In this Card Industry Resource Center, can be found a list of relevant topics pertaining to the card manufacturing industry. Articles pertaining to these topics are archived within each topic category. These articles are primarily from ICMA's Card Manufacturing magazine, but other sources are also included.

Card Insertion/Mailing

• Economic and Tamper Proof Packaging of Cards (July/August 2004)

Card Materials

• Degradable Polymers (January/February 1998)
• Plastic Tested for Currency (May/June 1998)
• The Role of Inks, Varnishes and Coatings in Product Security (May/June 2000)
• Combination of PVC and Other Additives to Improve Cards:
  Case History of Special Grade PVC (May/June 2001)
• Bonding Foils in the Smart Card Sector (January/February 2002)
• Shiny Surfaced Cards Offer Intense Customer Appeal (May/June 2002)
• Performance of Water based and Solvent based Coatings in Card Manufacturing (September/October 2002)
• New Solutions in Credit Card Branding Power (November/December 2002)
• Selecting Core Material - More than Meets the Eye (PreEXPO 2003)
• Polycarbonate: 50 & Still Going Strong (November/December 2003)
• Six Tips for Setting Up an Injection Molding Machine (November/December 2003)
• Which White is Right? (May/June 2004)
• Are Material Specifications Important to You? (May/June 2004)
• Measuring Core Thickness: Finding the Right Tool for the Job (September/October 2004)
• Polycarbonate Films - Material for Intelligent, High-Quality Cards (May/June 2005)
• High Impact Graphics and Customization - Trend or Fad? (May/June 2005)
• Card Overlay Films, Why Different Markets Take Different Solutions (May/June 2007)
• Smart PETG Married PC (=PEC): An Overview (May/June 2007)
• Card Overlay Films, Why Different Markets Take Different Solutions (July/August 2007)
• Clearly Unique (PreEXPO 2007)
• Converting Waste to Biodegradable Plastic (PreEXPO 2007)
• Paper-based Contactless Cards? (September/October 2007)

Chip Cards and Contactless Cards

• Contactless Implement ation of Contact Cards (July/August 1998)
• Chip Card's Business Case Requires PC Modeling (September/October 1998)
• Transponder Technology in ISO Cards is Emerging as the New Driving Force in the Card Industry (September/October 1998)
• Survey Shows Consumers Ready for Smart Cards (July/August 1999)
• CCT Technology: A New Approach to the Manufacturing of Contactless Smart Cards (July/August 1999)
• Standard Register Announces Results of National Consumer Survey of Plastic Card Usage (September/October 1999)
• New Technologies in Personal Identification (January/February 2000)
• The Impact of Windows® for Smart Cards on the Future of Business (March/April 2000)
• New Alliance in Smart Label Technology (May/June 2000)
• U.S. Prospects for Smart Cards in the New Millennium (July/August 2000)
• Major Barriers Affecting U.S. Smart Card Markets (July/August 2000)
• Economy Propels Smart Cards to Success in U.S. Markets (September/October 2000)
• Understanding PKI and How Cryptographic Smart Cards Protect PKI Investments (September/October 2000)
• Smart Card/PKI Case Study (September/October 2000)
• Double Digit Growth for Worldwide Smart Card Industry Anticipated in 2001 (May/June 2000)
• Visa U.S.A. Drives Industry Collaboration to Build Smart Card Acceptance in U.S. (July/August 2001)
• Self-Powered Transponder with Coded Response for IT Infrared Communication (July/August 2001)
• Identify the Problem - Find a "Smart" Solution (September/October 2001)
• Estonian Identification Cards Go High-Tech (March/April 2002)
• Infineon Technologies RFID Solutions Market Entry (March/April 2002)
• Research Highlights Vital Role for Government to Promote Smart Cards (September/October 2002)
• Advantages of Smart Cards for Health Care (September/October 2002)
• The State of RFID: Move Over Bar Codes? (January/February 2003)
• A World First: 3D Chip Integration Technology "Chip-Sandwich" Offers Way Out of the Wiring Crisis (May/June 2003)
• Case History: Smart Card, Smart Solution for American Nevada Corp. (September/October 2003)
• New Applications for Contactless Smart Cards (September/October 2003)
• The Evolving Standards for Smart Health Cards (January/February 2004)
• Contactless Cards (January/February 2004)
• Smart Card Applications: How Many Have You Used Today? (September/October 2004)
• Smart Cards vs. Magnetic Stripe Cards… Much Ado About Nothing? (September/October 2004)
• A Quick Look at Smart Cards for ID Applications (September/October 2004)
• Contactless Payments Come to the USA (PreEXPO 2005)
• Forerunner of the E-Society (September/October 2005)
• Smart Cards for Campus Environments Advantages and Technology Choices (September/October 2005)
• PayPass – EMV Paving its Way into RFID (September/October 2005)
• RFID IDs: Who Benefits and How? (November/December 2005)
• Smart Card Applications and New Standards Developments (PostEXPO 2005)
• Making Sense of the Growing Contactless Market (PreEXPO 2006)
• Canada Speeds up the Smart Card’s Lift-off in the North American Continent (September/October 2006)
• FIPS 201 Paves the Way for Commercial and Industrial Smart Card Use (January/February 2007)
• Contactless Smart Cards – The Real Story (January/February 2007)
• New Study Unveils Thai Consumers are Ready for Contactless Technology (March/April 2007)
• Smart Card Standards (September/October 2007)
• Paper-based Contactless Cards? (September/October 2007)

