white base before offset printing. Specialized card printing companies would usually work with cylinder printing machines. Depending on the required maximum sheet size, both the model SPS STOP cylinder screen printing machine SPS VITESSA XP57 primeline OR the servo-driven STOP cylinder screen printing machine SPS ASTRON QX fit the requirements. In this industry the printing press is mostly combined with the SPS FP single sheet front pick-up feeder, including “just in time” sheet cleaning. Since offset and screen printing are combined on the same sheet, the option of “print length correction” is extremely important to achieve a correct register between the different print techniques! The ASTRON QX also fits for cards that do not have stable edge registration, this screen printing model is equipped with servo drive and camera registration.
For smaller series also the ATMA range of flat-bed screen printing presses such as ATMA AT60PD / ATMA AT60 PPD / ATMACE 67/G6 can be a good alternative.
Drying of the printed plastic material is usually done in relative long Jet Air Conveyor Dryers such as SPS TURBOSTAR CBS. The promising developments of UV inks also make it possible to use the SPS S-UV dryer.