CR80 in virgin or recycled PVC, printed, laminated and encoded in our plant. The only body we make that takes a magnetic stripe.
Guest and staff keys for hotel groups, resort developments and management companies rolling out across several properties. The lock decides the chip, so we start from the lock and work back. PVC is also where a magnetic stripe is still an option, which matters for the properties running older systems alongside new ones.
Hospitality →Offices, buildings, industrial sites and campuses, including multi tenant buildings where each floor runs its own reader. One credential per person, encoded to the system already on the door, so the cards arrive ready to issue rather than ready to programme.
Access control and security →Gyms, clubs, retail programmes and associations issuing credentials across a large member base. PVC is the body most of these programmes run on, because it takes a signature panel, a stripe and variable numbering without changing the card members already carry.
Retail and loyalty →Printing and finishing happen in the same plant that makes the card, so the colour you approve is the colour that ships. Most cards use more than one of the three below.
The method for artwork with photographs, gradients or several colours at once. Prints both faces edge to edge.
A single dense colour laid on the surface. It is the only way to reach a true Pantone, a silver or a gold, because offset cannot mix them.
Every card is laminated on both faces, gloss or matt. On top of that the surface can carry foil, spot varnish and panels.
Personalisation runs after printing and before the cards ship, so what arrives is ready to issue rather than ready to programme.
The specification below is the standard build. Anything outside it is quoted against the card rather than against a list.
All three carry the same chip and the same encoding, so the choice is about how the card looks, how it is finished and how many you order. Wood is the one with real limits, and they are listed here rather than left for you to find out later.
| PVC | Recycled PVC | Wood | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made from | Virgin PVC sheet | 80% recycled PVC sheet | Basswood, black walnut, cherry or bamboo |
| Thickness | 0.76 mm | 0.76 mm | 1.20 to 1.30 mm |
| Full colour print | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Laser engraving | No | No | Yes |
| Magnetic stripe | Yes | Yes | No |
| Finish | Matte or gloss lamination | Matte or gloss lamination | Natural grain, engraved |
| Best for | Everyday issue at volume, and any card that needs a stripe | The same card with a recycled body, where the shade can move a little | Suites, memberships and anything kept rather than returned |
A lot of systems still read one, and a card can carry a stripe and an RFID chip at the same time without either getting in the way of the other. The stripe goes on PVC only. Wood cannot take one, which is the single most common reason a property that wanted wood ends up ordering both.
Send us the reader or lock model you use. We confirm what we can supply before you order, rather than guess.
Frequency and chip family, from the reader or lock model or from the card you use now. For a stripe, the encoder that writes it. You can also post us a card and we verify it here.
On encrypted systems, we can supply the correct chip, but credentials controlled by the system owner may need to be written by them.
We send you a free sample in the material and chip you need, so you can test it in your own reader or lock before a full production run.
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10M
Cards a month
1,300m²
Plant floor in Dongguan
87
People in the plant
15+
Years making cards at this plant
A print-ready PDF or AI file, both faces, with bleed. Give us a Pantone reference for any brand colour, because a screen is not a reliable way to agree one.
Send the model name or system and version. A clear photo of the reader is often enough to identify it. If the card needs a stripe, send the encoder too.
An approximate quantity is enough to start. It helps us recommend the right production setup.
An approximate delivery date is enough. It helps us plan production and confirm the best option for your order.
0.76 mm is the standard and the thickness most readers, printers and wallets expect. We run from 0.40 mm to 1.0 mm, and the technology inside changes what is possible, so tell us what the card has to do before you fix the number.
Offset lays four colours and handles photographs and gradients. Silkscreen lays one dense colour, which is how you get a true Pantone, a silver or a gold that offset cannot mix. A lot of cards use both on the same face.
Yes, on the same card. The stripe is applied to the PVC body and the chip sits inside it. Send us the encoder or the system that writes the stripe so we match the coercivity rather than assume it.
Same format, same thickness, same chip, same printing and the same finishes. The body is 80% recycled PVC, and the only visible difference is the shade: it sits close to virgin PVC with a faint warm cast to it. On a white card you can see it side by side. Under a full colour print you cannot. Ask for a sample in both if the white matters.
UV ink, microtext, holograms and optical variable ink. They are usually specified alongside a signature panel or a serial number. Tell us what the card is protecting against and we will say which combination is worth the cost.
Yes. Names, numbers, photographs, barcodes and QR codes can change on every card, and the chip can be encoded individually. Send the data as a spreadsheet, one row per card.
500 units. That is the real minimum rather than a headline figure, and it applies whether the body is virgin PVC, recycled PVC or wood.
The card is printed in the same plant that makes it, so the colour you approve is the colour that ships. Send a Pantone reference for any brand colour. A screen is not a reliable way to agree one, and neither is a description.
Usually. Send a physical card if you can, with the reader or lock model and any specification you were given at installation. Photographs of both faces help, but the card itself settles it.
Made to the format of the card they hold, printed with the same artwork or supplied plain. Specified on the same sheet, so they fit the card that turns up.
Accessories →
The same chip and the same encoding in a wood body, for a top tier or a suite. Properties often run both, PVC for everyday issue and wood where it is kept.
Wooden cards →
For staff and contractors who carry keys anyway. Same chip as the card, encoded the same way, produced and shipped on the same order as the cards.
Key fobs →