Coincard Technology

• The Coincard Technology and its Applications (March/April 2001)

Die Cutting

• Die Cutting Parts with Internal Die Cut Features – Tool Selection and Other Technical Considerations (May/June 2007)

Economy

• Where are We Going, Where Have We Been? (January/February 2008)

Effective Business Strategies

• Decisive Actions Required for Large Capital Expenditures (March/April 2005)
• Getting Printing Right—QUICKLY (March/April 2005)
• Is Your PVC Supplier Part of Your Team (May/June 2005)
• Can You Make Security Pay? (July/August 2005)
• Time to Start Making Secure ID Cards? (PreEXPO 2005)
• Succeeding in the Small Order Financial Card Niche (November/December 2005)
• Outsourcing: Your Job or Theirs? (March/April 2006)
• Six Sigma or Lean? (November/December 2007)
• CEOs and CIOs May be Talking the Green Talk, but IT is Still Not Walking the Green Walk (November/December 2007)
• Minimizing Set-Up Times (January/February 2008)

Electronic Commerce

• Smart Cards Will Become an Integral Enabler for E-Business (Pre-EXPO 1999)
• E-Commerce Answered (Pre-EXPO 1999)
• Wireless Industry Moving Toward Widespread M-Commerce Applications (Pre-EXPO 2000)
• Factory to Business (F2B): The Emergence of A New Market Segment for Industry (January/February 2001)
• North America's First Wireless Banking Service Launched (September/October 2001)
• Survey Finds 20% of Business-to-Business Transactions Will Be Wireless by 2003 (March/April 2002)
• Online Shopping Decisions Impacted By Enhanced Security (July/August 2003)
• Visa Survey Finds Use of Corporate Payment Cards on the Rise as Efficient Cash Management Tool (November/December 2005)

Freight/Shipping

• Getting the Maximum Savings from Your Freight Providers (May/June 1999)

GSM Technology

• GSM - An Introduction (January/February 1998)
• Secure Transactions - are SIMs ready? (September/October 2001)
• The Role of the SIM in Wireless LAN: Where Do the Opportunities Lie? (March/April 2003)

Holograms

• Application of Holograms to Credit Cards (May/June 1998)

ID Security and Biometrics

• Where Will Biometric Revenues Grow from 2002 to 2006? (July/August 2002)
• The "Smart" License is Not All That Smart (But Not for the Reasons You May Think) (July/August 2002)
• Biometric Standards for ID Cards (July/August 2002)
• Infineon Works on "Watermark" for Chip Cards (July/August 2002)
• Let's See Some ID, Please (November/December 2002)
• National Academies Study Tempers Call For National ID (November/December 2002)
• New Developments Increasing the Biometrics Value Proposition (July/August 2003)
• Taking Action Against Identity Theft (September/October 2003)
• Magneprint: A Real Time Risk Management Tool (November/December 2003)
• ID with a Brain (January/February 2006)
• Secure Identification Card System for United States’ Largest Employer (March/April 2007)
• University of Maryland Medical Center Relies on Zebra Card Printer to Create Staff IDs (March/April 2007)
• Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (July/August 2007)
• The Travel Document as a Secure Document (September/October 2007)

