The Perfect Solution for ALL your Card Needs

Everyone is asking one simple question: What is the alternative for quality, cost-effective short-run card printing?

There's One Simple Answer: Cards Plus

We are proud to add QuickCards to our product line-up. QuickCards is the perfect solution for short runs of custom plastic cards. Whether you need 1 card or 10 000 cards, QuickCards is the solution for you. QuickCards have never been so easy and affordable. Our mission is to get you "The Cards You Want When You Need Them," by the providing litho quality pre-printed cards and the service you want at a very reasonable price.

Whatever your PVC card need may be, LOOK NO FURTHER....Cards Plus has the perfect solution.

We offer:

• A helpful and friendly sales staff

• An experienced design team

• A quality printing department

• A wide variety of card solutions

Please call Cards Plus at 086-16-CARDS to find out more about QuickCards or read more at www.cardsplus.co.za

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CARD BUREAU SERVICE

We have established a convenient Card Bureau Service for clients who:
• Have a need for a smaller volume of cards
• Have an ongoing need for monthly/quarterly orders
• Have projects that do not warrant the initial capital outlay to purchase a personal card printer
• Are just beginning a card program, and would like to test the outcome before committing to a larger investment.
• Require a quick turnaround time for their card project
With Cards Plus Card Bureau Service, you will benefit from the latest in PVC Card printing technology.

Options available include:
• Signature Panel
• Magnetic stripe encoding (LoCo or HiCo)
• Full colour Front and/or Back or just simply monochrome cards (black, red, blue, silver, gold, green)
• Photo inserts
• Barcoding
• Personalization
• Graphic Design Service

THE PROCESS
Excellent customer service is a top priority, and we will do our best to make your project a smooth running process.
After discussing with you the specific requirements you have for your card, we will determine which options would best fit your
needs. A quote, based on those requirements, will then be drawn up and emailed to you.
Upon acceptance of your quote, we will proceed with the design of your card. If you possess high resolution artwork or logos and have an idea of how you would like the card laid out, we will use those and provide you with at least two options for your card. If you require the skills of a graphic designer, we have a talented graphic designer who will assist you in creating a logo or card design.

Once the designs have been approved, we will begin the printing process. If ersonalization is needed, then the information will need to be provided in a spreadsheet format, with each segment of information in its own column.
One of the great benefits of this service is the quick turnaround times. We can have your cards ready for you in 3-4 days from receipt of all the necessary files. Once printed, we will send the cards to the desired location via TNT Express.

ON GOING SERVICE
Your card design is kept on file, and when you require more cards, reordering is a very simple call away. If you have an ongoing database of information that is recorded on your cards, we will keep those files and update them as you re-order.
If you would like more information and to speak to our Card Bureau department, please do not hesitate to call us at 086 16 CARDS. We look forward to working with you!

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Certified Partner for Digital Identification Solutions Appointed

News Update: 28 September 2007

On 28 September 2007, Cards Plus was appointed as the Certified Solutions Partner for Digital Identification Solution here in South Africa. As the authorized reseller for Digital Identifications, the line of the EDI DCP (direct to card printer) and the EDI Secure XID Re-Transfer printer Family will be supported here in South Africa.

Digital Identification Solutions Group is a worldwide provider of identity solutions. The company has sales, marketing and support centres in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, United States and now South Africa.

Digital Identifications Solutions

Digital Identification delivers state-of-the-art identity solutions to customers virtually anywhere in the world through their worldwide network of Certified Partners.

Digital Identification Solutions Group distinguishes itself in the marketplace in each of these categories:

• Industry experience
• Project services
• International operations
• Advanced technology
• Track record

The Digital Identification Solutions Group offers a comprehensive Portfolio of eight top class EDIsecure® ID Card Printers.

The Value Line is for the budget sensitive applications with three distinct models.

