There are two basic id cardstock types that are used for printing the majority of the standard id cards that are printed on traditional direct-to-card id card printers.

1. The basic id card is 30 ml thick and is a standard white CR-80 id card. The card is graphic quality PVC and has a clear glossy PVC laminate on the top and bottom of the card. The laminate is printable and the card offers moderate durability. During production, these cards are optically inspected to make sure that the surface is clean and scratch free. Maximum print quality and prolonged printhead life are the results of acceptable cards produced by PVC card manufacturers.

2. The graphic quality PVC/polyester cards (sometimes called 60/40 PVC cards) provide a better quality print on the card and provide maximum durability of the card. The same clear glossy PVC laminate is found on the top and bottom of the card, but the inside is the difference. The inside of the card is a polyester layer that provides additional strength to the card. These cards will not have the potential warping of the card that occurs during the lamination of the standard PVC card.

Variances of the two cards may include the thicknes of the card. The range is normally between 9 ml and 40 ml. Some printers will accomodate the various thicknesses while others will only print on 10 ml. Another variance is whether the card contains a HiCo or LoCo mag stripe.
Contact our id card experts for additional information on the cards needed for your application.