Independent Testing

• Independent Testing Reveals Performance Characteristics of Melinex® Cards (March/April 1999)
• Radiation Effects on Plastic Card Report Summary Test #3 - December 12, 2001 (January/February 2002)

Industry Trends

• The Decade of Innovation and Acceptance: Gallup Survey Reveals Consumer Payment Trends (January/February 2000)
• Major Survey Finds Prepaid and Loyalty Card Use On the Rise (July/August 2000)
• U.S. Federal Electronic Signature Law Takes Effect: Tips Before You Sign on the Digital Line (January/February 2001)
• ICMA Announces Results of Second Annual Global Market Survey (March/April 2001)
• Double Digit Growth for Worldwide Smart Card Industry Anticipated in 2001 (May/June 2001)
• Hypercom Launches Attack on Credit Card Skimming (July/August 2001)
• Gift Card Usage Surges According to National Survey (September/October 2001)
• Market for Teenage Payment Cards Set to Boom; Teenagers Spend Millions Online (November/December 2001)
• Credit Card Wars: Despite Success In Gaining New Customers, Aggressive Acquirers Risk Long-Term Growth (January/February 2002)
• Lessons from the Automotive Industry (March/April 2002)
• Credit Card Theft Thrives Online as Global Market Losses Grow (July/August 2002)
• Reverse Online Auctions - Good For Business? (September/October 2002)
• Retailers Settle with MasterCard & VISA on the Check Card Suit (PreEXPO 2003)
• The Evolving Standards for Smart Health Cards (January/February 2004)
• A Brand Evolution: Implications for Visa Card Manufacturers (July/August 2005)
• Stand Out in a Crowd - Why Plastic Cards are Replacing Email for Direct Response (PostEXPO 2005)
• Gift Card Phenomenon: Surveys Find Growing Prominence – Even Among Children (January/February 2005)
• Top Technology Trends of 2005 (January/February 2006)
• Mergers and Acquisitions: Brandishing the Brand (July/August 2006)
• Biometrics and the Card Industry (September/October 2006)
• Card Manufacturing Trends (November/December 2006)
• Card Manufacturing Trends - Part Two of a Two-part Series (Post EXPO 2006)
• Loyalty Cards—Are You Cashing in on This Huge Market? (March/April 2007)
• Plastic Transaction Cards Dominate by 2010! (May/June 2007)
• Notable Trends in the Card Market (July/August 2007)
• CEOs and CIOs May be Talking the Green Talk, but IT is Still Not Walking the Green Walk (November/December 2007)
• 2006 ICMA Global Market Survey Results: Numbers and Trends (November/December 2007)
• 2008 - Another Double Digit Growth Year for the Smart Security Industry (Post EXPO 2007)
• Trends: Latin America (January/February 2008)

Inspection/Quality Control

• Automated Vision Inspection for Today's Card Manufacturers : Seizing the Advantage (May/June 1999)
• The Challenge of Automated Card Inspection (September/October 1999)
• Newly Practical Card Inspections (July/August 2002)
• The Role of Inspection Systems in Card Manufacturing Defect Control (March/April 2003 )
• Process Control Primer (September/October 2003 )
• Auditing Card-Manufacturer Security: How One Industry Giant Manages This Monumental Task (July/August 2004)
• 6 Things You Should Know About Six Sigma (PreEXPO 2004)
• Configuring Inspection Systems as Production Tools (January/February 2007)

Issuers/Applications

• An Issuer's Perspective on Plastic Cards (July/August 1998)
• Ensuring the Integrity of a Gift Card Program (September/October 2003)
• Matching Card Technology to the Application (May/June 2004)
• Gift Card Phenomenon: Surveys Find Growing Prominence – Even Among Children (January/February 2005)
• Gift Cards - Opportunities and Trends (PostEXPO 2006)
• Credit Cards: Disposable Plastic or Consumer Electronic Device? (PostEXPO 2006)

