Flexible, reliable and high-quality printing of gift cards/vouchers, ski passes and loyalty cards
ISRA Cards expands its machine portfolio with the PERSOMASTER Pro from Atlantic Zeiser
French card manufacturer ISRA, based in the Rhône-Alpes region in the south-east of the country, has been a loyal customer of Atlantic Zeiser for the past 20 years. To complement its existing PERSOLINE personalization platform and replace four older machines, the company opted for the PERSOMASTER Pro from Atlantic Zeiser. ISRA benefits from many advantages with the acquisition of the new system. However, the decisive factor, is the ability to personalize paper gift cards and family vouchers in real time, to produce contactless ski passes at high speed and to process very small batch sizes on using PERSOMASTER Pro.
The ISRA company (Imprimerie Sérigraphique Rhône Alpes) has many years of solid experience in the printing sector. Founded in 1975, the company initially specialized in screen-printed window stickers. Over time, ISRA adapted to changing market requirements and focused on the development and production of scratch cards, plastic cards, smart cards, and cards that can be used for contactless data transfer – thanks to NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. The company’s extensive portfolio is used primarily for retail, marketing, access control, personal identification, and transportation applications.
In addition to printing, personalization and card programming, the successful French card manufacturer also offers its customers other services such as enveloping and mailing. Thanks to the company’s long-standing success, high-quality printing remains one of ISRA’s key quality hallmarks. Jean Pierre Chauvin, CEO of ISRA, confirms: “Printing is firmly anchored in ISRA’s DNA. For more than 40 years, we have understood how to produce cards that are visually appealing and attractive. Printing is clearly one of our proven strengths, which we are constantly improving with new developments such as improved printing inks and state-of-the-art machines.”
The PERSOMASTER Pro for demanding printing tasks
In line with its own high-quality standards, ISRA opted for Atlantic Zeiser’s PERSOMASTER Pro to expand its current production. Based on drop-on-demand (DoD) inkjet technology, the personalization system is a high-performance, reliable machine with high throughput and four magazines that can print up to 4,000 cards per hour in black and white. The PERSOMASTER Pro is also extremely versatile, capable of producing very short runs as well as millions of cards. Eric Penne, Sales Manager at Atlantic Zeiser explains: “The PERSOMASTER Pro features so-called Rainbow Deck functionality, which enables numerous small and completely different jobs to be printed and checked in a single production run – seamlessly and without interruptions. Instead of a single batch of 50,000 identical products, we can now produce 50,000 batches of custom-sized ‘one’ products at the same time – with full verification, data security and integrity.”
When it comes to paper gift cards for families, ISRA also ensures that they are not damaged during the printing process. Alexandre Pepin, Operations Manager at ISRA, explains: “The issue of sustainability has become increasingly important in recent years, which is why some of our customers are switching to more environmentally friendly materials. Many printing machines use thermal transfer – not a problem with plastic, but it can damage paper. Atlantic Zeiser’s PERSOMASTER Pro, with its integrated DoD inkjet technology, handles even delicate materials such as paper extremely carefully. And we can now personalize our paper cards with outstanding print quality at a higher throughput.”
Even more added value – ease of use
Another key benefit of the new PERSOMASTER Pro is its exceptional ease of use. The cards are fed into the new system via four magazines. This is followed by magnetic encoding and chip programming, after which the cards are printed on the front and, once the ink has cured, on the back. Alexandre Pepin adds: “A user-friendly machine was important to us, as we are also facing a shortage of staff in many sectors in France. The machine facilitates effortless adjustments, ensuring simplicity in job changes and operation. Our employees just need to be trained, which is a big advantage. In fact, they were fully trained within just three weeks of the machine being delivered and installed.”
The management team is very pleased with its long-standing partnership with Atlantic Zeiser and excited about the new card personalization system. Jean Pierre Chauvin, CEO of ISRA, concludes: “We are more than satisfied with the PERSOMASTER Pro and our employees enjoy working with the machine. It has fully met our expectations in terms of performance, versatility, and ergonomics. In short, the PERSOMASTER Pro is the perfect solution for our needs.”
Pierre Chauvin, CEO of ISRA