Q: Why would I want to laminate my cards?

A: Lamination is the process of applying a clear patch to the surface of the card after the printing has occurred. Lamination is offered by Fargo in three varieties: 0.25mil full card lamination, and 0.6mil or 1.0mil lamination patch rolls. Lamination is most commonly used where the card will be swiped through a bar code or magnetic stripe reader for time & attendance or access control applications. Lamination makes the card considerably stronger and last longer under extreme swiping conditions. Due to the nature of the lamination patch rolls, the laminate patch is slightly smaller than the actual size of the card (about 1.875 x 3.25 inches). For this reason, we recommend designing a card that is NOT edge-to-edge, so that all the print area is protected. You will not want to choose the lamination option on the back side if the card has a magnetic stripe. This will make it difficult to read the magnetic stripe. As an alternative, lamination patches are available in half-size rolls, allowing lamination to be placed over printing while allowing the magentic stipe to remain uncovered. If you are not swiping your cards through a reader, it is not necessary to laminate them. Here are some card laminating scenarios:

Card Layout	Lamination?
1 or 2-sided with no bar code or magnetic stripe	No
1 or 2-sided with a bar code on the front OR a magnetic stripe on the back	Yes, front
2-sided with a bar code on the back and NO magnetic stripe on the back	Yes, both
2-sided with a bar code on the back and magnetic stripe on the back	Yes, front*
*Recommend placing the bar code on the front