Lamination

• Lamination Technology Closeup (March/April 1999)
• AmaTech's ALP-3 and ALP-6 Laminators: Purpose-built for RFID (September/October 1999)
• Flash Lamination of Cards (Post-EXPO 1999)
• Lamination - The State of the Art (March/April 2000)
• A Look at Plastic Card Lamination (January/February 2005)
• What Happens in the Lamination Cycle…and When? (May/June 2006)
• Lamination Plates – A Critical Component of Card Production (July/AUgust 2007)
• Lamination Plates – A Critical Component of Card Production (PreEXPO 2007)

Mag Stripes

• Analyzing Magnetic Stripes for Reliability and ISO Specifications (November/December 1998)
• Old Dog, New Tricks: The Magnetic Stripe is Nearing 40 with no Signs of Early Retirement (December 1999)
• Magstripe Cards: Tools for the Information Age (November/December 2000)
• A Fundamental Advance in Magnetic Stripe Technology (November/December 2000)
• Discovery of New 'Extraordinary Magnetoresistance Materials' May Dramatically Increase Capacity of Data Storage (November/December 2000)
• Flying Null Releases World's Thinnest Chipless Smart Tag (November/December 2002)
• Magneprint: A Real Time Risk Management Tool (November/December 2003)
• High Coercivity High Density Mag Stripes and Passports (November/December 2003)
• Smart Cards vs. Magnetic Stripe Cards… Much Ado About Nothing? (September/October 2004)
• New Digital Magnetic Heads Save Space, Improve Reliability (November/December 2004)
• Magnetic Stripe Profile and Poor Card Performance (November/December 2004)
• 35th Anniversary of the Introduction of the Magnetic Striped Transaction Card (November/December 2004)
• What Lies Beneath: The Importance of Maintaining Precise Magnetic Properties in the Current Color Tape, Printed Tape and Hologram Tape (Post EXPO 2005)
• Magnetic Stripes and the Standards (November/December 2005)
• The Evolution of Magnetic Stripe to Color and Beyond… (November/December 2006)
• MagnePrint®: The Built-in Security of Magnetic Stripe Cards (November/December 2006)
• Magnetic Stripe Performance Parameters (November/December 2006)
• Encoding Magnetic Stripes (January/February 2007)
• Verifying Magnetic Stripe Encoding (March/April 2007)
• What is an Oersted and Why Should You Care? (November/December 2007)
• 'Chip and Pin's' Effect on the Magnetic Stripe (November/December 2007)

Marketing

• Direct Marketing—Rules of Thumb (January/February 2005)
• How to Plan for Successful Communications During a Crisis (January/February 2005)
• Online Press Room Dos and Don'ts (March/April 2005)
• Making the Most of Media Opportunities (September/October 2005)
• Trade Shows: Stage Right for Maximum ROI (September/October 2007)

One Time Passcode

• The Security of a Token in a Card (PreEXPO2007)

Patents/Intellectual Property Laws

• Recognizing Intellectual Property Law Issues: A Brief Primer on Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents (March/April 2004)
• Who Owns Your Website? (PreExpo 2004)
• Use it Right or Lose it: Seven Easy Tips for Proper Trademark Usage (May/June 2005)
• Free Help for Small Business from Uncle Sam? (September/October 2005)

Personalization

• Personalization Trends and Opportunities: What's New, What's Next in the World of Plastic Cards? (March/April 2000)
• Securing Harrods Case Study (September/October 2000)
• Placard Brings Laser Print Quality to Datacard's Ultraform Line (January/February 2002)
• Capitalizing on One to One Marketing Opportunities (March/April 2002)
• Securing the PIN by Clever Solutions (March/April 2002)
• Leveraging New Technologies to Create Strong Competitive Advantages (March/April 2005)

