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All dressed up and somewhere to go – for a great cause.

This weekend a number of our Company Cards ladies were honoured to take party in the Moonlight Ball in aid of Myeloma UK. The charity event, held at Langtree Park – home to St Helens Rugby Club, was a glamorous affair which had been organised by a truly dedicated committee, including Company Cards very own Chris Scott. Myeloma UK is a charity very close to their hearts. A great deal of time, thought and gruelling hard work went into seeing the Moonlight Ball come to fruition.

Company Cards are amongst a group of local businesses who supported the evening, supplying printed invitations and brochures for the event.

A great night was had by all and the event was a roaring success, raising much needed funds via ticket sales, raffle and auction. For more information regarding Myeloma UK please visit www.myeloma.org.uk

Giving your plastic cards that personal touch makes a difference. If you need a plastic card printing how can you personalise it?

The continued evolution in printing technologies means that it’s now even easier to personalise your cards. From plastic business cards through to loyalty and membership cards, adding that personal touch can mean all the difference to your customers.

Everyone likes to feel that they belong and that they are part of a wider community. Linking them together through an identity or membership card is a great way of achieving this. By using personalised plastic card printing technologies you can show your customers or employees that they’re important to your organisation.

Holding a personalised card also makes the card itself feel more important to the user and means that they are more likely to keep it. If your business uses loyalty cards for customers, then sending out a generic version may not appeal to the recipient. Instead of using it on a regular basis and instilling a sense of loyalty into the user, it might be simply discarded.

How you choose to personalise your cards will depend upon whether they’re printed in one batch or on-demand and how secure and durable you require them to be.

One press personalisation includes all the personal details as part of the artwork and prints off a completed card. This means that the text is secure behind the PVC laminate finish, which stops the details from rubbing off. This technique can be used for both text and photos and the durability of the finished result makes it a good choice for ID cards.

If you choose to have your plastic card printing handled in a batch, then you could use embossing as required to personalise the cards. In this way the details are punched onto the reverse of the card and the details form on the front. The data is then tipped with gold, silver or black to stand out. This is widely used on credit and debit cards and even can be used to include details in Braille.

Another personalisation technique for finished cards is thermal print. The text, bar codes or graphics are printed directly onto the existing card.

Whatever type of plastic cards you require, at Company Cards we’ve got a solution for you. If you have a specific plastic card printing requirement, one of our team will be happy to discuss how we can help.

Technology may be taking over some aspects of business but plastic business cards are still useful. How can plastic cards benefit you?

Even with today’s ubiquitous digital technology, there’s still a place in the business world for plastic business cards. Whatever industry you’re in, they are an important marketing tool that can help you win new business.

You may do much of your work online, but this may not necessarily be how your clients have found you. Networking events are still an effective way in which to develop relationships and you need to be able to provide your contact information on demand. The easiest way of achieving this is with a business card. Attendees can meet with a significant number of businesses at these events and it’s not always easy to remember everyone afterwards. By handing them a memorable card they’re more likely to use your services or recommend them to someone else.

Plastic business cards can help in providing your company with a professional image. Handing over a well designed, high quality plastic card will cement the image you’ve portrayed. Conversely, simply writing your details on a scrap of paper will make potential clients view you in a whole different light. A card is also of benefit when they come to look for your details, as they can easily be found with the rest of their business cards, rather than searching for that piece of paper or an email.

Using business cards also enhances your brand and connects the plastic cards with the rest of your marketing materials. The design of your card needs to be memorable to ensure that it is instantly recognisable and stands out from the crowd. One new trend regarding business card design is to have your photograph printed on the card along with your contact details. This may help your contact to remember you if they met hundreds of people at an event. Another popular option is to have your plastic business card printed on a frosted plastic, this new style of card is very eye catching and will certainly help your card to stand out from the pack.

In sharp contrast with new technology, including smartphones, business cards remain one of the easiest networking tools to use. If someone asks for your details, it is quick and easy to pull a business card out and hand it over. There is no need to ensure that your devices are compatible and wait for the data to be sent over. A business card will not thus become a victim of technology problems and there is no risk of the data being wiped or corrupted.

Company Cards offers a range of solutions from plastic business cards through to plastic loyalty cards. To discuss your requirements please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team.

What should be included on your plastic ID cards? Follow these top tips and you’ll create functional plastic cards for your business.

Businesses today require more security features than ever before. Even in the smallest of offices you need to verify your identity and have security access. In utilising personalised plastic ID cards, your employees will be able to go freely about the building without compromising security levels.

One of the main advantages of having these plastic business cards is that they can be encoded to create additional security features. Depending on your requirements they can include a magnetic stripe, bar code or even a hologram or RFID technology for more secure facilities. There is also the facility with today’s plastic ID cards to create different security levels for employees, allowing some access to certain areas but not others.

