The MPR5000 system is the only modular card issuance system in the world to combine high-speed drilling and chip embedding with fast and powerful personalization. It provides service bureaus, card manufacturers, telecommunications providers, government agencies and financial and healthcare institutions a way to quickly launch and grow their smart card programs.

"An all-in-one smart card solution, the MPR5000 system really empowers organizations to achieve flexibility and efficiency by combining chip embedding with personalization," said Mike Schnaus, vice president of marketing and corporate development for Datacard Group.

The MPR5000 system turns plastic cards into quality smart cards at speeds of up to 3,600 cards per hour by handling every step of the smart card production process--from card cavity milling and chip embedding to GSM SIM punching and chip testing. The system can also be configured with personalization modules including magnetic stripe encoding, smart card personalization, laser engraving, thermal transfer, and high-speed inkjet printing.

"Modularity is an important consideration for organizations with growing smart card programs that want to protect their investment," said Schnaus. "The MPR5000 system can be configured to meet a program's current needs and later expanded to accommodate increased production or additional technologies," he said.

The MPR5000 system reflects the expertise and innovation Datacard Group has consistently brought to the industry. The system offers a wide range of advanced features including the latest in laser engraving technology, which allows for the permanent engraving of text, images and bar codes with up to 1,200 dpi resolution.

Separately, Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions, announced the availability of new features for the Datacard Maxsys card issuance system today at CARTES 2004 in Paris, France. These new features, which include a new contactless smart card personalization module, intelligent supplies technology, a simplified user interface and global language support, greatly enhance the system's ability to effectively address the needs of Datacard's global customers.

"The new contactless smart card personalization module delivers the high quality, rapid personalization of contactless cards required for financial, retail, loyalty and other market applications," said Mike Schnaus, vice president of marketing and corporate development for Datacard Group. "Like other Maxsys system capabilities, the smart card personalization module is completely scalable, allowing card issuers to select the optimal configuration needed for their specific contactless smart card personalization program."

Datacard has integrated a host of intelligent features into the supply products for the Maxsys system. Built-in intelligence for Datacard(R) Certified Supplies print ribbons, cleaning tapes and topping foils allow the Maxsys system to identify and match supplies to the current job, conserve supply usage and notify operators when supply items are nearing depletion -- saving time and money while improving card integrity.

Major enhancements have also been made to the user interface of the Maxsys system to ensure that the system integrates easily into card issuance operations without burdening operators with a significant learning curve or training. In addition to the easy-to-use interface, all screens and error messages are now available in a variety of languages including English, French, German and Japanese with additional languages to follow.

"Demand for this new high speed system has been strong worldwide and continues to intensify as more and more card issuers see what it can do for their operations in terms of expanding their real card throughput and reducing their personalization costs," said Schnaus. "Datacard is committed to delivering the functionality, support and services around this platform that make our customers successful -- now and in the future."

Separately, Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions, announced today at CARTES 2004 in Paris, France, that two of its card delivery systems deployed at U.S. Bank have increased card operations productivity by nearly 30 percent in the first 12 months of operation. Additionally, the Datacard® C3000 card delivery systems, which are manufactured by document handling market leader and innovator Otto Kunnecke, have created new one-to-one marketing opportunities for U.S. Bank and its co-marketing partners.

The previous three-step card delivery process required five discrete systems and offered total throughput speeds of 2,100 forms per hour. Creating one integrated process built around two Datacard C3000 systems has elevated productivity to 2,700 forms per hour -- an increase of nearly 30% for the 11 million card-per-year operation, based in Fargo, N.D.

Jim Johnson, vice president of underwriting services and card issuance for U.S. Bank, said while the productivity gains were expected, the ability to deliver an improved customer experience was most important. The cleaner, more attractive card carriers support U.S. Bank's commitment to making the customer experience more personal and satisfying.

"We can print highly personalized messages on card carrier forms without slowing the card delivery process," Johnson said. "The same data that drives card personalization is modified slightly and sent to the C3000 systems, where high-speed laser printers add customized text to create a professional look."

High-quality laser printing reduces forms inventories for U.S. Bank. Johnson's team now prints and stores fewer forms, then uses inline laser printing to differentiate them.

"The system also affixes cards with adhesive, rather than inserting them into slits or holes on the form," Johnson said. "This makes our forms much cleaner and more attractive. Affixing multiple cards to one form and using lightweight cut-sheet paper and duplex printing also reduces postage costs."

Mike Schnaus, vice president of marketing and corporate development for Datacard Group, said the productivity gains and marketing enhancements at U.S. Bank reflect similar improvements in other high-volume card programs.

"Job sizes are shrinking and the demand for one-to-one personalization is increasing. There are incredible pressures to reduce costs," Schnaus said. "Our card delivery solutions enable card issuers to meet their operational challenges."