Printing

• High Definition Printing Process for Identification Card Production (September/October 1999)
• New Digital Proofing Technology (January/February 2000)
• Automatic Real-Time Data Collection: Revolutionizing Printing Management (January/February 2000)
• Do the Math: The Real Costs of Dies (November/December 2000)
• Injection Moulding Makes Card Production Easier (January/February 2001)
• Add the Versatility of Steel Rule Dies (January/February 2001)
• Uptime is the Asset that Counts (July/August 2001)
• Progressive and Compound Dies Explained (September/October 2001)
• New Loyalty Card Changes Images with Every Swipe (May/June 2002)
• How To Gauge Return-on-Investment from Card Inspection Systems (November/December 2002)
• Cylithographic Digital Photography for ID Card Production (January/February 2003)
• What Color is White? (January/February 2003)
• Are New Card Designs a Blessing or a Curse? (March/April 2003)
• Fundamentals of Digital Thermal Transfer Printing, Part I: Mass Transfer (May/June 2003)
• Fundamentals of Digital Thermal Transfer Printing, Part 2: Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer (July/August 2003)
• Engineering Design: Taking Card Manufacturing Beyond the Graphics (March/April 2006)
• Working with Teslin® Synthetic Printing Sheet (May/June 2006)
• Secure Card Supplies: Not Your Average Printer Accessories (PreEXPO 2006)

Standards

• Update: Limited Real Estate Available on the ID-1 Card (March/April 1999)
• Smooth Transition to Improved ISO Standards (September/October 1999)
• Card Service Life Committee Shifts Into High Gear! (September/October 2000)
• Industry Groups Launch Initiative to Advance Use of Smart Cards in Securing the Network Economy (November/December 2000)
• Standards & Patents (January/February 2001)
• Opacity (March/April 2001)
• How are Industry Standards Devloped? (May/June 2001)
• High Density High Coercivity Mag Stripe (July/August 2001)
• Refining Personal Identification Techniques Using Biometric Data — Exciting Times for ISO/IEC JTC1/SC17 (November/December 2001)
• What is a Secure ID Card? (November/December 2001)
• Secure ID Cards - Follow up (January/February 2002)
• Government Regulations and Standards (March/April 2002)
• Card Service Life - How Long is Enough? (May/June 2002)
• Reality Check (September/October 2002)
• Non-Standard Cards (November/December 2002)
• Who Owns Card Technology Standards Territory? (March/April 2003)
• Tactile Identifiers and the "Kyoyo-Hin" Card (May/June 2003)
• Retailers Settle with MasterCard & VISA on the Check Card Suit (PreEXPO 2003)
• High Coercivity High Density Mag Stripes and Passports (November/December 2003)
• Contactless Cards (January/February 2004)
• Smart Card Interoperability (March/April 2004)
• Matching Card Technology to the Application (May/June 2004)
• OCR 7B, CR50 & CR80 Cards (July/August 2004)
• Smart Card Interoperability Standards - Let the progress begin! (July/August 2004)
• Getting Ready for the New Standards Season (September/October 2004)
• ePassports and Contactless IC Cards (November/December 2004)
• The Future of Smart Cards in the USA (January/February 2005)
• Will the USA Drivers License Finally Become and Official National ID Card? (March/April 2005)
• Materials and Card Durability (May/June 2005)
• Drivers Licenses and Crossroads (July/August 2005)
• Opacity (PreEXPO 2005)
• Limited Use Proximity Integrated Circuit Cards (September/October 2005)
• Magnetic Stripes and the Standards (November/December 2005)
• Smart Card Applications and New Standards Developments (PostEXPO 2005)
• How Long Do Cards Last? (January/February 2006 )
• Bar Code Quality (March/April 2006)
• Clear Cards and Infra-red Blocking Technology (May/June 2006)
• Features for Physical Security of Driver Licenses and Identification Cards (July/August 2006)
• Smart Card Interoperability Standards (PreEXPO 2006)
• The ISO Compliant Driving License (September/October 2006)
• Magnetic Stripe Performance Parameters (November/December 2006)
• Issuer Identification: the Forgotten Standard (Post EXPO 2006)
• Encoding Magnetic Stripes (January/February 2007)
• Verifying Magnetic Stripe Encoding (March/April 2007)
• Card Material Requirements for Compliance (May/June 2007)
• Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (July/August 2007)
• GlobalPlatform Converges with ISO on 7816-13 (PreEXPO 2007)
• Smart Card Standards (September/October 2007)
• What is an Oersted and Why Should You Care? (November/December 2007)
• The Green Standards (Post EXPO 2007)
• The Importance of Standards Compliance (January/February 2008)