What you will need to start printing your own cards tomorrow

Are you ready to branch into printing your own cards, either as a side business or for your company?

We created a brief rundown of what you will need– besides a computer or laptop– to start printing your own plastic cards…

A reliable plastic card printer: There are a wide variety of plastic card printers that will suite a variety of needs from single sided printing to high security printing. We recommend EDIsecure for their durability and reliability.

Software: Connecting to a database gives you the freedom to let the printer print without stopping to browse for a photo. Pick Jolly Technologies IDFlow to get the most bang for your buck

Consumables: Don’t forget your ribbons with the ink ribbons and the plastic cards to print on!

That’s it! You are ready to print! Print on!

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What is at the Core?

When looking for something new, a new computer, a new car, or even a new pair of pants, I am always trying to figure out what it's made from.

Does this computer have dual core processing that will handle the work I need it to run?

Does this car have a sturdy engine that will give me many long happy years without malfunction?

Is this pair of pants made of material that will suit my lifestyle?

I always want to know what is at the core of the product I am purchasing. If it counts what's inside, I want to know about it.

Same is true for a plastic card supplier. We want to know what is at their core. What are they made out of?

So CardsPlus, What are you made out of?

At our core we are a plastic card solutions company. We facilitate the printing of cards or implementation of plastic card systems.

This means:

- We know our stuff. It's our core business! Want to know something about your plastic card application? We can help! Need software to print cards or to implement your cards in real life? We can help!

- We have really great quality. Because we have no 'plan B'- you can be assured that your cards are going to be manufactured with only the best materials and equipment. Cutting corners is cutting out our livelihood- and no one wants a cut up livelihood.

- We can give really good service. Without all the extra goodies to support and supply, we are able to ensure that you receive one on one attention and care. Plus, once the sale is closed and you are thrilled with the card system, we can provide you additional support and assistance.


But does this mean CardsPlus is a small little business?

Hardly! Being focused on our niche has helped us overcome the small business pitfalls and become South Africa's leading Short-Run plastic card manufacturer. With over 4.2 million cards printed in the last 8 months, CardsPlus is well equipped to handle your next order.

At our core, we are a plastic card solutions provider.

At our core, we are committed to serving you!

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Now Introducing: ExpressCards!

Visitors of our stand at Markex were privy to a very special and very exciting new service that CardsPlus will now be offering.

ExpressCards is ready to revolutionise the printing industry!

We understand that sometimes things don't work out exactly as planned. Maybe someone forgets to place the card order- or maybe the artwork took too long to get to you- or maybe your product launch is tomorrow and promotional cards will be just the detail that will skyrocket sales. No matter the delay, CardsPlus is here to help!


What is ExpressCards?

ExpressCards is a new service offered by CardsPlus for printed plastic cards. For print runs of up to 5000 cards, CardsPlus now is giving the option to have the cards printing and dispatched even faster than before.

You can choose!

- Do you need cards printed and dispatched in just 24 hours? ExpressCards can help!
OR
- Do you need cards printed and dispatched in just 5-7 days? ExpressCards can help!

But what about QuickCards?

Our most popular service QuickCards will still be readily available to get you your cards in 10 days or fewer. With a wide range of features and high service value the QuickCards service won't be heading anywhere!

How do I know if my card order is eligible for the ExpressCards service?

ExpressCards is currently designed for urgent card runs that:

- Range between 1 card and 5000 cards
- are printed in full colour on one or both sides

Your ExpressCards can also have any or all of the below features:

- Serialised numbering
- Photo and text insert
- Barcodes
- HiCo or LoCo magnetic stripes for self encoding purposes

and more!

Of course, you are always welcome to give our helpful sales team a call on 086 16 CARDS (22737) to find out more details!

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Can Do Files - Saving the Day

There are always those moments in life when despite the best made plans and preparation - things fall apart. And suddenly one is faced with a crisis that requires immediate action.

Our "Cards Plus Can Do" update is an opportunity we had this last week to help someone save the day - and just in the nick of time.

A very prestigious event was planned by one of our clients - much thought and preparation was made - even down to the red carpet for the VIP guest who was arriving to this special conference. One of the smaller pieces of this event were the plastic name badges that everyone would wear - and wouldn't you know that the client's card printer went down. A very stressed coordinator called our offices to see if we could assist in printing the plastic name badges and have them to her event in record time.

Thanks to our amazing and flexible staff we were able to come to her aid and print up the 50+ plastic cards she needed and hand deliver them to her event - just hours before the event began.

Our convenient Card Bureau service provides for instances such as these. No minimum card order, quick turnaround, helpful staff, and of course beautiful plastic cards. These are the things that make Cards Plus successful, and give us an opportunity to be a help to those in those who find themselves in the midst of a bit of a crisis.

