Quality & Simplicity Just Got Better

All Ultra Electronics businesses, including Magicard, conduct an annual strategy review, looking at the next 5 years of business. This is completed by the summer of each year. So, as we enter 2006, it is good to look again at the market and check that the strategy still stands up.

What we are seeing is that the ID card printing market continues to be strong in 2006, with printer volume sales increasing, driven by the growing need for security and personal identification. For us, there are some particular market drivers, which this article expands on.

• The growing significance of Asian markets.
• Increased use of Contactless cards.
• Smaller companies buying ID card printers.

MAGICARD PRINTERS NOW MANUFACTURED IN ASIA

While all markets for ID card printing continue to grow, Asian markets are becoming a larger part of the global picture. This is driven by two main trends; large project business, such as Government projects or mass transit applications; companies of all kinds seeing an increasing need for security and identification.

For Magicard, we are addressing this in a number of ways. The most significant is that we are now manufacturing our Magicard Opera, Tempo, and Alto printers in China. This provides us with a good position from which to increase sales across Asia. These printers are our compact models, designed for individual companies to use, and are thus very suitable for use by manufacturing and service companies across Asia.

We are also expanding our sales & support presence. For example, with our Master Dealer in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, PACLIN, we are offering local support and service. Our support and service has always been the strongest Magicard differentiator, and is very much appreciated by customers who need to keep printing ID cards on a daily basis.

CONTACTLESS CARDS & REVERSE TRANSFER PRINTING

The cards industry has been predicting for a number of years that Contactless cards will take over, but it finally seems to be happening. While the security and convenience aspects of contactless cards over magnetic stripe cards are well understood, the adoption of contactless has been relatively slow. But this is changing now.

What is driving the widespread use of Contactless cards?

• Homeland security projects like the FIPS 201 card for US government agencies.
• National ID cards.
• Access Control applications for corporate and educational sites and airports.
• Payment card projects being driven by the major banks and credit card companies.

While the high profile government and bank projects are getting the media attention, it’s actually the use of contactless cards by companies, airports, and educational establishments for their own use which represents the greatest volume of contactless ID cards. The publicity caused by the government projects is making organizations think about the security and convenience aspects of contactless cards.

For desktop card printing, the ID card printer, such as the Magicard Rio 2e or Prima 2e, can be configured to have an inbuilt encoder. The encoder is used to program the personal details for the ID card (such as the user’s unique ID number, name, and access privileges). This is done in the printer, usually just before printing the card. The ID card printer becomes a ‘one-stop card issuance station’; a complete, printed and encoded card can be immediately issued to the card holder.

Most contactless cards nowadays are flat and can be printed on consistently; however, some cards, particularly those that combine contactless technology with contact chips, can still be difficult to print on every time. This is where reverse-transfer printing comes in, such as is used by the Magicard Prima 2e. Reverse transfer is a technology where the image is printed onto a re-transfer film, which is then laminated onto the card. This has the advantage that virtually any card can be printed onto, irrespective of surface irregularities or material type. The Magicard Prima 2e reverse transfer printer can also be fitted with various contactless encoders for one-stop card issuance.

In summary, the technology to print and encode contactless cards with desktop ID card printers is well established, and users should not be afraid of specifiying contactless cards to enhance the security and user friendliness of their ID cards.

SMALL COMPANIES BUY THEIR OWN ID CARD PRINTER

If you look at ID card printers now, you will see a revolution in what you can buy.

• Printers which are easier to install and use than your office ink-jet.
• Smaller printers, mechanically less complex and more robust.
• A very attractive price to buy and to run.

This means that even small companies or organisations, as low as 50 or 100 people in size, can now afford their own printer, and that they don’t need to employ experts to operate and support the printer.

An example of a new, no-nonsense design is the Magicard Tempo ID card printer. Compared to printers in the past, the Tempo is a much simpler design. It is only 20 cm each side and weighs just over 3kg, thus making it very portable. If used together with a notebook computer, the Tempo provides a portable printing solution that can be easily taken to branch offices. The Tempo is a hand-fed printer – the user feeds in one card at a time, holding it by the edges to keep it clean. For many applications, this is quick and convenient, and even allows for easy double-sided card printing – just flip the card over and print the other side.

CONCLUSIONS

So, having re-visited our business strategy with the benefit of the first few months of 2006 behind us, we are confident that the strategy is still the right one.

We have invested in manufacturing in Asia, and in expanding our product range in both the high-end reverse transfer printers like the Magicard Prima 2e and the low-end compact printers like the Magicard Tempo and Alto, we are looking forward to not just a successful 2006 in Asia, but also a successful 2007 to 2010!

www.ultramagicard.com