Plastic Products

For an industry plagued by predictions of doom and gloom, it certainly offers tremendous opportunities for growth and success to those who can remain flexible and adaptable. Sales figures for the top 100 manufacturers added up to a whopping $2.97 billion for the last fiscal year completed. And, while this is only a slight increase from the previous year’s grand total of $2.92 billion, it was achieved despite sharply increasing costs for raw materials, postage and fuel. Marketplace demand for printed products, it seems, is on the rise—a trend documented in several key industry studies. Dr. Joe Webb, director of Lexington, Kentucky-based

Eagan, Minnesota-based Plastic Products has changed its name to CARDSource, and has redesigned its logo and Web site. The new name reflects the 30-year-old company’s core business of providing high-end plastic cards for loyalty, gift card, direct mail, health-care and private-label credit card programs. The company’s growth has enabled it to continue offering leading-edge technology with high-end personalization and high-speed affixing equipment for plastic-card fulfillment. New software tools allow collaboration between customers and CARDSource staff at all phases of their project development, enabling customers to proof and update information on one virtual site for improved flow and control. The company also established a creative

Durable, versatile solutions, these industry favorites are tough to beat. Plastic products have maintained their coveted position at the forefront of the industry. From cards to door hangers and keytags to rulers, the durable material has so many uses that customers can't seem to get enough of it. Plastic products have arguably made life more livable, and have proven themselves worthy of the accolades they often receive. "Plastic card sales have increased considerably because people see the value and durability of plastic when compared to paper products," said Jake Jacobs, senior vice president of sales at Arthur Blank & Co., a Boston-based supplier

From gift cards to door hangers, printed plastic products are steadily replacing their paper-made counterparts, and in turn, multiplying industry profits. Just as the coveted department store gift card and the ever-present 60-minute pre-paid phone card have made a name for themselves, plastic cards and products are also taking on an increasingly dominant role in today's business practices. Arthur Blank & Co., a Boston-based supplier of private-label plastic cards, produces a variety of cards, including gift cards, membership and identification cards, access control cards and loyalty program cards. While color and design are usually the first attributes that capture customers' attention, there is more

Credit-card processing software is arguably more applicable in this country than Smart Cards. Although it has been reported that experts predict smart cards will be a billion-dollar industry in just five years, many insiders believe that smart-card technology will never catch on in the United States as well as it has in Europe and Asia. Smart cards differentiate themselves from other plastic cards with magnetic stripes by containing an embedded silicon computer chip that stores and processes values specific to each individual user. While an innovative idea in other parts of the world, this product doesn't quite meet the high-tech procedures already

Good old plastic is being shaped into hot new products for technically oriented business solutions To young Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 movie The Graduate, the word "plastics" suggested a terribly depressing future. But today, that classic career advice could never serve to epitomize unimaginable drudgery. Plastics, it seems, offer a perfect complement to technology, with plastic products taking on exciting new shapes and designs to satisfy ever-evolving applications. Consider phone and gift cards. Mike Lettmann, sales associate for Xtreme Graphics/Travel Tags, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., sees no signs of these markets slowing down. "Because phone cards tend to be cheaper, many people

Every month, BFL&S's sister publication, Promotional Marketing magazine, showcases hundreds of promotional products in its feature stories and product departments. Some of the items are new, some are updated versions of old favorites and others fall somewhere in between. They all, however, share one characteristic—readers want to know more about them. The following are the Top 10 most requested products from Promotional Marketing's March issue: Coupon Keeper Bay State Specialty's 6x3-inch magnetic note and coupon clip sticks to refrigerators securely with a 11⁄2x13⁄4˝ magnetic backing (adhesive backing is also available). Available in white and granite, it features a 1.25x2.3125-inch imprint area on the top and 2x.5