No matter you are using magnetic stripe key card or RFID key card, there are 3 main materials to make hotel key cards, which are plastic, paper and wooden.
Then what are these 3 kinds of key cards made of each?
Plastic hotel key card
99% plastic hotel cards are made of PVC because it’s stable and cost-effective, then what’s PVC hotel key card made of?
A. PVC magnetic stripe key card
PVC magnetic stripe key card is made of PVC sheet and a magnetic stripe. For standard 0.76 mm thickness, the card is normally combined of 3 layers.
For example, Nexqo will use 0.2mm A-class light-blocking PVC sheet for the top layer and bottom layer of the key card, and 0.38 mm non light-blocking PVC sheet for the middle layer. This combination will make sure the key card is of high quality and meanwhile keep the cost of the key card the most efficiently.
Some clients will request to add an overlay on the top and bottom layer to protect the printing. In this case, the thickness of the middle layer needs to be reduced accordingly to make sure the final key card remain the same thickness.
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B. PVC RFID key card
PVC RFID key card is made of PVC sheet and RFID inlay. Like PVC magnetic stripe card, the combination of PVC RFID card is normally combined of 3 layers, too.
For example, Nexqo will use A-class light-blocking PVC sheet for the top layer and bottom layer of the key card, and non light-blocking PVC sheet for the RFID inlay.
And Nexqo is using hallow-out and laminate to make the RFID inlay instead of directly laminate. Click here to discover why hallow-out and laminate is better than directly laminate.
Also, some hotels will always require to add an overlay on the top and bottom layer for the card’s face and rear side. Overlay is a transparent PVC film laminated on the card surface to protect the printing. Thickness normally is 0.04 mm or 0.08 mm.
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Paper hotel key card
Paper hotel key cards are usually RFID key cards which are made of coated paper and RFID inlay. 2 layers of coated paper for the top and bottom layer, and RFID inlay in the middle. Not like PVC cards which are laminated by high temperature, paper hotel cards are laminated with adhesives.
Different thicknesses are available with using different weights of the coated paper.
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Wooden hotel key card
Wooden hotel key cards could be made with magnetic stripe or RFID chip or both. The combination of wooden hotel key card is the same with PVC hotel cards, the only difference is the laminating method. Wooden key cards have the same laminated method with paper cards, which are laminated with adhesives.
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You may ask, what “wood” does the wooden key cards use?
There are bass, bamboo, maple, walnut, cherry in the market, and the most frequently used wood is bamboo, maple and cherry.
Wooden key cards are not water-proof, the card will get shrink if getting wet. So when you are storing or using the key card, remember to keep them away from water and high humidity environment, otherwise their lifetime would be very short.
Check this picture to learn the unique textures for different wood.
Still have questions? Contact one of our experts and we will be happy to help.