Mar 07, 2011

Toppan Printing develops the Metal Face Card - a magnetic card with a high quality look A glossy look and a metallic feel To be used for the redesigned Sogo & Seibu "Millennium" and "Club On" members cards

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter Toppan Printing; head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shingo Kaneko) has developed a magnetic card with a highly glossy look and metallic texture called the "Metal Face Card" (patent pending), and will begin full-scale sales from early March 2011.

Recently, with various types of card such as gift cards, members cards and credit cards being widely used, it has become more difficult to create cards that can be easily distinguished from others. Therefore, there is demand for various forms of innovation in areas such as the design of the card surface and the material used. In response to these needs, through thermal transfer of a film processed using vapor deposition, Toppan Printing has developed a magnetic card that has a previously unavailable highly glossy appearance and the feel of real metal.

The Metal Face Card will be used for the redesigned "Millennium" and "Club On" cards that will be available from Sogo & Seibu Co., Ltd. (hereafter Sogo & Seibu) from April 2011. The card was chosen by Sogo & Seibu because of its ability to meet the company’s demands for a sense of high quality that will satisfy the most discerning customers combined with a simple design that conveys a new look.

Features of the metal face card
-The face of the card has a high quality design with a glossy look and metallic feel.
-As with previous cards, processing such as embossing and stamping after printing is possible.
-Complies with JIS standards

Toppan Printing’s card business
In the field of cards, Toppan Printing is at the cutting-edge of technological development for both software and hardware, and provides high quality products to meet customer needs in wide ranging markets. In recent years, with the shift to IT-based social infrastructure, cards that use IC technology, such as multi-function cash cards, credit cards, Basic Resident Register cards, electronic money and transport cards, are broadly used.
Toppan Printing has a share of more than 40% of the Japanese card market and is the number one IC card vendor in the country.

Target for number of companies using the new card
10 companies in fiscal 2011

Future developments
Toppan Printing will target the use of the Metal Face Card in areas such as gift cards, point cards, cash cards and credit cards.

*The Metal Face Card will be displayed in the Toppan booth at RETAILTECH JAPAN 2011, which will be held at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center from Tuesday March 8 to Friday March 11, 2011 (Organized by Nikkei Inc.).