Card printers often have to ask whether orders for cards can be printed more efficiently on single cards or in multiple image production on a large sheet. 

KBA-MetroPrint has developed the OC 200 for single cards, and the Genius 52UV for sheet formats. If a decision has to be made on which printing system should be used, the type of production is often determined by the requirements of the card. Bank cards or ID cards, for example, always have to be laminated. The lamination process can only handle sheet formats. The card is composed of a number of different layers that are laminated together at the end. The printed image itself is on a thin layer of 200 μ, for example.

The Genius 52UV is the ideal printing press for this application. It processes up to 8,000 printed sheets, of a size of 36 x 52 cm, per hour. This means that 7 x 3 or 8 x 3 ISO cards (85.5 x 54 mm) can be prepared and printed on one sheet. The number of images on the sheet depends on the punching system used. The machine is inked up after just a few start-up sheets, so that hardly any expensive sheets are wasted.

The Genius 52UV masters job changeovers in only five minutes thanks to its semi-automatic plate insertion. The waterless Anilox short inking units, developed and longstanding approved by KBA-MetroPrint, require no ink keys and ensure that the same colors are achieved in repeat orders. In only one bite of a gripper, the substrate is led to the five printing units via a quadruple size counter pressure cylinder, guaranteeing highly precise registration of the inks. Very fine screens, down to
120 l/cm, can be reproduced with the Genius 52UV, allowing brilliant images to be achieved.

In the live demonstrations at the show, 400 μ strong polycarbonate sheets were printed, like those used in bank cards. Also at the event, the increasingly used 750 μ PVC was printed in multiple image production. The maximum thickness of material that can be printed with the Genius 52UV is 800 μ.

Of course, with the Genius 52UV, it is also possible to print on the many and varied membership cards, gift cards, discount cards, key cards, and so on, that are on the market. Many of these cards need no lamination. It is sufficient if they are protected from wear and soiling by a coat of varnish. For example, 21 or 24 cards can be combined on a sheet and printed on 800 μ PVC. The Genius 52UV, with its optionally available varnishing unit, does just that. At the Paris event, the printed sheets were UV varnished and the ink was then cured with high-performance UV dryers. This allows the user to start the next steps of card production (e.g. punching out the individual card images) immediately after printing.