The EDIsecure^® DCP 100 Direct Card Printer

The DCP 100 is our smallest and lightest full colour ID card printer for single- or double-sided, edge-to-edge printing. With its elegant forward-looking design and its advanced technology, the DCP 100 is one of the most compact printers available today. Designed and created to simplify printing on plastic cards, it combines technical performance, design and small dimensions together with an unmatched quality/price ratio.

The EDIsecure DCP 240+ Direct Card Printer

The DCP 240+ for single-sided, edge-to-edge printing is the perfect solution to enter the world of ID card personalization. High quality edge-to-edge printing results in attractive cards with a professional look.

Medium-volume card programs for e.g. membership cards, loyalty and gift cards can be done easily and budget friendly with this printer.

With this high class design and small footprint it fits perfectly on every desk - and best of all: it’s working low noise. With its attractive price point it is the ideal single-sided card printer in its class.

The EDIsecure^® DCP 340+ Direct Card Printer

for double-sided, edge-to-edge printing is the perfect solution to enter the world of ID card personalization for medium to higher volume applications. High quality edge-to-edge printing results in attractive cards with a professional look.

With this high class design and small footprint it fits perfectly on every desk - and best of all: it’s working low noise. This versatile printer comes at a very attractive price level.

The Professional Line offers five distinct models to choose from.

The EDIsecure^® DCP360i Professional Direct-Card Printer

The double-sided, edge-to-edge EDIsecure^® DCP360i Professional Direct-Card Printer was developed for industrial needs and is prepared for plug and play inline lamination.

With its versatility and state-of-the-art features it is the most powerful direct card printer in the world.

The EDIsecure^® XID 560ie Retransfer Printer

The XID 560ie is the fastest full-colour single-sided Retransfer Printer in its class due to portrait mode printing. The printer is network ready with built in Ethernet port and able to print over-the-edge with glossy photo finish quality on a variety of card materials (PVC, ABS, PET, Polycarbonate, etc.) With optional inline encoding modules, the printer is ideal for printing and encoding of smart cards (contact and contactless) as well cards with magnetic stripe.

The EDIsecure^® XID 570ie Retransfer Printer

The XID 570ie is an affordable, fast and robust double-sided Retransfer Printer that produces near offset printing quality without a blemish even on the challenging, uneven surface of smart cards. The printer comes with a built-in Ethernet interface and is ready for plug and play inline encoding and lamination.

The EDIsecure^® XID 580ie Retransfer Printer

The XID 580ie is the recommended choice in highly secure and high volume operations, where high quality and highly durable print results are requested.

The EDIsecure^® XID 590ie Retransfer Printer

The XID 590ie is the most powerful and versatile printer in its class. The printer combines maximum hourly output of printed cards with a wide range of encoding and highly secure lamination options.

And as evidence these XID printer solutions are built for the long-haul, all models include a lifetime warranty on the printhead provided you use our recommended supplies.

Why ReTransfer Printing?

ReTransfer Printing is an amazing technology that allows you to print FULL PHOTO-REALISTIC COLOUR, FULL BLEED IMAGES in perfect colour without the pitfalls of traditional dye sublimation card printing.

Durability of Card is substantially improved by bonding the substrate film with the card material. The ReTransfer process encapsulates the printed image within a bond of extremely durable material and increases the card life substantially. Additional security overlays may be adhered on top of the bonding film to increase durability and improve security. Custom secure holographic overlays are available.

Cost savings are seen in the reduced wear and tear on the print heads. Since the printer is printing on a substrate material (film) that is very thin and strong there is less wear on the print head because there is very little variation in size or texture on the surface area of the film. Since the film is a standard thickness the print head does not have to move to accommodate thickness variations in the cards.

Consistency of Printing is a result of the process that prints directly on the transfer film. Each print is extremely high quality and there is little variation in the print quality because of the way that the film and ribbons are loaded into the printing chamber. Once the film has the reverse image embedded, it is then laminated to the PVC material. In a traditional printer there are several variables that affect the print quality including card size variations, edge smoothness, foreign material on the card surface, ribbon tightness and as the ribbon is used there is a tendency of the ribbons to stretch or move slightly out of alignment. This is not the case with ReTransfer printing as this process is very tightly controlled.

