CARD MARKETS
At Partitalia, we produce cards for various markets: smart cards for access control and identification at hotels and campsites, companies, gyms, sports federations, schools and universities; loyalty and gift cards for mass-market retail trade and retail; cards for vending machines, used as virtual wallets in the self-service machine sector (vending machines, self-service laundries and car washes, water refilling stations). Going further, we produce cards for charging electric cars at dedicated charging posts and RFID cards for controlled access bins, which are widely used in municipalities applying door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection.
We also guarantee same-day delivery for blank cards and mini-cards in stock, while we deliver all customised and printed cards within just 72 hours after the order is placed. Contact us for an entirely free quote.
MARKETS
CARDS FOR HOTELS
Cards for hotels perform two basic functions: they open room doors and activate the energy saver, the ‘pocket’ near the room entrance in which the card must be inserted to switch on the lights. In addition, hotel cards can be used to allow access to the room floor, hotel car park and special areas, such as the spa or swimming pool, tennis court, private beach, and to activate the lift. They can also serve as electronic wallets containing credit to be spent on activating sun lamp, for payments at cafés, restaurants and hotel boutiques, and purchasing items from vending machines.
Hotel key cards can be classified as:
- magnetic stripe cards, in LoCo or HiCo frequency, they must be swiped in a reader;
- contact chip cards: again, they must be inserted into a reader;
- RFID cards: when the RFID card touches the reader, the medium is recognised and access is granted or the charge is debited. Contactless cards are used in hotels at 125 kHz (low frequency) or 13.56 MHz (high frequency), with either vicinity or proximity technology.
RFID cards for hotels are particularly common. In their standard format, they can be easily customised with the logo of the hospitality facility using various printing techniques (4-colour offset printing, silkscreen printing with gold and silver hues, matt painted) and printed with a barcode, the sponsor’s logo or the services included. Contactless cards can also be encoded to enhance security.
Hotel cards also come in a combo format. These are hybrid cards that contain both contact and RFID technology. Equipped with independent chips, they are used when access-control systems from different suppliers are present.
CORPORATE CARDS AND ID BADGES
Corporate ID badges are the most common devices used for access control and to detect the number of people present at a company. As far as the identification of persons is concerned, in medium to large settings, corporate ID badges allow not only employees to be recognised at the entrance, but also visitors, consultants, freelancers, external or temporary workers. With corporate ID badges, it is possible to define access areas, i.e. areas accessible to workers and outsiders, record movements within the facility, and ensure greater security in the organisation by protecting certain areas from unwanted entry. Moreover, corporate cards can also provide access to special areas — e.g. servers, laboratories, etc. — and the car park. They can also be used for digital signatures and as a virtual wallet for credit to spend at the canteen and vending machines.
The most common ID badges used for access control and to detect the number of people present at a company are based on RFID. Indeed, these contactless cards:
- can have a fully printed and customised surface;
- have a long lifespan, since they are not ‘swiped’ through the reader when being read;
- are equipped with RFID chips that contain math coprocessors for enhanced security;
- may store several applications in the memory.
Corporate ID badges can be printed using offset, digital (thermographic, indirect/retransfer or inkjet printing) and silkscreen printing techniques.
LOYALTY AND GIFT CARDS
Loyalty and gift cards are widely used in both mass-market retail and the retail sector. Loyalty or fidelity cards allow a points to be accumulated for every euro spent. The aim is to establish a bond with customers by profiling them. This process is used by the issuing company to understand what consumers are interested in and in which quantities, in order to manage stocks and estimate consumption, as well as propose dedicated offers.
With gift cards, on the other hand, a monetary value is given to be spent at a shop; the value and duration of the amount can vary. In recent years, gift cards have also been used by companies as a form offringe benefit for employees. Fringe benefits are additional items of remuneration that companies may pay to staff in the form of in-kind compensation (e.g. company cars, smartphones, meal vouchers). Article 51 of the TUIR (Italian Consolidated Income Tax Law) establishes the possibility of providing benefits even in the form of gift cards. This is an advantage for both the company — fringe benefits are tax exempt — and workers, who can spend the credit based on their needs.
Loyalty and gift cards are usually printed with barcodes and made of PVC or more sustainable materials such as degradable PVC, recycled PVC and paperboard. The most popular format is the ISO card, but other formats are also requested, such as mini-cards for distribution among family members. Ancillary services (fulfilment) include barcode labelling, flow packing and enveloping for the cards to be sent directly to users. Loyalty and gift cards are printed using offset and silkscreen printing techniques, and customised using digital printing techniques such as inkjet and thermographic printing.
