Plastic Card Printing

At Branded Lanyards, we specialise in delivering high-quality, professionally printed plastic cards to meet the diverse identification, access, and branding needs of businesses and organisations . Whether you’re looking for staff ID badges, membership cards, access control credentials, or event passes, our plastic card printing services provide durable, vibrant, and customisable solutions.

From simple printed PVC cards to integrated smart technologies and security features, we serve sectors such as education, healthcare, hospitality, government, and retail. Our streamlined design-to-delivery process ensures fast turnaround and precise results, all tailored to your brand and operational requirements.

What Plastic Card Printing Services Include Custom Design and Logos?

Most plastic card printing services offer complete customisation, allowing clients to print logos, graphics, text, and brand colours to exact specifications. These services often include professional artwork setup, layout design, and visual proofs.

Advanced options may include layered printing effects, holographic elements, transparent sections, and card finishes such as matte, gloss, or spot UV to enhance the card’s durability and appearance. Cards can also be printed with variable data such as employee names, ID numbers, or expiration dates.

How Much Does Plastic Card Printing Cost Around ?

The cost of plastic card printing ranges from £0.20 to £2.50 per card, depending on factors such as card type, order volume, design detail, and any added features.

Costs are mainly influenced by whether the cards use monochrome or full-colour printing, require magnetic stripes or NFC elements, include variable data, or need premium materials and finishes. Bulk quantities typically reduce the price per unit for large orders.

Contact Branded Lanyards to get customised prices for your project.

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What Materials and Printing Techniques Are Used for Plastic Card Printing?

Providers use a range of materials and production methods tailored to durability, visual quality, and specialised features, including:

• PVC and composite materials – Durable substrates resistant to wear, moisture, and bending, used for most standard and high-spec cards.

• Dye-sublimation printing – Produces smooth, full-colour images suitable for photo IDs, membership cards, and branded passes.

• Thermal transfer printing – Ideal for crisp text, barcodes, and variable data on demand.

• UV spot printing – Creates sharp, high-contrast elements or protective finishes for logos, security accents, or premium designs.

• Screen printing – Used for solid colours, metallic effects, and long-lasting finishes on thicker card types.

• Digital offset printing – Delivers high-resolution graphics for corporate branding, event credentials, and large production runs.

Does Plastic Card Printing Support PVC, Smart Cards or NFC Integration?

Suppliers typically offer a wide variety of plastic card types, including standard PVC cards, contactless smart cards, chip cards, and NFC-enabled credentials.

Smart and NFC card options are commonly used in building access, cashless payment, loyalty programs, or student tracking systems. These cards can be programmed with data specific to your access control or database system, ensuring seamless integration with existing infrastructure.

Can Plastic Card Printing Include Variable Data and Security Features?

Variable plastic made data card printing, which includes names, barcodes, QR codes, magnetic stripes, serial numbers, or encoded smart chips.

Security features such as holograms, watermark overlays, tamper-proof laminates, or UV elements can also be added to increase card protection against fraud or counterfeiting, ideal for cards used in schools, government buildings, and corporate access control.

Which Industries Commonly Use Plastic Card Printing?

Plastic card printing is widely used across multiple sectors, including:

• Education – Student IDs, staff badges, library cards, and access control credentials.

• Events and entertainment – Delegate passes, VIP credentials, backstage access cards, and temporary staff IDs.

• Healthcare – Staff identification, visitor passes, patient tracking cards, and secure access badges.

• Corporate and office environments – Branded employee cards, proximity access cards, and visitor management IDs.

• Retail and hospitality – Loyalty cards, membership cards, gift cards, and room access systems.

• Transport and logistics – Travel passes, fleet access cards, and secure entry authentication.

• Public sector and security services – Identity verification cards, government-issued badges, and controlled-access credentials.

How Quickly Can Plastic Card Printing Be Delivered to Businesses?

Turnaround times for plastic card printing can be fulfilled within 2 to 5 business days. Custom cards with variable data, security encoding, or specialist finishes may take between 5 and 10 business days.

Many suppliers offer expedited printing and next-day courier services for urgent jobs, particularly for events or new staff onboarding.

Contact Branded Lanyards for a consultation on getting plastic card printing.

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Can Plastic Card Printing Accommodate Eco-Friendly or Recyclable Materials?

Plastic card printing providers offer several environmentally conscious options, which include recycled PVC cards that are produced from post-consumer materials and retain the durability required for daily use.

Biodegradable PVC options are engineered to break down more quickly under specific conditions while still supporting high-quality printing. PET and PETG cards provide non-chlorinated, long-lasting substrates suitable for branding, identification, or access control. Paper-based hybrid cards are often chosen for short-term applications such as events where a lower-impact material is preferred.