Cards are a brilliant method of enhancing the branding of your company or organisation, as each cardholder carries your branding right there in their wallets. The ways of personalising them are many and varied and we are a direct to card printer providing an efficient and cost effective service ranging from simply adding a number through to full personalisation including name, title, expiry date and any other detail which is needed. Whether you are looking for clear plastic business cards or gift cards, our card base can be as personal or as generic as you require.
Services
Card Finishing
Barcoding - QR Codes
Barcodes are used as a quick way to identify your cardholders to your software package each time they come to your store, whether through ID cards or membership cards. All you need is a barcode scanner fitted to your PC at the POS. Ecardz creates barcodes which are compatible with most Point of Sale systems.
What is a barcode?
A barcode is simply an optical way of representing a number. When it is scanned by a barcode reader the number will become visible on screen in the related computer software. In applications such as loyalty or membership programmes, scanning the barcode will bring up the cardholders details and these can then be updated.
Applications requiring security algorithms can be employed to produce secure number ranges. Most barcode readers will read the standard barcode types, but when ordering cards it is always good to ask for a test card to test in your system.
What is a QR code?
QR codes are becoming increasingly popular and are being seen on all kinds of printed media including plastic cards. QR (Quick Response) codes can hold a lot more data than the older style barcodes and most commonly are used to direct a customer or potential customer to an advertiser’s website. However, many other applications are possible, including use as proof of identification and to redeem special offers. QR codes are commonly read by mobile ‘smartphones’ and represent a huge opportunity for the creative marketer.
Ecardz has experience in printing QR codes onto cards for a variety of different purposes, including for use as a business card to save printing multiple paper cards.
Specifications
Our QR business cards are printed with eco-friendly inks and have an attractive satin finish.
Ecardz can print all standard types of barcodes including Code 39 and the variations of Code128. If the number is 6 digits or less, Code 39 is most commonly used. However for longer numbers or Alpha-numeric codes it is better to use Code 128 for better readability.
When designing a card that will carry a barcode it is important to ensure there is enough white area on the card to print a clear easy to read barcode. Prior to printing barcodes on your cards, we will send a scan for you to check in your POS or membership software.
Magnetic Stripe Encoding
Magnetic stripe cards are a useful and quick way to identify your cardholders to your software package, be it a simple membership database, a Point of Sale system or an Eftpos based CRM system or smart card reader. Additional security can be built in if required, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Setup and software
If you require cards that are swiped through either your Eftpos terminal or a magnetic card reader on your point of sale, Ecardz will encode the cards to suit your software package. If you are launching an Eftpos based program through Ecardz we take care of it all including providing testing services prior to your product launch. If your cards are compatible with your Point of Sale system we will ensure that the encoding on your cards is able to be read by POS.
Card design
If you require a magnetic stripe on your cards, please ensure your artwork allows for this and that all important information is placed away from the magnetic stripe area. Ecardz can supply you with artwork specifications to ensure the magnetic stripe is in the correct place on your design.
Specifications
Magnetic stripes are available either as Hico (High Coercivity) or Loco (Low Coercivity). Hico cards have stronger magnetism than Loco cards and are therefore more robust and less susceptible to accidental erasure of the data which has been encoded. As there is very little price difference between Hico and Loco cards, we recommend Hico to all of our customers. Magnetic stripe cards supplied by Ecardz will carry a Hico 2750 Oe (Oersted) magnetic stripe unless otherwise specified by the customer. Hico 2750 Oe is the standard used by all financial cards and is suitable for cards that need to be swiped through either a Point of Sale terminal or an Eftpos terminal. Our magnetic stripe cards are also 3 track which means they are compatible with 2 and 3 track readers in the field. This also means we can encode for all available Point of Sales systems.
Card Personalisation
Barcoding
Magnetic Stripe Encoding
Smart Chip Encoding
Numbering
Cardholder Name
Membership Details
Photo
Hole Punching
Useful Tips
If you are planning to use your cards in conjunction with your Point of Sale system, please let us know who your provider is so we can ensure the finished cards will be able to be read by your Point of Sale software
A busy background design will make cardholder details difficult to read. To avoid this problem it is best to create an area in your card design where the cardholder details can be easily read, for example a light coloured background area for black over print or a dark coloured area for white or silver overprint.
If printing a barcode it is best to have a white area in your card design which will accommodate the barcode in the size and shape you want it to be printed. This way you will not have any issues when it comes to reading the barcodes on your cards!
Send us your cardholder details in any of the following formats: .txt .csv or .xls.
Note: you only need to include the details for each person that you actually want to have appear on the cards.
Points Of Interest
Ecardz has many years of experience in card finishing services, our capabilities include design, photography, and secure encoding using commonly used technologies such as barcodes and USB cards through to sophisticated secure RFID chip encoding for payment and authentication.
Specifications
Please check dates in excel files prior to sending as these sometimes get changed to the USA format which can result in incorrect dates being printed onto cards.
Photos for ID cards should be clear and have plain backgrounds. We prefer photos not to be cropped prior to sending as we will crop them to the correct size and ratio to suit your card design.
If your finished cards are to have a hole or slot punch, the design will need to allow for this so that the hole punch area does not affect the cardholder photo or important elements such as the company or club logo. We will review your design and data and send a proof prior to printing so you can be assured of a quality and correct finished product.
RFID Encoding
Radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, tags or cards are a family of devices that can identify a user, allow access or contain value for spending in certain locations. The RFID tags may be a low, medium or high frequency type each with its own use cases advantages/disadvantages:
- In general low frequency tags may be used for access control and have a medium range (up to 1000mm)
- Medium frequency tags are commonly used for NFC applications with a range of around 50-100mm
- High or UHF tags are often used in stock control or applications that require a much longer read range (5+ metres).
NFC is a simpler and versatile set of formats that can be read by many phones and tablets with supporting hardware.
These can open webpages for marketing purposes, or take the user to a specific page which shows the credentials of the cardholder.
Useful Tips
Ecardz can work with you to determine the type of tag or card that you need, including which of the RFID technologies will work best for your application. RFID technology can be housed in a variety of forms, such as wristbands, robust keyfobs, cards and even labels.
Points Of Interest
Tags may have extra data written to its internal memory
In turn each tag may be just pre-encoded with a unique serial number or additional data for its application.
The exact format of the encoding depends on the overall application and is often protected by encryption systems as well as quite specific rules.
Card & Printing Specifications
As RFID is contactless technology, no hardware is exposed (you don’t actually see the chip). This means the base card can usually be printed just like any other card. However, hole punching is discouraged as this can often cut the integrated aerial in the card.
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