20 Elements of Card Design
Printing Design
Printing design includes color and monochrome printing, bar code printing, non-printing areas,
and card layout.
Color Printing
Color print ribbon is available in full-panel and short-panel styles.
Full-Panel Ribbon
Full-panel color printing uses a print ribbon with three
color panels: Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan). The
ribbon also includes a K (black) panel and a T (topcoat)
panel. The printer applies the YMC color panels to the
card first, prints black components using the K panel, and then applies the T (topcoat) to protect
the color image from damage.
Laminating printers support full-panel color print ribbons without a topcoat (T) panel. These
include YMCK and YMCK-K ribbon. The topcoat or patch overlay applied by the laminators
provides protection against wear and color fading, so the print ribbon topcoat panel is not
needed for most overlay materials. However, DuraShield overlays require that the ribbon topcoat
be applied first.
Full-panel color print ribbons with an
ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent panel, YMCKFT
and YMCKF-KT, also are available.
Laminating printers support YMCKF-KT
ribbon, which allows front-side UV printing, and apply an overlay to protect the color printing.
The UV printing is undetectable under normal lighting and is meant to provide another form of
security. Refer to your printer’s Driver Guide or your card personalization software
documentation for more information about setting up a card design that includes UV printing.
The ribbon panel configuration that supports YMCKFT functionality can differ
depending on your printer model.
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