Innovative Morpho e-Documents card-body technology enhances the overall customer experience and the relationship with the card issuer. Marketing teams can now benefit from theses new features to leverage their creativity when developing new card programs. It's an outstanding opportunity to create a preferred connection between your brand and the cardholder - with a unique design.

A banking card will no longer be an anonymous piece of plastic; it will become an impressive communications link to promote the bank's image.

Moreover innovative Morpho e-Documents' card-body technology provides significant financial benefits to card issuers through increased usage by cardholders, decreased churn and impressive activation rates among previously inactive customers.

Morpho e-Documents stays on top of market trends and technological innovations and can work with bank marketing teams in developing new offerings for the bank.

Each new development is managed internally as a project involving a product manager, an engineering team and manufacturing sites. Trials, samples and tests are performed on equipment from production at our sites or our partner's facilities. Homologations and certifications are managed by our quality teams at our sites.

Here is a partial list of innovative technologies qualified by Morpho e-Documents.

Transparent and translucent cards
Readable in any ATM, this card-body technology is based on transparent banking PVC that is opaque to IR thanks to a special ink.  The final surface can be either translucent or opaque (to visible light) or both.



Metallic and holographic cards
This technology can give a very glossy effect to the entire card surface or enable highlighting of certain design elements. The card's core is based on a metallized PVC layer (silver or gold). Artwork can be printed on the metal sheet or on transparent layers assembled with the metallic layer.  It is possible to have this metallic or holographic effect on the card's entire surface or only on specific design elements.



Card's surface with relief
Ridges, valleys, engraving effects or material effects.
There are two technical possibilities for achieving this effect:

  

• Process-related: The lamination plate is engraved with the surface elements. With this technology the card-body structure is not impacted - only the manufacturing process. This technology is available for minimum quantities of 200 K cards for the same relief item.
  
  
• Linked to an additional layer: Items in relief are designed with a special varnish printed after lamination. To increase the effect, it is possible to have a card background finishing different from the varnish finishing.

3D effect on the artwork
The depth effect is added to the artwork by playing with the opacity and transparency of the different layers of the card body. The background is printed on an opaque layer and the item to be highlighted is printed on a transparent layer assembled above it. This technology is linked to the artwork definition. The design should be worked in advance with an eye to all constraints.



Card body printed with special inks
Ink colors can change with the temperature, the card's position, or the light. They can be perfumed, metallic, mirror-like, and more. The card-body structure doesn't change; only the addition of this special ink portion of the design is needed.



The card body has a different form factor than standard ID1
This form factor can be a standard MC2, mini VISA, round corners or others. The final cutting tool should be adapted to the new form.

Card body with colored edges
The edge of the card is - or seems - colored. This technology allows you to distinguish your card from others (with white edges) in your wallet.

Two technologies can be used:

• We can use an already colored PVC. This technology should be used for a minimum quantity of 500 K cards with the same color. Standard colors exist and specific colors can be proposed.
  
  
• We can also use a transparent card body and a special ink already colored and allowing light reflections on the edges. It is a visual effect, requiring a dedicated design and a certain light.

Green cards
Alternative to the PVC material to get a more ecological product.  To be green, the card should be based on a biodegradable materials, non-dietary and renewable.
At the moment this material allows us to offer a molded card body, printable with a varnish protection. Embedding and embossing are available. For ecological reasons, magnetic stripes are not allowed on this card body.

Technically, the final card body is not 100% compliant with the ISO standard, and the Vicat point is low (~60° C), but it is still possible to personalize it by thermal transfer, ink jet or laser engraving. This card body is a good way to think green.

Colored standard banking elements
Standard banking elements of the card - magnetic stripes and the contact plate - can be colored.  Depending on your design, you can use a gold or silver contact plate and a colored magnetic stripe (standard or specific color). This technology is has added aesthetic value.