It's our job, and we love it.

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Can Do Files - One Time Print Solution

At Cards Plus, our goal is to provide solutions that fit our client's needs- going to any length within our power.

Our latest CAN DO project involved a company who organizes events. Most specifically, they help with all the nitty gritty details involved in large scale events. Our client contacted us late in December looking for a cost effective solution for printing ID badges for a fairly large sporting event being held in Johannesburg this month. We could have offered him one of our New Year's Special Printers at a great discount - however this is a one time event, and he cannot justify a capital expense at this point.

Cards Plus to the rescue! We offered this client our DCP 240+ on a lease agreement. He can now print his ID badges in the short time span he needs to, paying for only the consumables needed and a small lease fee.

Perhaps you have a project that has unique circumstances, or you are looking for a solution perfectly tailored to your needs. At Cards Plus we will do everything we can within our power to find you the solution you need. Give us a call at 011 894 3914 or check our our web page at www.cardsplus.co.za

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Can Do Files - The Perfect Match

Can Do Files!

Sometimes, knowing what has been done helps when formulating a plan. This is one of the reasons we have our Can Do Files - not just to show you WHAT we can do, but HOW you can put your project together as well.

One of our latest projects has melded our high tech Edisecure XID Card Printers with a very well organized database management company.

This company's challenge is in printing medium volume sporting credentials for athletes who compete both on amateur and professional levels. Local and national clubs sign up for this great service and request their member cards on an as needed basis. Our client assembles this information and makes it available to us via their own internet based database. Once we've printed the card, their database marks it as "finished", eliminating the possibilities of duplicate prints and follow up on missed cards.

Orders varying from 100 - 300 cards are printed in a matter of 3-5 days, and by weeks end, the athletes have a finished card, with identification, photo, ranking and more printed on a stunning, durable PVC card, which will enable them to compete at the levels they are qualified for.

It's a perfect match.

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Powerful Plastic - from the Can Do Files

There was a day when a plastic card meant a credit card. In fact, many still refer to a typcial CR 80 sized card as a "bank card". But today, thanks to new technologies in both hardware and software, and some very creative thinking people, there are now limitless applications for this small, but powerful piece of plastic.

A loyalty card is a great customer reward tool, but how about using it to encourage education? Recently we began meetings with a forward thinking company who is wanting to encourage its employees to better themselves in their chosen field by rewarding them with redeemable points earned through reading.

Partnering with their own in house resources as well as some outside in the community, they are going to use a basic loyalty programme and loyalty cards to keep track of employees who take initiative to learn more about their line of work. These points will then be redeemable for a variety of benefits and employee rewards. (Imagine the possibilities!)

Why not consider taking your companies typical ID badge, and by adding a very inexpensive magnetic stripe and encoding - begin rewarding your employees for doing the things that would make them more valuble to you as their employer?

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Can Do - Samples to Cinch the deal

Everyone knows that ideas and suggestions are great, but when it comes to convincing a client of the value of your service, having something tangible definitely helps.

One of the perks of ordering through Cards Plus is our ability to provide printed plastic card samples to assist our clients in their presentations to their own clientele. Our state of the art Retransfer printers provide litho like quality plastic cards in a fraction of the time, giving the presentation an edge that perhaps the competition doesn't have.

Several of our current clients use this service - from equipment vendors who need samples to demonstrate equipment, to advertising agents, putting together the complete package, to loyalty providers who want to wow the client - we can do it, and are more than happy to make you look good!

Give us a call and speak to one of our helpful customer service representatives to discuss this service, as well as the many other services and products we provide.

Cards Plus
+27 11 894 3914
086 16 CARDS (South Africa)

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Can Do!

In the spirit of providing the "smart" to the plastic card industry, we at Cards Plus are starting a new blog feature the "Can Do Files". Solutions are our aim, and we would like to share some of the successes that we have assisted our clients in achieving.

One service that we provide at Cards Plus is the QuickCard Bureau Service. Clients who have an ongoing need for cards can simply email us through their ongoing batch orders. We print and personalize there cards and have them out for delivery 3-5 days from receiving the order.

An existing client of our QuickCard service who has regularly sent through monthly orders suddenly needed a new card to celebrate a championship ranking that their club had earned. In the midst of the clubs celebrations, Cards Plus was able to organize a new colourful card design and upgrade their old two colour cards to full colour, high gloss membership cards worthy of the pride they felt.

Contact us at +27 011 894 3914 or go to www.cardsplus.co.za to give us a chance to provide a creative solution to your Plastic Card Challenge.

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