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THE INTERNATIONAL CARD MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (ICMA) ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF ANNUAL ÉLAN AWARDS

—ICMA Members Recognized for Outstanding Card Design—

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, October 19, 2006 — Recognizing the latest advancements and achievements in plastic card design, the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) is proud to announce the winners of the organization’s annual Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence. The awards ceremony was held this month at the annual ICMA EXPO, in Athens, Greece.

“The Élan entrants continue to grow and the competition increases each year, consequently this year the Élan entries broke all previous records,” said Jeffrey E. Barnhart, founder and executive director of ICMA. “The awards represent the card industry for members throughout the globe and this year was no exception with entries from eight different continents.”

Judges of the Élan Awards were Freddi Yiap, CardsNow!Asia; Pietro Parmeggiani, CPPC; and Brad Paulson, Thor Engineering and ICMA standards representative. Entries were judged solely on the cards since entries were not identified by company.

Winners and finalists were chosen in each of the following award categories:

Best Non-Secure Card
Manufacturer Entrant: UV Color
Winner: Peppermint with scent and raised ink
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Roseville, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Finalist: Lenticular Kissing Snowman
Customer for Card: Macys
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Plasticard Locktech
Finalist: W the Card
Customer for Card: W Hotels
Location: Asheville, NC

Best Secure Card
Manufacturer Entrant: Perfect Plastic Printing
Winner: Discover Fabric Embedded Card
Customer for Card: Discover
Location: St. Charles, IL

Manufacturer Entrant: ID Data
Finalist: Citibank Ultima Card
Customer for Card: Citibank UK
Location: Petersfield Hampshire, UK

Manufacturer Entrant: Giesecke & Devrient Iberica S.A.
Finalist: Coutts Account Card
Customer for Card: Coutts & Co. Bank UK
Location: Madrid, Spain

Technical Achievement
Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Winner: Teachers Rule Wood Card
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Finalist: Emery Board Mother’s Day Gift Card
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Giesecke & Devrient
Finalist: Amex Airmiles
Customer for Card: American Express
Location: Twinsburg, OH

Best Gift Card
Manufacturer Entrant: Perfect Plastic Printing
Winner: Best Buy Snowman Colorshift
Customer for Card: Best Buy
Location: St. Charles, IL

Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Finalist: Clear Balloon Card
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Finalist: Foil Lenticular Cup Cakes
Customer for Card: Nordstrom
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Best ID Card
Manufacturer Entrant: CPI Card Group
Winner: Policia Preventiva
Customer for Card: Police Department of Mexico
Location: Littleton, CO

Manufacturer Entrant: Versatile Card Technology
Finalist: Veracruz Driver’s License
Customer for Card: Lonexi
Location: Downers Grove, IL

Manufacturer Entrant: VCT-NJ
Finalist: Mile One Card
Customer for Card: Eisner Underground Advertising
Location: South Plainfield, NJ

Judges Choice
Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Winner: Teachers Rule Wood Card
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: Travel Tags
Finalist: Emery Board Mother’s Day Gift Card
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Inver Grove Heights, MN

Manufacturer Entrant: UV Color
Finalist: Peppermint with scent and raised ink
Customer for Card: Target
Location: Roseville, MN

The delegates onsite selected the People’s Choice Award. The recipients are as follows.

People's Choice
Manufacturer Entrant: Jet
Winner: Chili’s Mother’s Day Gift Card
Customer for Card: Optimum
Location: Downers Grove, IL

Manufacturer Entrant: CPI Card Group
Finalist: Tree Lighting
Customer for Card: Starbucks Coffee
Location: Littleton, CO

Manufacturer Entrant: Perfect Plastic Printing
Finalist: Nordstrom Full Face Foil
Customer for Card: Nordstrom
Location: St. Charles, IL

Additionally, the Élan Award for Best Exhibit Design was presented to Challenge Card Design Platikkarten, based in Germany. Finalist for the booth design were Blumer Maschinenbau and American Bank Note Holographics.

Also recognized was ICMA’s outstanding member service award for ICMA members who demonstrated exemplary support of the organization. This year’s winner was Dr. Brad Paulson, Thor Engineering and ICMA’s standards representative. “Brad goes above and beyond to assist all ICMA members. His knowledge of ISO/ANSI standards are a great benefit to the members but what is most exceptional is how Brad easily presents the complicated information in a clear and concise manner” states Jeffrey E. Barnhart, founder and executive director of ICMA.

For information on becoming a member of ICMA, contact Lynn McCullough at 609-799-4900 or email at LMccullough@icma.com.

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About Élan Awards
In the global arena of world-class cards, the ICMA Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence are the pinnacle of design innovation and technical achievement. Past recipients have included leading manufacturers from around the globe. Winners of this prestigious competition tap the power of industry recognition and promotional opportunity.

About ICMA
Based in Princeton Junction, NJ, ICMA is a non-profit association comprised of plastic card manufacturers, personalizers and related industry participants. With more than 200 members globally, the ICMA acts as a clearinghouse for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of plastic cards.

Editor’s Note: JPEG images are available upon request. Please contact Stacy Flint at 609-799-4900 or email: SFlint@icma.com.