CARD FOR GYMS
At gyms, swimming pools and other leisure facilities (sports facilities, spas, water parks), smart cards are the most common device used for access control. The main applications of gym and swimming pool cards include user identification at the entrance and access to special areas, e.g. spa areas, car parks, and the use of sports machines, to set training parameters and record activities. Gym cards can also be used as a virtual wallet with credit that can be spent to activate sunlamps and hairdryers, and for payments at the restaurant and vending machines.
Gym badges contain different technologies, such as barcodes, magnetic stripes, contact chips, RFID (with LF of 125 kHz, HF of 13.56 MHz or, in some rare cases, even UHF of 868 MHz). RFID cards are the most popular due to their ease of use and low cost. Moreover, if the reader is connected to management software, the reception desk can check all the information on the card (validity of the subscription and enrolment, presence of medical certificate, compliance with access time for the chosen course).
RFID cards for gyms and swimming pools come in standard ISO format and can therefore be easily customised with the logo of the gym or pool, barcode and sponsor, using various printing techniques (4-colour offset; silkscreen printing in gold and silver; matt paint). They can all be encoded, which makes them very secure.
An alternative to ISO format gym cards is mini-cards, small cards that fall halfway between key fobs and cards. Made of PVC, they can be cut to suit customer requirements, and be attached to bags or keyrings.
CAMPING CARDS
At campsites and resorts, smart cards allow guests to be identified when entering and leaving the facilities during their stay, as well as providing access to their accommodations — flat, room, bungalow. They also allow access to parking and restricted areas, such as private beaches, sports facilities or spas. As well, they can be used as a virtual wallet to pay for showers and hairdryers, café and restaurant services, and snacks and drinks taken from vending machines.
Camping cards can be classified as:
- magnetic stripe cards in LoCo or HiCo frequencies;
- contact chip cards;
- RFID cards: 125 kHz (low frequency) or 13.56 MHz (high frequency) contactless cards are used at campsites with both vicinity and proximity technology.
The most popular are RFID badges in a standard format, which can be customised with the campsite or resort logo using various printing techniques (4-colour offset printing, silkscreen printing with gold and silver hues, matt painted) and printed with a barcode, the sponsor’s logo or the services included. They can also be encoded to enhance security.
The camping membership card
These cards are widely used in the camping sector. Membership cards are issued by camping associations or campsite networks, which, upon payment of a periodic fee, offer guests a wide selection of benefits, such as quick registration at reception, discounts at partner campsites, free participation in campsite activities and events, discounts on bike and camping equipment rentals, special low-season rates, and insurance for property, people and vehicles. In some cases, these cards may also be valid as an ID document on campsite premises.
CARDS FOR CHARGING ELECTRIC CARS
In Italy, there are currently 24,794 charging points at 12,623 charging stations (or charging posts) according to the latest quarterly survey by Motus-e, an association bringing together players in the field of electric mobility. Eighty percent of these are installed along the road, while the remaining 20% are found at supermarkets and shopping arcades (Source: Cobat.it, 7 October 2021). The charging posts are activated by an RFID card. With radio-frequency technology, the user only need bring the card close to the charging symbol on the charging post, which is equipped with an RFID reader, to enable the electricity supply.
Electric car charging cards are personal identification cards that also contain the driver’s personal information. They are either prepaid or postpaid. For postpaid cards, all charging operations are recorded on the card, and an invoice is issued at the end of the month.
Electric car charging cards are compliant with the ISO standard. They can be conveniently kept in a wallet and customised with low-volume printing using offset and silkscreen printing techniques with gold and silver hues or matt paint.
Mini-cards are another available format. These are smaller than standard cards and can be inserted on a key ring. They can also be custom cut (e.g. to reproduce the manufacturer’s logo).
At Partitalia, we offer a fulfilment service at the end of the printing process for both ISO format cards and mini-cards. This includes either flow packing (insertion of the cards into a transparent thermoplastic bag), enveloping and dispatch to the address specified by the customer, or packing in paperboard boxes (card packaging), which are customised according to customer requirements.
SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY BADGES
The main function of smart cards in schools and universities is student identification, although there are many other uses:
- student identification at examinations;
- access control, i.e. student identification at the entrance to the facility;
- attendance detection for electronic registers, allowing for automatic roll-call (this is especially popular in high schools);
- access to special areas, such as servers, laboratories and storerooms;
- access to the car park (at some universities and public schools);
- reservation of library books;
- signing in for examinations through multimedia totems;
- digital signatures, to uniquely sign digital documents;
- virtual wallet: credit can be stored on cards for payments at the canteen, café or vending machines.
School and university badges come in ISO format and rely on one or more technologies such as magnetic stripes, contact chips and RFID chips. Contactless cards, in particular, can be printed and customised over the entire surface, and have a long lifespan since they do not have to be ‘swiped’ through the reader to be read. The RFID chip can also store multiple applications in the memory.
Smart cards for schools and universities can be printed using offset, silkscreen and digital thermographic or retransfer printing
CARDS FOR SPORTS FEDERATIONS
Smart cards are the most versatile identification medium for athletes in sports federations and associations, both for accessing the facilities where they train and during federation or amateur matches. In addition to allowing for athlete identification, sports association cards are also a device for clubs to print their service regulations, which are always within reach. If the federation uses an access control service, an RFID card easily guarantees athletes access to the facility.
Cards used by federations can be either normal plastic cards in ISO format, or paperboard cards. Paperboard cards, made of an environmentally friendly and biodegradable material, can be customised using offset printing to insert the cardholder’s data or with handwriting. PVC has a much longer lifespan due to the type of substrate and printing, which make it extremely robust. It can be customised easily with thermographic printers, used to print the cardholder’s photo and data. To enter data on the card with a pen or felt-tip pen, a signature panel must be inserted on the card to allow for handwriting.
Our team will be happy to help you choose the most suitable medium for your federation’s membership cards. You can also choose to have the card directly customised by your athletes with ‘MYC - Manage Your Card’, the portal by Partitalia that simplifies card and smart card procurements. Contact us for more information!
WASTE MANAGEMENT CARDS
Municipalities applying a door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste-collection system — in which the variable part of the rate is calculated based on the amount of unsorted waste produced and delivered by the user — must decide how to record deliveries from users, which is essential for calculating the fee.
The various methods include access-controlled bins, which have a hub on top that is opened by a smart card, thus identifying the user and recording the delivery. In this case, the volume of waste is determined by the ‘size of the container opening with a volume limiter’, as specified in Italian Ministerial Decree of 20 April 2017 on door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection. The number of deliveries made by the user is thus identified and counted. Door-to-door pay-as-you-throw waste collection is calculated fairly and proportionately, saving money for virtuous citizens who sort waste correctly, minimising the amount of residual municipal waste that cannot be recycled.
The bin is opened using a magnetic stripe card, such as a health insurance card or RFID card, which is uniquely linked to the user. With contactless cards, RFID technology allows users to simply place the card on the dedicated card reader to open the bin. RFID cards for bins come in standard ISO format and can be customised with the municipality’s logo — using 4-colour offset printing, silkscreen printing or matt painting — and printed with a barcode and the services offered.
VENDING MACHINE CARDS
Smart cards are used as virtual wallets in the self-service sector, which features automatic product and service delivery systems, including:
- laundromats;
- self-service car washes;
- golf ball vending machines;
- water refilling stations for the distribution of public water;
- vending machines dispensing coffee, soft drinks and snacks.
Vending machine cards are either prepaid or postpaid. Containing credit to be spent at vending machines and automatic dispensers, they can be conveniently kept in a wallet, avoiding the use of coins and banknotes at car washes, laundries and so on. An identification serial number can also be printed on the surface of the card.
Vending machine cards and badges can be classified as:
- magnetic stripe cards: while the main advantage is their very low cost, magnetic stripe readers, on the other hand, are expensive and require frequent maintenance. Moreover, the magnetic stripe is not secure and can be easily cloned;
- contact chip cards: these offer a high degree of security but continuous insertion in vending machines can cause the card and chip to deteriorate;
RFID cards: these contactless chip cards combine security and durability. The entire surface of RFID cards can be printed, ensuring a longer print life. Contactless cards also be used for several applications. Indeed, the memory of RFID chips is divided into many blocks of a fixed size, each of which is protected by one or more passwords. This allows services from different vendors to be stored in the same memory, e.g. access control and attendance badges, credit for canteens, lifts and vending machines.
