NCMD Membership Secretary, David Millington, was recently invited by our printers PCS to have a guided tour of their production facility. We’d just ordered a new batch of 20,000 NCMD welcome letters and membership cards.
Sales Manager, Andy Philbin talked us through the process. “The NCMD Card and Fobs are produced using 100% recycled PVC and are printed 16 to a sheet. The cards are then collated and laminated under heat of 120°C. They are punched to size and securely stored for the monthly call offs. The letters are printed on our digital press and are also stored ready for personalisation.”
The NCMD sends a monthly data file which PCS use to print the name, membership number and expiry date onto the Card and Fobs. They use a high-speed system which is capable of personalising 30,000 cards an hour. The welcome letters are also personalised with addresses and membership information.
The Card and Fob are then attached to the letters using in line verification via a camera. This is to ensure the correct Card and Fob is attached to the corresponding letter. Each one is then folded and machine inserted into an envelope.
David commented, “The actual printing process was very quick, however, the collation of the data takes a time. PCS are very good at what they do, which is why there is always a print queue. We have to wait in line to get our membership cards personalised and sent out. PCS are extremely efficient, and their cards are extremely robust so we consider them worth the wait.”
Overall David said it was an excellent day and very interesting to see the process in action.
Did you know: We now offer you the ability to opt out of having a physical card altogether. You just have a digital card, which is available via the your signup email, the NCMD Mobile App, or in the members section of the website.
