Now on offer as an optional extra alongside the already comprehensive range of card printer accessories, the new Zebra carry bag is now available.

Made specifically for the Zebra P100i, P110i or the P120i, this rugged bag is padded to fit the printer perfectly and so provides excellent protection during transit.

The bag also features handy compartments for all the things you need when printing cards - software disks, cables, ribbons, cards, even ID accessories or a web cam, making on demand card printing a truly realistic option.

With a sturdy shoulder strap and carry handle, taking the Zebra P100i, P110i or P120i wherever cards need printing is easier than ever before.

Secure ID card printing

Forgery and counterfeiting are very much a reality in most industries today. People often want access to something they are not entitled to, whether it is out of curiosity or rooted in more sinister gain. In order to combat fraud and ensure unauthorised personnel do not gain access to restricted areas, many companies use ID card systems to great effect. Detailing the holder’s name, photograph, signature or colour coding cards to show access entitlement makes it easier to identify the owner at a glance. But what is to stop someone duplicating these ID cards and gaining access to restricted areas? In some cases nothing at all, other than access to a standard plastic card printer.

Ask yourself a question, how easy would it be to forge the ID cards at your facility? If someone has the right equipment, the answer is very easily. If this thought concerns you, then it’s worth looking at updating your card printing system to one which supplies higher forms of security, ones that are virtually impossible to forge and can be easily verified and authenticated.

There are a few well established methods of providing extra security to ID cards which are used in high security areas; the most effective being Ultra Violet (UV) printing, holograms embedded into the laminate overlay card and microtext printing.

There are many different ID card printers on the market, but offering one of the best specifications for high security ID cards is the Zebra P640i. This card printer offers customised UV and precision microtext printing and customisable hologram laminates. An optional ID-Key feature prevents unauthorised printer use too. Finally, the P640i also offers a range of encoding options for magnetic, smart & proximity cards to enable production of access control passes.

A UV hologram printed across the surface of an ID card is not visible to the naked eye, but under a UV light, this high security feature becomes visible and can be a very effective way of authenticating a card. Printing customised UV designs on a card further increases security and offers instant visual recognition.

A hologram image, such as a logo, can be built into the printer’s laminate overlay and offers a greater level of visual security and card durability. These holograms are available in a standard design or full customised with a specific logo or image.

Introducing the company name or some other test in tiny print onto the background of a card, much like on bank notes is an exceptionally difficult feature to copy. Microtext is usually printed in font sizes as small as 3 point, that’s less than 15 one thousandths of an inch. In fact, most ID card printers cannot duplicate this function, so if introduced, ID cards with this feature really are virtually impossible to reproduce.

Having one or all of these of these features on high security ID cards, makes counterfeiting so difficult that forgeries could be detected instantly and potential security breaches avoided. A combination of all three and you’re practically guaranteed that your high security ID cards are secure.

Of course, all of this security is only going to be effective if access to the printer is limited to authorised users. The optional ID-Key feature uses a small coded key which must be present in the printer before it will function. Different keys can be given to each authorised user and details of cards they print including the date and time of issue are recorded in the ID-Log software utility supplied.

To complete the secure card printing package CardFive Vision from NFive offer a range of software packages designed for the secure issue of ID badges.

Modulus Card Printers offers a complete range of “on-demand” Zebra plastic card printers to encode, print and personalise ‘gift cards’ at the point of sale as an alternative to the more traditional gift vouchers which have been used in the past.

Gift cards are easily printed and encoded with the required cash amount and a personalised message, and can then be kept in a purse or wallet alongside other payment cards without getting bent, scratched or torn. By printing and encoding a blank gift card at the point of sale instead of storing large volumes of pre produced cards, security is also increased.

Modulus can supply durable plastic gift cards pre printed with designs suited to a variety of gift purchase scenarios, such as Birthdays, Christmas, Mothers Day, New Baby etc.

These cards can then easily be personalised with the customers own special personal message at the point of sale, using any of the Zebra plastic card printers.

On some occasions it may be more appropriate to design and print the entire card with the customer at the point of purchase, personalising it with their message at the same time.

Giving the customer the opportunity to specify the exact design of their gift card and the flexibility to personalise it with their own message means that they really are giving a unique gift.

The new Gripper slot free ID card holder is now available from Modulus card Printers. This new ID card holder has been brought to the market with the aim of simplifying the use of magnetic and smart & proximity ID badges.

Easily adapted to suit any of your existing ID card attachment stock, the Gripper has been specifically designed for use with lanyards, badge reels, strap clips and other accessories - making it not only a very flexible card holding solution, but also one that costs less than the average card holder.

The Gripper slots over the card holding it firmly in place, eliminating the need for a badge holder or slot hole in the card which might damage a magnetic strip or proximity card aerial. It also protects the card from scratching thanks to silicon grab tabs inside the Gripper. Its open design also means the magnetic stripe or smart cards can be used without the need to remove it from a holder.

With no moving parts to catch or complicated the mechanism, the Gripper has been designed to securely hold cards of up to 0.76mm. Made from durable plastic and requiring a weight of more than 5lbs to pull the card off it is also a very reliable card holder solution.

Not only does the Gripper offer an excellent solution to your ID card management, but with one colour logo printing as an optional extra, it also offers the ability to personalise it to your individual needs.

