What are they used for?

Membership and loyalty

Programmes where the shape is the point, because a card that isn't shaped like every other card in a wallet is noticed before it is read. The chip and encoding stay the same as the standard cards already in circulation, so a shaped card can be added to a running programme, not replace it.

Retail and loyalty →

Hotel groups and resorts

Room keys, tags and back of house credentials that do not have to be card shaped. The lock still decides the chip, so we start from the lock and work back, and the outline has to leave room for the antenna. Send both at the same time and it is one conversation instead of two.

Hospitality →

Gyms, clubs and member venues

Credentials that live on a keyring rather than in a wallet, without moving to a moulded fob. A shaped card can be punched and carried like a tag while still taking full colour print on both faces, which a fob cannot.

Clubs and associations →

Specifications

Shapes we already have tooling for

Twelve of the outlines already cut in our own plant, drawn to the same scale so the range is visible rather than described. A dashed line is where the piece breaks apart. Blue marks a hole or a slot, and on most of these the position can move. If your shape is close to one of them, it is already a die we own.

Standard CR80

85.60 × 53.98 mm

Card and one key tag

85.5 + 29.5 × 54 mm

Card and two key tags

142.6 × 54 mm

Three key tags

28.5 × 54 mm, ×3

Lanyard slot

85.5 × 54 mm

Cut corner

85.6 × 54 mm

Large radius corner

85.5 × 54 mm

Square

85.6 × 85.6 mm

Round

70 mm diameter

Octagon

65 × 65 mm

Oval key tag

63 × 35 mm

Portrait badge

70 × 110 mm

What else can we cut?

The set above is what we have already cut, not a menu you have to pick from. Most enquiries land somewhere near one of those outlines, and the ones that do not get quoted from your drawing instead.

Maximum dimension

Up to 200 mm on the longest edge. The shapes we already hold tooling for run to 150 mm, so most outlines are inside what we have already cut

Corners and radii

Set by your drawing. We tell you if a radius is too tight to cut cleanly, before you order rather than after

Chip placement

The antenna has to sit inside your outline, so send the shape and the reader model together

Bodies

PVC, 80% recycled PVC or wood. Wood runs thicker and takes contactless chips only, both of which change what a shape can do

Minimum order

Quoted with the shape rather than fixed in advance

What is inside the card?

The same chip and the same encoding as a standard CR80 card. The outline changes nothing about the technology.

Frequencies

125 kHz, 13.56 MHz and UHF in PVC. 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz in wood, which is contactless only

Chip families

MIFARE, NTAG, ICODE, EM4200, T5577, U-CODE Gen2

Encoding

In house before shipping, individually per card where needed

Thickness

0.40 to 1.0 mm in PVC, 1.20 to 1.30 mm in wood

What can go on it?

Everything a standard card takes, within the area your outline leaves for it.

Offset and digital, both faces, full colour artwork, variable print

Finishes

Matte lamination, gloss lamination, hot foil, embossing, spot gloss

On wood

Laser engraving, CMYK offset and silkscreen

Personalisation

Numbering, barcode, QR, photo ID, variable data

Magnetic stripe

On PVC only. Send the outline and we confirm whether the shape leaves a straight run for it

What we can put on it

Personalisation

Full colour (CMYK)

Chip encoding

Sequential numbering

Barcodes and QR

Photo ID

Magnetic stripe

Security

Signature panel

Scratch panel

UV ink

Microtext

Guilloche

Hologram

Finishes

Embossing

Hot stamping

Spot UV varnish

Matte and gloss

Custom die-cutting

Transparent

See how each one is made →

Will it work with your system?

Send us the reader or lock model and the outline at the same time. The two decide each other, so we would rather see both before we answer either.

What can we confirm?

Frequency and chip family, from the reader or lock model or from the card you use now, and whether the antenna for that chip fits inside the shape you have drawn.

Where are the limits?

A small outline restricts the antenna, which restricts the chip. On encrypted systems we can supply the correct chip, but credentials controlled by the system owner may need to be written by them.

What do we recommend?

Send the outline before the artwork. Changing a shape after the artwork is drawn to fit it costs you a round trip that a five minute conversation would have saved.

Standards the chips are built to

ISO/IEC 14443 Type AISO/IEC 15693ISO/IEC 18000-63

Compatible with

Assa AbloyVingCardSALTODormakabaOnityOrbitaHotekVision LineSaflok

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Not sure?

Send us your outline and reader model

The factory

10M

Cards a month

1,300m²

Plant floor in Dongguan

People in the plant

15+

Years making cards at this plant

What do we need from you?

The outline

A vector file with the cut line on its own layer, and the overall width and height in millimetres. That is the one thing we cannot start without.

The body

PVC, recycled PVC or wood. Wood is thicker and it changes what a shape can do, so tell us early rather than late.

Your reader or lock model

Send the model name or system and version. It decides the chip, and the chip has to sit inside your outline, so the two questions are really one question.

The quantity and the date

Approximate figures are enough to start. They help us recommend the right production setup and confirm the best option for your order.

Questions we hear the most

What shapes can you make?

The set drawn on this page is what we already have tooling for, from key tags and break-apart cards to squares, circles and octagons. Anything outside it is quoted from your own drawing. Send a vector outline with the overall dimensions and we tell you what we can cut, what we would change and why.

How big can a special shape be?

Up to 200 mm on the longest edge. The shapes we already hold tooling for run to 150 mm, so a lot of outlines turn out to be something we have cut before. Send the drawing with the overall width and height and we confirm it against your specific shape, because how the dimension falls across the outline matters as much as the number does.

Can a special shape carry a chip?

Yes, the same chips as a standard card. The antenna has to sit inside your outline, so send the shape at the same time as the reader model rather than after it. A small shape can rule out a chip family, and it is better to find that out now.

Can it carry a magnetic stripe?

On PVC only, and only where the outline leaves the stripe a straight run. Send the shape and we confirm it. Wood cannot carry a stripe at all, whatever the shape.

Can you make them in wood?

Yes, in basswood, black walnut, cherry and bamboo. Wood runs at 1.20 to 1.30 mm rather than 0.76 mm, it takes contactless chips only, and it is a natural material, so grain and colour vary from piece to piece even within one species.

Is there a minimum order?

It is quoted with the shape rather than fixed in advance, because a shape is not a standard card. Send the outline and the quantity you have in mind and we will tell you where the numbers work and where they do not.

Can we see one before we commit?

We send a free sample in the body and chip you asked for so you can test the read on your own system. A sample in your own outline is a separate step, and we tell you what it involves when we quote rather than leaving you to ask.

Can you copy a shape we already use?

Usually. Send the card itself if you can. A physical sample gives us the outline, the thickness and the chip in one go, which a drawing on its own does not.

Complete your order

Blank door hangers in wood and navy PVC, two navy card sleeves and a wooden coaster

Sleeves made to the same outline

A shaped card needs a sleeve cut to the same outline, the one accessory you cannot buy off a shelf afterwards. Send the outline once, it covers both.

Accessories →

PVC cards

The standard CR80 that usually runs alongside a shaped card, for the volume issue that does not need to stand out. Both come off the same sheet.

PVC cards →

Wooden cards

Shapes can be cut in wood as well as PVC. Wood runs thicker and varies in grain, which changes what a fine outline will hold cleanly.

Wooden cards →

Special shape cards