Personalisation of Cards in the Bureau

Please contact us if you need any of the following:

• Encoding of a Smart Card Chip (Contact or Contactless)
• Sequential numbering on the card?
• Printing the Names and details of your card-holder?
• Photograph?
• Printing of a Barcode?
• Encoding of a Magnetic Stripe (Hi or Lo-Co)?
• Signature Strip?
• Embossing and Tipping?
• Dye-Sublimation or Retransfer Printing of a logo / card design?
• Printing and Attaching cards to a carrier
• Fulfilment - insertion of booklets, manuals, postage direct to your client Next Day delivery?

In addition to supplying pre-printed cards, Universal can supply a complete package by adding high quality smart card personalisation from its bureau based at its sister company site in Cheltenham. Every stage of our design and production is audited to ensure the highest quality standards are delivered to your organisation's members. This factor is crucial as the card is a daily reminder of their relationship with you.

Please see our range of services below, from more traditional embossed credit cards, to contactless multi-application technology for the most up-to-date identity chip solutions.

The Bureau Model

The model for the majority of smart cards distributed today is as shown in the diagram below.

Data Transmission
Data can be provided in a number of different ways, and we can provide example file formats and transport protocols to best suit the client.

Data Processing
For nearly every project bespoke development within the bureau will be required to process the data ready to use for personalisation of cards and associated items e.g. letters. The extensive experience of the team allows in-house development of this software.

Personalisation
Card personalisation has two stages that are performed at the same time within the personalisation equipment:
• Electrical personalisation and
• Visual personalisation.

Electrical personalisation software is developed in-house on a project-by-project basis to encode the chip exactly as required by the client. This software is developed in-house to allow rapid response to a client's requirements.

Visual personalisation is again tailored to the project's needs and can include:
• Embossing as for traditional bank style cards
• Monochrome thermal printing, e.g. for text and barcodes.
• Full colour thermal printing e.g. for photographs and logos.

Fulfilment
In conjunction with the personalisation of cards supporting material is personalised to deliver a product specific message.

The most common form of message medium is a card letter. Universal does not limit itself to the generic A4 fan-folded letter, but also offers the option of most paper sizes up to A3. Card positioning on the letter, and how the sheets are folded can also be produced to suit almost any application.

Despatch
Card despatch can be to individual or bulk mailing locations, e.g. branches, and via a number of despatch agents.

Reporting
A number of reports are produced to accompany the personalisation process. These reports are:
• Manifest File
• Activity Report
• Stock Report

The manifest file details all cards personalised on a given day, and will contain information that the client requires to maintain back-end systems. An example would be to return chip serial numbers of cards personalised.

The Activity and Stock reports are used to monitor stock usage, and are useful management information.

Bureau Services

Photo Identification
We can supply a full range of products to meet any organisations requirements.
Cards can be produced from a basic card with a user's name and photograph to a card that has the embossing of a person's name, and secure printing..

Dye-sublimation and Re-transfer printers reside in the bureau for a quick response to card printing to satisfy every need.

Encoding
Any type of encoding can be undertaken including hi-co and lo-co magnetic stripe cards (all three tracks), memory and microprocessor contact smart card chips, applet loading, through to any ISO 14443A/B and ISO15693 card. Popular contactless technologies include Mifare and Desfire cards.

Document Assembly
A visit to the bureau will pay dividends when looking at the process flow when attaching a personalised card to a mailer and sending this to the client. The bureau has invested in automated matching & attaching equipment to speed up the fast issuance of cards.