ReTransfer printers have two consumable components:

The first is the Printer Ribbon: This ribbon comes in YMCK (Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black Resin) format and is used to print all of the images on your card by mixing these colors in a Dye Sublimation process.

The Second component is the Transfer Film. Rather than printing directly on the card itself, the ReTransfer printer prints a reverse image on the laminate transfer film and then bonds this material to the face of the card. Since the ReTransfer Film is slightly larger than the size of a standard CR-80 card it is possible to print over the entire surface area of the PVC card without the pesky white border that is required on all other dye sublimation printers.

Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in receiving additional information on the EDIsecure^® line of printers. Click here for more details Contact or call us at 086 16 CARDS (+27-11-826-4915)

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Infineon Retains Market Leadership for Chip Card ICs Due To Excellent Security Expertise for Ten Consecutive Years

Neubiberg, Germany – September 10, 2007 – Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX) retained its global market leadership in chips for card applications in 2006. In a recent report entitled “Global Smart Card IC Study 2006”, the US market research company Frost & Sullivan confirmed that Infineon achieved market leadership. In 2006, Infineon’s market share was 29.1 percent of the overall chip card IC (integrated circuit) market, totaling about $1.9 billion U.S. dollars according to Frost & Sullivan. This makes Infineon the global market leader for chip card ICs for the tenth consecutive year. The market research company also affirms that Infineon is the market leader in volume shipments of security microcontrollers for chip cards. Infineon shipped 844 million microcontroller units in the 3.06 billion microcontroller market, leading it to exceed the 27.5 percent mark.

”Infineon has played an outstanding role in the smart card field throughout the last decade. Despite hard times in the industry, Infineon has always managed to keep its leadership by addressing a variety of applications with a wide portfolio and a broad customer base and today has an excellent reputation for its security expertise,” said Anoop Ubhey, Global Programme Director, Smart Cards ICT at Frost & Sullivan market research company.

Infineon is strong in chip card growth fields: contactless, ID and payment

Furthermore, Frost & Sullivan asserts that Infineon has a leading position in several of today’s growth markets for the chip card industry, including contact-based and contactless interface, with the trend towards the contactless interface. In the upcoming years, Frost & Sullivan anticipates the market for contactless cards to grow by an average of 34 percent year-on-year. For contactless interfaces, Infineon has expanded its Mifare® portfolio towards microcontrollers and is today the only provider of contactless chips that are compatible with all the contactless standards including Mifare, ISO/IEC14443 B, A, and FeliCa®.

Infineon is the world’s leading supplier of security chips in the payment segment, including credit cards and payment cards. Also, Infineon is strong in high-security applications including identification for electronic passports or personal ID on smartcards.

The top market players in the chip card IC market in 2006

According to market report “Global Smart Card IC Study” (published end of August 2007) of US market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the overall chip card IC market in 2006 totaled about $1.9 Billion U.S. dollars.

The top chip card IC market players in 2006 were:
1. Infineon Technologies (29.1%)
2. Samsung (15.5%)
3. NXP (14.3%)
4. Atmel (13.0%)
5. Renesas (12.5%)
6. STMicroelectronics (6.9%)
7. Others (8.7%)
Source: http://www.presseagentur.com/infineon/detail.php?pr_id=1474&lang=en

Click here for a QuickQuote for Infineon Cards

Cards Plus is pleased to support Infineon here in South Africa. If you need any additional information with regards to the Infineon IC's please feel free to give us a call. Samples of their 1k IC Card are available for testing.