The encoded plastic cards can hold a substantial amount of information, far more than can be displayed on the face of the card. When it comes to the visual design of the card you will need to carefully consider what you want to include. Otherwise there might be important details that are missed off and it would be costly to have to re-print the entire batch. The information you include plays an important role in not only quickly identifying the member of staff, but in allowing them access to facilities.

If you require ID cards that are harder to copy then plastic versions are ideal. In contrast with paper cards, plastic technology requires a special printer and a specific design. The photo and text are part of the overall card design and are printed directly onto the plastic, significantly reducing the risk of fraudulent use.

Plastic ID cards are also far more durable than the paper alternatives. The plastic will last for many years without deteriorating in quality, meaning you will save money by not having to replace cards quite as often. They can be punched and attached to badges or lanyards making them easily visible and usable. Alternatively, if they’re not used quite as often, they will easily fit into pockets or wallets without impairing their quality.

It is easy to see why plastic is becoming an ever more popular choice for ID cards. At Company Cards we’re experts in creating plastic ID cards. If you have any questions or require a quote please don’t hesitate to contact us.

A 2012 survey indicated that 59% of buyers expect a salesperson to hand over a business card, confirming how important plastic business cards can be.

Plastic business cards are more than just a means of introducing yourself, they’re a representation of the person you are. Your card should contain your contact information, including a direct line number, your company name, job title, company phone number, URL and email address.

Most countries, apart from in Western Europe and North America, have a ceremonial approach to the exchange of business cards. If you travel for business, it’s important to bear some of these points of international business etiquette in mind.

It can be helpful to translate the information on the front of your plastic business cards into the language of the country you are visiting on the reverse of the plastic cards if you are travelling to a non-English speaking country. You should also resist the urge to hand out your card to everyone you meet.

Business cards are treated with special care and respect in Asia where they are seen as valuable. People exchange cards, usually at the beginning of business meetings, with both hands with a small bow or with a handshake.

Business meetings don’t start in Japan until business cards have been exchanged between all participants. The person with the highest rank or company position is presented with the card first and then cards are exchanged between the rest of the group in order of importance. Status and hierarchy are extremely important in Japan so be sure to include your company title on your business card.

In India, education is more highly valued than status so if you have academic or professional qualifications consider including them on your business card.

In China it is considered polite to offer a card before asking for one in return and considered rude to put the card away without first looking at it and familiarising yourself with the name and the job title of the person who presented it to you. If you do translate your personal information on the card, do it in simple Chinese, either Mandarin or Cantonese and print it in gold ink, which is considered auspicious in China.

If you want to taste international business success remember your business etiquette. Why not explore the rest of the site for more information as to how to get the best out of your plastic business cards, plastic membership cards and plastic loyalty cards.

Plastic membership cards have been around for a while but new technologies have made the simple plastic card smarter than ever.

Hundreds of organisations give their members plastic cards indicating their membership of, for example, libraries, social clubs, gyms or bingo halls. Supermarkets and retailers also hand out plastic membership cards to their customers in order to provide access to a store’s loyalty or reward scheme.

A membership card not only makes the holder feel a valued part of the club or association that issues the card, it can also convey a warm feeling of exclusivity to customers who are granted access to special events, deals or offers on the basis of their plastic id cards.

Traditionally, membership cards contained some basic printed information and a few personal details; name, address and membership number. When manufacturers incorporated a magnetic strip into the card design, this advancement ensured that plastic membership cards could be used to store relevant customer details on the card that could be accessed via a computer.

It is the use of the latest technology of embedding a microprocessor chip into the card that has made the plastic card smart. Not only can the card store personal information and account details, it can also hold a history of interaction between card holder and issuer; for example the number of books withdrawn from the library or the type of products bought in store.

It is these developments in plastic card production that have significantly improved the tracking of a cardholder’s relationship with the organisation or retailer issuing the card. As a result, the humble plastic membership card has become one of the most important sales and marketing tools a company can employ.

Access to a membership card holder’s history with the organisation or company allows the card issuer to tailor special offers and rewards schemes towards individual customers using details stored on their plastic membership card. Card carriers can also access their own account details and make amendments to the information stored there, such as a change of address or account preferences.

Plastic membership cards are low cost and are highly customisable. They are also durable, making them both an economical and long term means by which to improve advertising and marketing. Research has also indicated that the use of member’s loyalty and reward cards builds an organisation’s customer base and increases customer satisfaction.

To take full advantage of one of the smartest means by which to look after your clients, why not explore our site or contact our team for further information?

Plastic card printing has developed at a staggering rate since the first ever plastic card was introduced in 1959. Read on to find out more.

