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CPS Technologies

When determining the best technology for any identity or security application, CPS considers many factors including data storage, security, ease of use, cost and suitability.

Some of the technologies we use are described below.

Retransfer printing

One of the problems with dye-sublimation printing is that it cannot print to the very edge of the card, due to the risk of damage to the print heads.

Retransfer printing solves this problem by printing a reverse image on a laminate transfer film slightly larger than the card, and then bonding the printed film to the face of the card.

The advantages of retransfer printing include improved durability and improved printing consistency.

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Dye-sublimation printing

Dye-sublimation printing is a continuous tone technology meaning that each ‘dot’ can be any colour, producing an appearance much like a chemically developed photograph.

In contrast, an inkjet print is composed of droplets of ink layered and scattered to simulate continuous tones but under magnification, the individual droplets can be seen.

A further benefit of dye-sublimation printing is that the ink is protected from UV light and the air by an over-coating, which also makes the print water-resistant.

Find out more about our ID card printing services.

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Digital printing

In digital printing the data and imagery is transferred directly from the computer system onto the printed article. Unlike some traditional printing methods, no plates are required and so every print can be different.

Digital printing is an ideal solution for personalised printing in many applications.

Find out more about our ID card printing services.

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Hot foil stamping

Hot foil stamping is also known as hot foil printing, gold blocking and gold leaf printing. It is a process using coloured foil to print in metallic colours including gold and silver instead of inks, and can be applied to a range of flat surfaces including plastic or PVC cards.

The resultant metallic and reflective look of the foil produces impressive effects, and can add a prestigious appearance to printed cards. Find out more about our ID card printing services.

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Holographic overlays

Holographic overlays help protect your ID cards from being duplicated or altered. They provide a visual reinforcement of the authenticity of the ID card, are very difficult to duplicate.

As such, when holographic overlays are added to ID cards they can be particularly effective in the fight against counterfeiting. Find out more about our ID card printing services.

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MIFARE Classic and DESFire encoding

MIFARE contactless smart cards and card reader were developed to handle payment transactions for public transportation systems. Contactless ID cards can be processed more quickly than contact smart cards. Contactless smart card readers also require less maintenance than traditional card readers, and subject the ID cards themselves to less wear.

DESFire is a highly secure contactless smart card technology based on the industry-leading MIFARE(R) platform, offering the speed, functionality and convenience of a contactless card while maintaining a high degree of security.

DESFire allows high-speed, triple-Data Encryption Standard (3DES) RF encryption between the contactless card and the reader. It is used wherever high-speed, highly secure data transmissions are necessary such as access control, government, financial and healthcare applications.

The key advantage of the DESFire card is the strong security provided by the smart chip technology. The DESFire card encrypts the information stored on the chip as well as the communications between the chip and the DESFire reader.

Find out more about our chip embedding and card encoding services.

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Embossing

Embossing cards gives a three-dimensional image to alphanumeric characters, which can then be coated with a number of different colours such as gold, silver, black and white. Giving this appearance to cards enhances the overall impression of the card.

Find out more about our card embossing services.

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Magnetic stripe encoding

Although magnetic stripe technology has been around for many years, the technology has continued to evolve with enhancements and innovations in recent years and many of the old arguments for avoiding this technology simply no longer apply.

The use of magnetic stripes is all around us, from debit and credit cards to airline tickets and, with enhanced security magnetic stripes such as Watermark Magnetics, even on access control cards.

Find out more about our magnetic stripe services.

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Watermark Magnetics

Unlike standard magnetic stripe technology, which is more vulnerable to counterfeiting, copying and card substitution, Watermark Magnetics technology allows all card applications to be made considerably more secure.

After a unique Watermark pattern is formed, the pattern is fixed during a curing process and cannot be erased or altered without physically destroying the magnetics medium.

In addition, standard soft magnetic data can be encoded over the Watermark pattern. The additional security offered by Watermark Magnetics makes this type of magnetic stripe ideal for a range of applications including:

  • Access control to buildings and systems, ensuring that only the correct cards can be used
  • Identity card systems, where identity is guaranteed by the permanent and unique Watermark data
  • Protecting standard magnetic encoding against fraudulent copying by linking to the permanent Watermark encoding

Find out more about our magnetic stripe services.

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SIM punching

In addition to our extensive range of services for card printing, embossing, chip embedding, smart card encoding, and fulfilment services we are able to provide a SIM punching service for telecommunications solutions.

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PIN mailers

Our in-house fulfilment facilities allow your finished cards to be attached to personalised letters and any inserts added. In addition, we are able to process and send PIN mailers separately to the cards, allowing your cards to be safely used for secure applications.

Find out more about our fulfilment services.

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