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The World’s Smallest RFID Chip

Hitachi has announced the development of RFID chips the size of sand grains. Smaller than the width of a human hair, these RFID chips measure just 1/20th of a millimeter square. The chips are 64 times smaller than currently available RFID chips, which
are already tiny enough to embed in paper. These new RFID chips have a 128-bit ROM for storing a unique 38 digit number, like their predecessor, the Hitachi mu-chip. Hitachi plans on marketing them within the next two to three years. The main application
is likely to be anti-counterfeit.

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Smart Card System For South Africa????

Here we go again...déjà vu!

The South African government has decided to go ahead with the Smart Card system of identification without coming to any conclusion in its discussion with business, in particular the banks.

Home affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has announced that weaknesses in the green bar-coded ID system had made it imperative to go ahead as soon as possible.

"Many undesirable elements have had access to them. So we can forget about other applications, and just use the Smart Card," she said. The minister also said the Smart Card ID aimed to provide a secure identity system that would be useful in other government departments, notably for drivers licences or at pension pay points. However, it could also be used to identify customers to their banks.

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Re-Transfer Technology

We are pleased to introduce Re-transfer Card Printing

What is Re-Transfer Card Printing?
XID Re-Transfer technology does not have the print head touch directly onto the card surface.

Instead, the card-data is printed mirror-inverted onto a PET film and subsequently released from this film and fused onto the card through heat and pressure. The print itself is completely independent of the card surface or the card material. This eliminates the ongoing costs for print head replacement. DIS grants unlimited Print-Head lifetime warranty for EDIsecure® XID Re-Transfer Card Printer as long as EDIsecure® material is used.
It is possible to print on 100% PET (Polyester),PVC, PVH & ABS (injection molded plastic cards) and even on Polycarbonate cards. The usually required thin PVC layer, which allows a thermal transfer print, is no longer necessary. These materials offer far more advantages to the customer as they have a better temperature resistance, lifetime cycle and resistance to physical and chemical impact.
• 100% PET Cardware is a very reliable card material at reasonable costs with good heat resistance and very good mechanical strength. Such material would significant help to avoid headaches regarding to expected card lifetime of 10 years like as National-ID cards. This material is not printable with direct card printers but pretty well with XID Re-Transfer technology.
• With XID Re-Transfer technology the printing on the card automatically is protected by the 0.009 mm thick PET release layer of the re-transfer film against scratching and other environmental hazards. That leads to a much more durable card, highly resistant to physical and environmental impacts. Even backside of card is protected by this PET layer against abrasions if printed e.g. with 2D barcode and OCR lines. This minimizes read errors. Lifetime of card and usability period will definitely increase when using Re-Transfer technology. Manipulating the card will destroy and damage the printed layer and make fraud visible.
• Furthermore a versatile lamination program inline or offline with OVD Overlay, OVD Patch and Clear Patches is available for additional protection, if requested. The lamination will not interfere with the pre-print of the card. Most of sample cards from Digital Identification Solutions are already pre-printed with UV and Microprinting.
The XID Re-Transfer film laminates nicely onto card surface even when edges are not flat or when card surface is uneven. Hence true edge-to-edge printing. Now chip cards or proximity cards can be personalized without any problems.
• Because XID Re-Transfer print results are of best quality costs for pre-print on Cardware can be reduced by printing backgrounds and logos with the printer.

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Mifare Cards

Smart Card

Our state of the art Smartcard plant has been vetted and accredited by Philps and Arsenal Research for certification of Mifare products according to ISO/IEC 14443. The Smartcard production plant is ISO 9001 accredited and has a track record of producing work for Ministry of Defence, Transport and National Security departments for governments around the world.

Our Smartcard plant has over 140 highly skilled and trained workers operating a two shift system. This set up enables our manufactuing to accomodate up to 6 million Contact and 3 million Mifare cards each month. With our capacity reducing every month we have major plans to increase the capacity to over 12 million cards per month by the end of 2007.