UK retailer Coffee Republic is to launch a contactless loyalty card.

The Coffee Republic branded pre-paid ‘Payment and Loyalty’ smartcard offers contactless payments and the promise of promotional top-ups which are redeemable in-store.

Users can register the card and view transactions and loyalty funds online. The card can also be topped up on the Internet as well as in-store.

The loyalty card is being offered to customers in three London stores before a nationwide roll out early next year.

Coffee Republic already accepts contactless payments having signed up for Barclaycard’s OnePulse last year.

Customer loyalty schemes are a great way to connect people and business and keep your customers coming back for more.

To set up your scheme effectively you’ll need to get a plastic card produced for members. Ideally this should be printed or laminated to discourage forgery, but you shouldn’t worry if more than one member of a household uses it - after all, if it means extra customers in any case, you’re not losing out.

Getting customers to register for the card is an opportunity to collect information on them which may help you to understand them better and target your advertising more effectively. Just be careful that you handle this data responsibly in accordance with the Data Protection Act

Don’t ask customers to do anything more complicated than showing their cards to claim their points- make the whole process as easy as possible for them.

Periodically you may wish to include extra promotions where you could offer extra points against certain products or a specific spend threshold.

 Overall keep it simple and easy to understand.

LOYALTY cards for individual stores have been around for years - but it has now emerged an entire Suffolk town could soon boast its very own reward system for those who shop local.

The idea of a town-wide loyalty card for Bury St Edmunds is the brainchild of the Bury Town Centre Management Group.

Last night it said a number of options were being looked at - which includes a simple discount card in which shoppers get slashed-price items by waving their plastic loyalty cards. 

A second option involves card-holders amassing points each time they spend in the town which can be stored up and redeemed at any shop in Bury.

If you have a Zebra P110i Card Printer you can use the following ribbons:

Zebra P110i YMCKO i series 5 Panel Colour Ribbon Part No 800015-940
Prints 200 high quality full colour images onto PVC cards. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Black Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-901
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in black. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Red Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-902
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in Red. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Green Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-903
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in Green. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Blue Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-904
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in Blue. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i White Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-909
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in White. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Gold Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-906
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in Gold. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Zebra P110i Silver Mono Ribbon Part No 800015-907
1000 image Print ribbon for printing in Silver. Includes adhesive cleaning roller to prolong the life of your printer.

Always use Genuine Zebra Truecolours® Ribbons with your printer to ensure trouble free operation and longer print head life.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is working towards the introduction of a smart card, similar to the London Oyster card, which could be used for all journeys.

People will be able to put as much money on the card as they want and then use the card to travel on the Subway, trains, buses and ferries.

It was revealed SPT bosses are looking at making the cards available to buy at a range of outlets including travel centres, shops, ticket machines at bus stops, petrol stations and hospitals.

It is estimated around 1.5million people across Strathclyde Region area will opt to take advantage of the new hi-tech ticket

SPT bosses are about to tender for new gates and barriers at its 15 Subway stations which will allow travellers to use the smart card.

Instead of having to buy a ticket, commuters would simply tap their card on a pad resulting in the cost of the fare being deducted automatically.

The first people in the SPT area to be able to take advantage of smart cards are the 600,000 concessionary fare travellers who will be able to use their existing travel cards on buses.

In the next couple of months, new technology will begin appearing on Glasgow buses meaning an end to paper tickets.

Unlike London, bus services in the rest of the UK are not regulated and there are around 100 different bus firms alone operating in the SPT area.

Experts say the advantages of smart card technology is that it is automatic, speeds up journeys and people don’t need to search for change.

Studies show that loyalty cards are one of the most cost effective ways to build brand loyalty and improve customer retention, and with Modulus Card Solutions loyalty card scheme experience, it is now easier than ever to achieve.

Loyalty cards are used by all the major retail and supermarket chains as a vital tool to improve profitability, but you don’t need to be a national high street store in order to run a profitable reward card scheme.

Loyalty card schemes can put independent retailers on an equal footing with the big chain retailers and major UK rewards programmes, helping them compete for and retaining customer loyalty, while providing an advantage over their direct competitors.

Most loyalty cards solutions can be tailored to suit individual needs and are combined with professional presentation to attract new business and increase consumer loyalty in your own retail environment.

One of the reasons the supermarkets and big pharmaceutical chains are taking business away from independent retailers are the incentives offered in their loyalty card schemes. Our loyalty solutions and the advantages and rewards that they offer helps the independents increase frequency of store visits and increase spending while also retaining and encouraging loyalty from existing customers.

Surveys show that it costs far less to increase business by improving client loyalty than to attract new customers, and our attractive plastic reward cards not only improve customer brand awareness, but help establish a valuable relationship with your customers. Tracking and measuring spending patterns and preferences allows you to make the most of special offers and customer incentives by targeting them where they will work most effectively.

The loyalty cards market in the UK is one of the most significant in the world and forms the backbone of marketing and customer retention planning. Our packages will allow you to build customer loyalty by providing you with the solutions to enable your customers to have a complete shopping experience. Rewards are maintained by reward points acquired in incremental sales of your products not third party obscure or irrelevant offers. By combining this with instant issue of the reward at the point of sale (POS) the customer and staff experience is simple and fun.

With over 85% of UK Households possessing loyalty cards it is really a case of can you afford not to offer a loyalty card service to your customers.