Posted on February 27, 2010.
Manufacturing Credit Cards: Materials and Processes The credit card is made of layers of plastic though, stuck together. The center is usually made from a plastic resin known as polyvinyl chloride acetate (ACDP). This resin is then mixed with other materials such as dyes and plasticizers to give it the look and feel appropriate.
A variety of inks or dyes of various colors are also used for printing credit cards . These inks and dyes are especially made for plastic. Special magnetic ink is also available to print the tape (tape) on the back of the card. The inks are made by dispersing metal oxide particles in solvents. card issuers such as VISA, which have their own holograms, use additional special printing processes which are involved for cards, like VISA, with featured holograms.
The manufacture of credit cards held in the following steps:
1. mixture of plastic and molding: The plastic base sheet is my ACDP merge with other materials. This molten mixture is placed in the molding equipment cases, and is flattened at the proper thickness by passing on rollers. This sheet is then allowed to cool.
2. Printing: Each card sheet is then printed with text and graphics. Silk screening and magnetic ink printing processes are used. The tape can also be created using hot stamping. magnetic heads are used to encode and decode the iron particles in the band, so that relevant information can be stored in them. However, the magnetic particles can be useful if they are on the surface of the card, so this step is performed after rolling.
3. Lamination: Essentially, lamination protects the card, and improves its strength. Lamination is done on both sides of the card.
4. Punching & Forming: After lamination, each sheet is cut into a series of maps. Each card gives a yield of about 63 cards. The leaf is first cut in seven longitudinal sections, then each of the seven sections is cut into nine cards. Each card is now a separate credit card, and will be engraved with account numbers and other information. The cards are now ready to be shipped to the cardholders! Each card must be of superior quality. Customers can receive cards that break or be damaged after a certain period of time. Major quality problems are related to the composition of plastic and color matching of inks. The American National Standards Institute standard for plastic raw materials (ANSI x4.16-1973). Ingredients must be properly weighed, mixed and blended under the proper temperature and other conditions of manufacture. Similarly, the molding process must be examined to avoid flaws and defects, which can cause cards to crack or break. The final quality check is to ensure that the correct numbers are engraved on the cards through the embossing process.
Numerous technologies are evolving in this area will help to create the credit cards with better quality and make them more profitable in terms of manufacturing. New generations of credit cards could carry integrated computer chips, containing a wealth of valuable information, making the card more useful and secure.