Contactless Card

Philips MF1 IC S50 - Mifare 1K Card

The ever-popular MiFare 1K card from Philips, also known as Mifare Classic. Operates at 13.56 MHz wireless frequency, according to the ISO 14443A standard, and contains 1Kbytes of read/write memory that can be used for multiple applications. Mifare cards typically operate at a distance of up to 10cm depending on the power provided by the reader. Supplied as blank white PVC cards to ISO standard.

Philips MF1 IC S70 - Mifare 4K Card

The expanded memory Mifare 4K card from Philips, belonging to the Mifare Classic family of products. Operates at 13.56 MHz wireless frequency, according to the ISO 14443A standard, and contains 4Kbytes of read/write memory that can be used for multiple applications. Mifare cards typically operate at a distance of up to 10cm depending on the power provided by the reader. Supplied as blank white PVC cards to ISO standard.

Philips Mifare Ultralight

Mifare Ultralight has a 512-bit EEPROM read/write memory and is compatible with existing Mifare infrastructures. Operating in accordance with ISO 14443A, Mifare Ultralight functions at a distance of up to 10 cm with true anti-collision properties and without the need for a battery.

Mifare Desfire

Mifare Desfire is ideal for service providers wanting to use multi-application smart cards in transport schemes, e-government or identity applications. Based on open global standards for both air interface and cryptographic methods, Mifare Desfire is compliant to all 4 levels of ISO / IEC 14443A and uses optional ISO / IEC 7816-4 commands.

Featuring an on-chip backup management system and the mutual three pass authentication, a Mifare Desfire card can hold up to 28 different applications and 16 files per application.

Please call us to discuss the options.

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Pre-Printing of Cards an Introduction

At Cards Plus, we believe there are two key ingredients to a successful Pre-Printed card project:

• Project Management
• Card Printing Technology

Project Management
Cards Plus has many years of experience project managing large and small projects. We treat every Pre-Printed card job as a project. We assign a project manager that will be involved in every step of the process with you. We will work diligently from the art preparation to making sure all your specifications are correctly met. We will make sure that you get you proof quickly (in digital format) to ensure that the project does not sit unnoticed. We will work diligently to service you and our goal will be to exceed your expectations in every step of the project.

Card Printing Technology

We offer a couple of ways to produce pre-printed cards. For the lower volume of cards, we suggest dye-sublimation. This type of technology is suitable for ID Cards and card orders of 500 cards or less. We can print full colour on the front and full colour on the back. We also offer a cheaper option that allows for monochrome print (black, blue, green, red, white, gold and silver) on a standard white credit card size card.

Our standard lead-time for these types of cards are 3-4 days.

We also offer an option for larger volume of cards which also offers better print quality. This option offers a lower cost. We can print full colour on the front and back, we also offer guilloche printing, foil stamping, UV Ink printing just to name a few. Our standard lead-time for these types of cards are 3-4 weeks.

There are many advantages of a Cards Plus Pre-Printed card, including:

• Durability
  1.0 mil overlay to provide an extremely durable card
• Resolution
  This high printing resolution will make your images dramatically sharper and if you require security printing i.e guilloche or micro printing we can accommodate those needs
• Speed
  A Pre-Printed card allows you to just print the data that is varying on the card, since the background image is already printed. This can sharply increase your productivity of your card printing process.

Card Plus’ technology for producing your card will be state of the art including the following:

• The process includes a fully digital pre-press, which allows for the litho plates to be 100% digitally created (many plants still use film). The digital litho plates will ensure highest quality images. What that means at the end of the day, there are NO SETUP COSTS.
• The Litho offset printing equipment is also fully digital and uses the most advanced technology available for plastic card printing. The colour, density and litho plates are computer controlled, which will ensure an exact reproduction of your cards.
• The cards are cut using an optical registration system that checks for accuracy on three axes to guarantee accurate cuts.
• The cards are inspected using a fully computer controlled optical inspection system that accurately assures the highest card quality.
• The plant has achieved the highest quality designation - ISO 9001.
• The plant produces cards for American Express, Visa and MasterCard with a huge capacity of cards per year.

