Inkjet & Digital Printing

Plastic Data Card Doubles Production Speed with an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press

Thursday 25. October 2012 - Addition of new digital press completes major investment programme

HP today announced that Plastic Data Card Ltd, of Chatham, Kent, has installed an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press with One Shot Colour capabilities, Thick Substrate Kit and white ink option for the production of high-quality, plastic cards for its blue-chip customers.
Throughout 2012, Plastic Data Card has been investing in new equipment and modernising its premises to meet the growing demand for higher quality and more distinctive cards. The company added an automatic cutter for the production of cards in different shapes, providing both novelty value and a way for card-issuers to differentiate themselves. A new foiling machine was also installed for distinctive, added-value cards. The culmination of this investment was the installation of an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press.
“Our business had expanded and we wanted to increase production capacity and develop new products and services,” said James O’Carroll, managing director, Plastic Data Card Ltd. “The new press has a range of features that we believe will take the business forward, enabling us to add new services and commercial products, like itinerary lists, flyers and leaflets, as well as a wider range of cards.”
The HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press can print 34 A3 sheets per minute in full colour or 40 in Enhanced Productivity Mode. This is equivalent to more than 40,000 standard, rectangular plastic cards per hour – double the speed of the company’s previous press.
The use of plastic cards continues to increase with more and more new applications coming into use every year. Plastic Data Card produces more than 10 million cards annually and the new HP Indigo digital press will enable the company to print on more than 2500 different substrates, including coated and uncoated papers, synthetics, dark, transparent, metallic and recycled media.
Added capabilities; added value
With the One Shot Colour option, all colour separations are accumulated on the offset blanket and transferred to the substrate simultaneously in a single pass. This provides registration and enables the printing of synthetic materials including PVC, PET, Teslin and PC. The Thick Substrate Kit means that stocks up to 18pt (460 microns) can be printed, expanding the range of cards that Plastic Data Card can offer its customers. The ability to print HP Indigo ElectroInk White further extends the variety of choice by enabling it to print on clear or coloured substrates.
“One of our key markets is providing cards for concerts and music festivals,” O’Carroll explained. “Cards for backstage or VIP passes require high-quality branding and often include barcodes and signature strips – and can be up to A5 in size.”
The HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press is Plastic Data Card’s third Indigo digital press. The HP Indigo 5600 Digital Press replaces the company’s Indigo Omnius Card Press, installed in the late 1990s.