Glossary
Click on the letters below to move through our Glossary
of Card Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Access Control Card - Plastic card used to gain access to
premises,
usually associated with magnetic stripe and proximity cards.
Back to Top
B
Bar Code - An array of machine-readable rectangular bars
and spaces
arranged in a specific way defined in international standards
to
represent letters, numbers, and other human-readable symbols.
Bleeds - Artwork that extends beyond the actual size of
the card.
Blister Packs - Package designed for hanging on J-hooks.
Consists of a
cardboard printed backer, with the card sealed in to a clear
plastic
blister.
Branding - Commonly referred to as engraving.
Back to Top
C
Camera Ready Art - Printable film or the electronic equivalent
to
facilitate printing.
Combo Card - One or two key tags attached to a CR80 card.CR50
Card -
Luggage tag sized card (3 1/2" x 2 3/32" x .020).CR80
Card - Standard
credit card size (3 3/8" x 2 1/8" x .030).
Back to Top
D
Digital Imaging - Scanning or otherwise capturing images
which may be
subsequently edited, filed, displayed or printed on a plastic
card.Dye
Sublimation - An imaging method for transferring controlled
quantities
of printer ribbon dye onto a plastic card.
Back to Top
E
Electronic Art - Graphics in a digital format to work with
computer
design and imaging applications.Embossing - Raised letters
or numbers
usually tipped in either black or gold foil.Encoding - The
process of
electronically "writing" information on magnetic
stripes or smart card
chips.
Back to Top
F
Flat Packs - Designed for hanging on J-hooks. Consists of
an affixed
card seen through a flat window.Foil Stamping - Hot stamp
printing is
achieved by using pressure and heat to affix colored foil
in to the
plastic surface.Font - A character set (alphabet and numerals)
of a
specified design and size.
Four Color Process - Printing in full color using four color
separation negatives - yellow, magenta, cyan and black. When
blended,
these four colors reproduce only a small portion of all the
colors
found in nature, but they can reproduce the widest range
with the
fewest inks when printing.
Fulfillment - The process by which the card is matched to
a letter,
inserted into an envelope, metered and delivered to the post
office.
Personalization is available using several different methods
along
with continuous form equipment or individual piecework.
Back to Top
G
Gift Card - Standard or custom size CR80 card. Stored value
is placed
on the card through magnetic striping or bar coding.
Back to Top
H
Halftones - Dot system of color photo's to black and white.Hologram
-
A unique photographic printing that provides a three-dimensional
effect on a flat surface. Holograms cannot be easily copied
and are
used for security and aesthetic purposes on cards.
Back to Top
I
I.D. Card - Card which identifies both the bearer and the
issuer. All
financial transaction cards are I.D. cards.
Image Capture System - A hardware and software system used
to obtain
and save personal data and cardholder photographic images.
Back to Top
K
Key Card - Plastic card used to gain access to premises,
usually
associated with magnetic stripe and proximity cards.
Back to Top
L
Lamination - The process of combining lamination material
and core
material using time, heat and pressure.
Loyalty Card - Standard (CR80) or custom size card that
have off line
accounting for capabilities such as mileage or merchandise
purchases.
Back to Top
M
Machine-Readable - A code or characters that can be read
by machines.
Magnetic Stripe - Magnetic material, applied as a strip
in the surface
of a card, used to encode cardholder information.
Memory Card - A type of smart card. Also known as a synchronous
card,
it features 256 bit or 32 byte memory and us suitable for
use as a
token card or identification card.
Microprocessor Card - A type of smart card, also known as
an
asynchronous card. Features 1 kilobyte to 64 Kbytes of memory
and is
suitable for portable or confidential files, identification,
tokens,
electronic purse or any combination of uses.
Back to Top
O
Overlay Varnish - A thin transparent layer applied to cards
to resist
scratching and fading from exposure to UV radiation.
Back to Top
P
Personalization - Printing encoding and programming a card
with data
specific to an individual cardholder.
Phone Card - A stored value card that allow the user to
access
pre-paid long distance. The long distance is generally accessed
via a
PIN number (stored value), which is usually covered by a
scratch-off
panel for security.
PMS - Pantone Matching System used by printers for color
standardization.
Prepaid Card - A card paid for at Point of Sale, permitting
the holder
to buy goods or services up to the prepaid value.
Prox Card - Short for Proximity card; a form of contactless
smart card
used for access control applications. Embedded in the card
is a
metallic antenna coil, which allows it to communicate with
an external
antenna. Because the cards require only close "proximity" to
a RF
antenna to be read, they are also referred to as contactless
cards.
PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride. The primary material used for
typical plastic cards.
Back to Top
R
Resolution - Dimension of the smallest element of an image
that can be
printed. Usually stated as dots-per-inch (dpi).
Back to Top
S
Screen Tints - Determined by percentage of colors.
Signature Panel - The area of an I.D. card where the cardholder
enters
a signature.
Smart Card / Contact Smart Card - Also called a "chip" card
or IC
card. A plastic card with an embedded microchip, which may
be used to
store information about the cardholder or record card transactions
as
they occur.
Swipe Packaging - Designed to hold a card with a magnetic
stripe for
point of sale activation.
Back to Top
T
Thermal Printing - The process of creating an image on a
plastic card
using a heated print head.
Back to Top
Y
YMC - Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan are the primary print colors
for
cards. The three colors are combined in varying degrees to
make a full
spectrum of colors. YMCKO is the same as YMC plus Black (K)
and clear
protective overcoat (O).
Back to Top |