When credit cards were first introduced in America, by Diners Club in 1950, the cards themselves were made of cardboard and celluloid. Nine years later American Express brought out the first ever plastic card. Within five years, one million plastic credit cards were in use in and outside the United States.

American Express launched its card in the UK in 1963 which was usable in 3,000 outlets in this country and over 80,000 abroad. The first ever British credit card was issued by Barclays three years later.

When a year later the world’s first ever cash machine was installed in the Enfield branch of Barclays in Middlesex, customers were given cardboard punched vouchers worth £10 each from the bank to use in the machine when needed. Within five years the plastic card printing technology had moved on sufficiently for Lloyds to introduce the first ever on-line verified Cashpoint that used plastic cards and could read the embedded magnetic strip, developed by IBM in 1960 as a security feature.

Over the past 30 years, plastic card printing has kept pace and inspired new banking ideas and practices. Today we take using a chip and pin card for granted and in 2004, plastic card payments surpassed payments made with cash for the first time ever.

Initially expensive and difficult to produce, rapid developments in the technology involved in plastic card printing has meant that they have become increasingly common. When in 1993 plastic card printing was changed with the development of the dye sublimation process which allowed for full colour edge to edge printing, the future of the plastic card was changed forever.

The development of re-transfer printing technology at the end of 1999 was yet another milestone. Today there are three main plastic card printing data technologies in use, the magnetic strip, smart cards and optical cards and everyone has one or two in their purse or wallet.

The use of plastic cards is no longer restricted to credit cards, cheque or ATM cards. They are now used everywhere and for everything. Our driving licences, loyalty cards, store cards, gift cards, plastic business cards and membership cards are all examples of this technology in daily use.

Why not take a look around the rest of the site to see what plastic and our new plastic card printing technology can do for your business?

If recently proposed Government plans go ahead, the much protested introduction of plastic ID cards to the UK is not very far away.

Plastic ICE cards can be an essential tool for anyone, especially in the work place.

Here at Company Cards we see the plastic card product used for a variety of purposes, from traditional plastic membership cards, to loyalty cards, plastic business cards and photo identity cards. However over the past 18 months we have seen a rise in new uses for the plastic card product, one of which is the increasing popular ICE card (Incase of Emergency Card). Many companies across Europe are now introducing the ICE card and providing copies to their employees to be used as a first point of contact in an emergency or crisis situation. The ICE Card is designed to fit in a purse or wallet, or to be carried on your keys, so that it is always easily accessible.

ICE Cards came in circulation several years ago and was mainly used as an information tool which could be kept about your person, detailing any medical conditions that you may have, prescriptions that you are taking, contact details for next of kin etc. The idea behind the card was that should you be injured or taken ill, those tending to you will have all the necessary information to hand to act quickly and in your best interest. The success of the ICE card in the medical world was astounding, saving many lives using such a simple, inexpensive tool.

Over recent years the ICE card has been adopted for many different uses. Many parents now provide their children with an ICE card which displays their emergency contact details. Children rarely have a form of identity to carry with them at a young age and some parents have commented how their child carrying an ICE card helps to give them a little piece of mind when their children are out on their own.

The corporate ICE card is now being introduced into many businesses and organisations throughout the UK. The information which the plastic card contains is bespoke to each client, some cards have emergency evacuation procedures printed on them, whilst others have emergency contact numbers. The information is ideally kept short and simple, preferably in a bullet point format to save time when the card has to be used. As with all plastic cards created by Company Cards we produce ICE Cards in full colour to both sides with the print protected behind the laminate overlay to prevent text fading or wearing away over time. Our plastic cards are the perfect solution for ICE Cards as they are not only durable but water proof and can be used in all types of working environments.

For more information about ICE Cards from Company Cards please contact our Sales team today.

Adding variable data to your plastic cards could not be easier when producing cards digitally with Company Cards.

When it comes to manufacturing plastic cards, digital print technology allows for high quality personalised print jobs. What’s more, it also enables us to fulfil short run orders of just a handful of plastic cards, which can all be customised on press. Digital printing also makes possible a faster turn around time than the more traditional methods of printing.

Digital press uses technology called a Photo Imaging Plate (PIP) and traditional printing plates are not required. The PIP is made from a photo sensitive material which can be re-written with a laser up to 100,000 times before it needs replacing. The laser technology enables us to rewrite the image on the PIP with every revolution; this is what allows for the variable data on our plastic cards.

Here at Company Cards, we pride our selves on the ability to produce high quality personalised plastic cards. The laser writing head within the press controls the location of the ink particles with such precision, that we can accurately place particles which are as small as one micron.

