Rewritable card printing gives card issuers in a variety
of markets a unique and affordable way to change the
information on a photo ID or other plastic card
without issuing a new card. This technology is ideal
for applications that involve information that is timesensitive
or changes frequently.
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What makes rewritable card printing possible is a
special rewritable card stock that features a clear
layer of heat-sensitive material which overlays a
conventional PVC or PET substrate. Embedded
within the heat-sensitive layer are a unique dye and
developer that chemically bond when heated to a
specific temperature and rapidly cooled. When the
substances bond, the result is a visible dot. In the
same way, when the substances are heated to a
specific lower temperature and slowly cooled, the
chemical bond breaks and the heat-sensitive
material becomes clear again.
This temperature-controlled reaction effectively
enables the printer to “erase” the card (breaking all the
chemical bonds) and then “rewrite” the card (forming
new chemical bonds) with new information.
In a rewritable card printer, heat is applied with the
same printhead used in conventional full-color card
printing. Unlike conventional card printing, however,
the printhead comes into direct contact with the card
surface. (Normally, a dye sublimation ribbon would be
situated in between the printhead and the card.) Direct
contact allows the heating elements of the printhead to
erase and rewrite each pixel on the card.
The process of erasing and writing a card is referred to as one “rewrite cycle.” Typical rewritable cards can
withstand at least 500 rewrite cycles before image
quality begins to deteriorate. Rewritable card printing
is monochromatic. In other words, all the pixels on a
rewritable card are the same hue.
Rewritable card printing can achieve image quality as
high as 300 dots per inch (dpi), which provides ample
resolution to reproduce photos, graphics and text,
including fonts as small as six points. Although
rewritable card printers can print bar codes, it is not
recommended. The contrast will not be as high as
with a conventional black-and-white bar code, and
scanning a rewritable bar code will be more
challenging than normal.
THE ANATOMY OF A REWRITABLE CARD
Because rewritable cards are essentially conventional
plastic cards, they can be personalized with many
of the same technologies as other cards, including
magnetic stripes. Rewritable cards have three layers
(see diagram below). The heat-sensitive layer contains
the embedded dye and developer for rewritable
printing. The middle layer is a PVC or PET substrate.
The third layer, which forms the opposite side of the
card, is clear PVC suitable for dye-sublimation
printing. In many cases, the dye-sublimation layer
features a color photo, while the rewritable side
features text.
Rewritable cards should only be handled by the edges,
because fingerprints, skin oils and other residue can
degrade image quality. To make card handling easier
for operators, most rewritable cards typically feature a
matte finish that makes it simple to tell which side of
the card is rewritable.
