Perhaps you are like other commercial printers who once considered expanding into printed card products but found the high cost of entry into this market prohibitive. Well now’s the time to revisit the idea because equipment costs have plummeted. For something like £25,000 you can set yourself up to take a share of what is proving to be a sustained and growing UK market. The actual printing of the card is really not the issue when it comes to why so few smaller printers are already in the sector. Many card products can be printed on an offset press of course, while screen and digital printers can handle the rest. It’s the finishing processes required that have held back so many. A fair share of card products will require webfed thermal laminators that can cost £23,000. But, the biggest expense has traditionally been the card punching equipment needed. The best-in-class systems that provide the highest throughput for large runs and for extremely tight cut-to-print registration by registering each cut in three dimensions can cost £100,000+. Now however, for volume requirements in the order of 72,000 cards/day or less, there are card punching systems available for about £25,000. These have quite a small footprint and require only around eight hours training.

If this makes the ideas of printed card production more attractive than it once was, don’t be daunted by the number of card manufacturers you can find on the Internet. Most have well-developed niches in high value financial cards or multi-layered security cards that require considerable investment in secure manufacturing facilities and processes. Many have considerable overheads and can’t compete on short-runs of cards without expensive security features. Which is just where you can step in.

Reputable manufacturers of card punching equipment provide free consultations on how to set up card punching operations and tips on how to break into the market.

Paul Dirienzo, director of engineering for Spartanics, is enthusiastic about the possibilities printed card products affords small UK printers. “The beauty of this market is the scope of applications it covers. There are the standard wallet-sized dimensions (called CR80) like club membership cards, where the potential from local customers is considerable. Then there are ID style cards, such as drivers’ licenses, which often involve adding security features beyond the scope of typical commercial print shops.

“Phone cards are ubiquitous, but it was not so long ago that they were a rarity. Most of today’s global leaders in phone card products started out as relatively small commercial print shops. There is still room for others to enter this market, but developing a niche in phone cards will probably require more than initial equipment investments and making signs announcing your card printing capabilities. You will need to call on businesses already established in the prepaid phone card niche to see if outsourcing actual card manufacture is consistent with their business model.

“Gift cards are another market, popular in the US and now taking hold in the UK and Europe. Those of us familiar with how this gift card market mushroomed so quickly in the US are well aware of how the third party transaction processors helped drive the market. Recently one of the more prominent gift card transaction processors, ComData, opened additional European offices, a clear sign that the same market dynamics that have made gift cards such a profitable niche in the US are spreading.

“You may consider this a uniquely American phenomenon but the history of the US gift card market suggests otherwise. Consider that a decade or so ago in the in the US, gift cards were a rarity. Data from the 2005 holiday season reflect how quickly this dynamic changed. It was reported that 76 percent of adults had purchased one or more gift cards (see ‘Technology Guide for Capturing Gift Card Market Opportunity at www.spartanics.com/display/white_papers.

“Similarly loyalty cards are now commonplace as are hotel key cards. Here too the run length for these type printed cards is usually relatively short and within the scope of smaller print shops that are equipped for card manufacture.”

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