We produce a wide range of on-press personalisation on our plastic cards. Another benefit of digital personalisation, as well as the high quality image and fast turn around time, is that the images and data are printed onto the core material, which is then PVC laminated. This means that the variable data on our plastic cards is protected underneath the laminate and can never be washed, scratched or rubbed off.

Traditional methods of printing in the plastic card industry will thermal the personalised data onto cards. This is done over the top of the laminate. This type of personalisation does not stand the test of time and does wear away if the card is used frequently.

At company Cards we produce thousands of membership cards and loyalty cards every day, the majority printed with variable data; whether that be a name, sequential number, barcode, QR code etc. We also produce photo ID cards, with a high quality photographic image. Due to the digital technology we can produce as little as one plastic card, we specialise in fast turn around small run orders.

Plastic membership cards may indicate who you are, but do they pass muster if you need to prove your name, age or address?

There are a lot of situations where you are required to prove who you are such as opening a bank account, booking tickets or renting a home. There are a number of ways in which to prove you are who you say you are. These include birth certificates, driving licences and passports. But wouldn’t it be simpler to carry one plastic card that takes their place?

We’re used to carrying plastic membership cards for the gym, the DVD rental shop and the supermarket loyalty scheme, but have always reacted badly at the idea of at carrying plastic membership cards that say we’re from the UK.

The UK establishment last issued compulsory ID cards during World War II. Throughout this period, National Registration Identity Cards were required to be carried by everyone over the age of 16 and not carrying them was considered a crime. The scheme was extremely unpopular and eventually abolished in 1952.

The labour government, despite civil liberties concerns and after months of political wrangling, eventually introduced another national identity card scheme in 2008. Initially introduced as a voluntary scheme, the plan was to expand it to cover 80% of the population by 2013. After the 2010 general election, the Coalition government announced that the new plastic ID cards would be scrapped and passed a bill that cancelled out the 15,000 cards already issued.

National identity cards are already issued to the citizens of 24 countries in the European Union with only the UK, Ireland and Denmark demurring. EU citizens use their plastic cards as documents to prove their identity at home and as travel documents to move within the European Union and other non-European Union countries.

In 2012, the government proposed a new and possibly more controversial scheme to introduce another national identity scheme allowing people to use mobile phones and social media profiles for accessing on line public services. Many hope that the Identity Assurance Programme will mean an end to introducing a physical national identity card.

Plastic membership cards will, however, remain essential as company id, access passes or season tickets and with the holder’s photo and details printed thereon will also deter fraudulent use even if they can’t officially prove who you are. Why not contact our team for further details in designing your own plastic cards?

How could introducing a plastic loyalty card benefit your business?

When you’re in business you should be always looking to get one step ahead of the competition, whether you do it by a special offer, discounts, better services, new products or by the growing popular method of plastic loyalty cards. The plastic loyalty card has to be one of my favourite marketing tools for high street businesses. It is absolutely genius from a business perspective. Your customers will walk around with a plastic card with your business logo, contact details and most importantly an added incentive to shop with you.

Now you may have heard the plastic loyalty card referred to as something different, as with everything it has more than just one name. Loyalty cards are also known in different countries as reward cards, point’s cards, advantage cards and club cards – but basically they are all serve the same purpose. They are plastic cards that are branded to a specific company that customers can collect points on, and when they get a certain amount of ‘loyalty points’, they swipe their plastic card and get a nice discount or the points can be used to purchase goods from the store.

You should be familiar with this system as loyalty cards are used in nearly all major UK supermarkets, and many retail outlets are now introducing them due to their cost effective nature and good return on investment companies see.

Now loyalty cards are normally printed as a plastic card and typically look very similar to a credit card. So why not print the cards on paper and use say an ink stamp method? This method is fine if you are say a coffee shop, where the goods that you purchase are only a few pounds, but for say a supermarket, you can be spending hundreds of pounds each month there and so need a system that is reliable, durable and electronic. That is why the loyalty cards are far better quality as printed plastic cards, so that the data can be stored effectively and so they are as durable as other plastic cards, such as credit cards. Also with plastic cards, it means that they can be easily kept in a purse or wallet making them an ideal convenience for shoppers.

What you as a retailer are essentially doing is keeping your brand in front of the customer and making them an attractive offer or discount to spend with you rather than your competition. So you need to make sure that whatever you are offering is attractive enough to make the customer come back to your business time and time again. A secondary benefit of a loyalty scheme is that you begin to compile an excellent database of your customers meaning you then have more marketing opportunities at your disposal.

The loyalty card program was first introduced in the UK in the early 1980s by the large supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. Nearly 30 years on the use of the loyalty card is as popular and essential as ever. To trump the competition you need your customers walking around with plastic cards branded to your company with a good offer attached so that they keep coming back and spending with you.