We can accomodate almost any size and type of pre-printed card. We work with worldwide industry leaders from financial institutions, casinos, loyalty card managers, retailers, restaurants, hotels, airlines, schools, governments, libraries, and more.

It doesn’t matter if you currently have a paper based, laminated plastic or even no membership cards at all, we are sure that Cards Plus can assist you in shaping your card requirements.

You demand the quality, innovation and creativity to make your card stand out above the rest. It is a relationship, touch point, or communication piece to your customer.

Cards Plus is the company to meet your needs. Our streamlined process gives customers competitively priced products without sacrificing the quality and technology needed to succeed in business today.

Click here for a QuickQuote for Pre-Printed Cards

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Choosing the Right Card Printer

The major components in any ID Card System, ID Card Printers are many and varied. An ID card printer can perform many functions while printing an ID Card, and this is what makes them so useful. For example, while printing an image, an ID Card Printer could encode a magnetic stripe, a proximity card, or a smart card.

The printer comes with software that manages the data that is printed or encoded on each card. The software handles all the functions and provides the printer with the necessary tools to perform all its functions at once.

Before deciding which printer is right for your needs, consider what capabilities you want the printer to perform. You have to think about both the physical and technological properties of the printer and decide accordingly. As a rule, heavier ID card printers with a larger footprint have more abilities and are more durable. Lighter printers are usually better for less-intensive uses, and may have fewer capabilities, though this isnt always the case.


More properties you should take into consideration when choosing a printer are the following:

Do you want a single or double-sided card?

A single sided ID card is excellent for simpler uses, like a student or school employee ID card. A double-sided ID card can add more security to your company and can be better for a larger company or corporation that wants enhanced security.

Do you require colour images or monochromatic images?

You should decide if you want a multi-colored image on your card or a simple monochromatic (one colour) image.

Is encoding like magnetic stripes, proximity cards, or smart cards required?

Institutions like Government buildings, schools, banks, and hospitals all benefit from the quickness and hassle-free efficiency of proximity cards, contactless smart cards, and magnetic stripes. Contactless smart cards and proximity cards use Radio Frequency technology that allows for higher security, greater efficiency, and easier use (no swiping involved).

Do you want other security features, like holograms?

Besides basic encoding, there are also more complex forms of security for ID cards like holographic cards. A holographic card is created by transferring holographic over-laminates onto cards. This minimizes the risk of the printed image being altered and forged. Make sure you request a custom holograph if you go this route, as the ones you buy online can be bought by many others, including counterfeiters.

These are some of the most basic questions you should answer before purchasing an ID card printer. Call us if you have any card printing questions if you have other questions and make sure you ask any questions you have. You are investing in the security and organization of your company or facility, and having the right components can make all the difference in the type of Photo ID card you end up with.


Take a little closer look http://www.cardsplus.co.za/

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PVC Card Printing 101

Plastic cards have become part of everyone's life, from credit cards to driver's licenses, membership cards to employee identification badges. Their standard size, portability and durability have made them the vehicle of choice for many applications.

Digital plastic card printers offer the ability to create custom cards ideally tailored to the application or to customize and personalize cards on demand, right at the point of issuance.

Closely integrated with image capture systems (digital cameras, etc.) and computer database systems, the printer provides the delivery point of a highly integrated system. The printing process is fast (just a few seconds per card) so that cards are generated and personalized while the customer cardholder waits, quickly connecting the customer or cardholder to the issuing organization or program.

Digitally printed plastic cards provide numerous technological features, but start with a blank plastic card that can be printed with any combination of artwork, graphics, text, digital photograph, bar codes, logos, etc., limited only by the issuer’s imagination. Additional machine readable information can also be encoded such as magnetic stripes and smart card chips.

Digital plastic card printing has replaced previous card generation methods and has integrated the card delivery process into the electronic environment that runs and tracks the rest of your business or agency.

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