One of the major benefits of plastic cards is the ability to have high quality custom graphics printed on the cards. The plastic cards act as a visual representation of the company that stand out from the competition. Many companies utilize their plastic cards as an opportunity to impress their clients. The plastic cards in effect become a miniature billboard for the company.
Plastic cards can be printed several different ways. Plastic cards printed without full-color graphics are printed using spot colors on sheet fed offset printing presses. With plastic cards that require only two different colors, the printing process is called a two color process. More spot colors can be added depending on how many different colors are needed on the card. There is a printing process called thermography which simulates the raised print effect of printing with engraved plates. The most common form of color printing used to print high quality graphics and photographs on plastic cards is referred to as four-color process printing. This process utilizes CMYK coloring for the reproduction of an image or text.
Plastic cards can be coated with a UV glossy coat which is applied in the same manner as another ink. This is accomplished using an additional unit on a sheeted press. UV coats can be applied on plastic cards like a spot color where certain areas are coated and others are left uncoated. UV coatings on plastic cards are generally highly glossy but they are more likely to show fingerprints.
When plastic cards are cut, small differences in where the blades cut the plastic cards can result in white edges if the design of the card does not have proper bleed. In order to ensure that the plastic cards will be cut without white edges, plastic card printing companies will ask for designs to be created with a certain percentage of bleed around the edges of the cards.
In order to print high quality photos or graphics on plastic cards, the card designs must be made in a resolution of at least 300dpi and all photos or images used must also be in a high resolution. Images that are normally found on the internet on websites are designed in a low resolution of 72dpi. This lower resolution is used on the internet in order to display images quickly. However, if these low resolution images are used on printed plastic cards, the result would be an image that is distorted and grainy rather than sharp and clear.
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