Plastic cards

[Mark H]

Hello,

I'm exploring printing plastic cards (business cards) on my flatbed and I am interested in any tips & tricks you might have. Actually it could be more than business card sizes, could be postcard size, basically any size that can be printed multiple up on a 4x8 sheet. What kind of template do you use.? Do you use paper and throw it away after each job/set of jobs? Do you make a template that can be used over & over such as having a template made buy cutting out a pattern in the same thickness material? Using a thicker material and routing out the card shapes to the depth of the material being printed?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Make a Jig/Template, we do them all the time now for a client of ours who needs spot runs consistently.

We make a foam backer and a thin acrylic jig. We gone it together so its solid but still replaceable. Having a Jig makes repeatability a near guarantee.

 

[Mark H]

Why the from backer? Why not set the cards directly on the bed? Is the jig the same thickness as the cards and place on top of the foam? I'd love to see a pic it you can post one. Thanks for the info!

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We have a hybrid FB750 so direct to bed isn't suitable. Yes we use a 1mm acrylic as our jig so it's close in size to the 20mil cards.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Also we use foam because it doesn't deform in heat as easy