The gift card.  The key fob. The Membership card.  If you’re a printer, chances are you read one of those items and immediately tied it back to your press and a job you do, or have done, for your customers.  The card market is a booming market for printers with the explosion of digital technology and desire for brand owners to create loyalty.  These cards and tags show up in nearly every purse, wallet, and keyring across the country (go ahead, open your wallet or purse and count how many you have).  It’s hard to find a better fit for variable data printing technology than a market that requires changing bar codes, unique identifying numbers, and personalized data!  It’s no wonder the growth of this market is accelerating at an unprecedented pace!

With all the excitement and growth that is coming from the card and tag market, many printers have also faced a serious challenge.  The typical loyalty card is built using a center core of material printed on both sides with an equally durable lamination to seal in the printing.  Few materials have held up to the rigors of producing a card and printers often have found themselves tied into a very limited range of usable materials.  This limited range has led to concerns over the “yellow” nature of cards, the ability to bond tightly to the core, and at the end of the day, many converters are struggling to find ways to continue to captivate their customers when every card is produced with the same material and construction.  Many of the largest card manufacturers have turned to Masterpiece Graphix for help and found the answer was simply…Xquisite!

You see, Masterpiece Graphix wanted to help the card market break free of the traditional method of producing loyalty cards.  We worked with some of the largest card manufacturers to tackle the challenges that they were experiencing while creating an exciting new synthetic paper designed to captivate customers who wanted more than “just another loyalty card”.  The end result of this cooperative development was Xquisite, the revolutionary new synthetic paper for the card and tag market!  The brighter white, strong lamination bond, and supreme printability deliver a synthetic material for the card market like never before.

Brighter White and Better Bond!

Xquisite was designed with the card and tag market in mind.  Working closely with our partners, we first addressed the lamination bond strength.  After all, nobody wants a peeling card!  Partnering with some of the best in the business for creating laminates and laminating equipment, MGX has created a material that laminates like nothing else.   When paired with the correct laminate, Xquisite cards have lamination pull strength exceeding 12 lbs!  Now that’s one tough card.

The next challenge was to address the color.  We live in a society that is drawn to sharp, clean, bright whites.  Look at your favorite electronic brands to see what we mean.  Traditionally, the materials used to create loyalty cards lacked the brightness and pizzazz that people expect out of high-end products. Gone are the days in which you had to settle for a dirty looking card.  Xquisite’s ultra-white appearance delivers a card that shows off your printing and leaves your customer saying “Wow!”.

Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency

What’s the point of creating a new card, taking the time to convert customers, and introducing new materials if it doesn’t help YOUR business?   Traditional cards required you to build a card using thick laminates, expensive materials, and slower processing.  Working with our customers, we developed products not only in the standard 10 mil range, but also in 15, 18, and 20 mil thicknesses.  Thicker core stock means thinner laminate films, lower heat required to bond, and faster run speeds through your lamination equipment.

These new gauges

1)    allow your operation to reduce the total applied cost of building a card,

2)    allow you to use thinner, cost-effective laminates, and

3)    allow you to increase your throughput by up to 30%!

Quite simply, your card production will never be the same. And will be far more profitable.

Want to learn more on how you can capture new opportunities, become more efficient, and take advantage of the latest technology to hit the card production market?  Give the experts at Masterpiece Graphix a call.  We would love to show what makes our materials truly Xquisite.

]]> http://www.mgxdigital.com/2013/05/16/xquisite-the-answer-for-the-card-market/feed/ 0 http://www.mgxdigital.com/2013/05/01/masterpiece-graphix-xquisite-thickness-lamination/ http://www.mgxdigital.com/2013/05/01/masterpiece-graphix-xquisite-thickness-lamination/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 19:19:50 +0000 ashleigh http://www.mgxdigital.com/?p=1851

Every once in awhile a product comes along that really shakes things up. Something that makes you step back, scratch your head and wonder “Why haven’t I gotten my hands on this sooner?”.  When you have a product that you’ve used for some time, one that you’ve fine tuned your operations to use, it’s easy to get comfortable. But why settle? What if there was a better product that will not only produce a higher quality print, allowing colors to jump with vibrancy from its crisp white canvas but one that will keep your customers begging for more? There’s no need to settle any longer. We have the Teslin replacement. Produce a brighter, brilliant white card that everyone will want to get their hands on.

Available in a variety of thicknesses (and even an extended family of options depending on your needs) you can take your card capabilities to a whole new level.  Our flagship Xquisite is available in 10, 12, 15, 18 and 20 mil sheets and rolls. Looking for faster productivity? When using Xquisite combined with the D&K Double Kote Lamination system, you’ll have that. Looking to save money? Because Xquisite is available in a variety of thicknesses and is a naturally more rigid material than what you’re accustomed to, your lamination thickness options expand as well.  Incredible bond strength? You’ve got it! With our unique combination of special coatings and the D&K Super Stik Laminate you’ll exceed 12lbs of peel strength with ease! That’s not to say other lamination systems and options won’t work – these are simply our suggestions for the best card on the market. So there you have it. Brilliant bright white and a wide range of thicknesses and lamination options! Tune in next time to learn about more of the features that make this material Xquisite!!  

White is white… right? We all know better than that. Simply visit the paint department at your local hardware store and the varying shades of white paint will make your head spin! With options from snow white to ivory and everything in between, it’s obvious that white is NOT just white. The same applies to our industry as well. There’s something about an ultra pure, brilliant bright white substrate to bring your projects to life. A vivid white that makes the color pop and explode from the page with a vibrancy that’s unmatched. A white that is simply… Xquisite!  We have the solution you’ve been searching for!

Here at Masterpiece Graphix we’ve worked hard over the last 15+ years to consistently produce quality products that meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. We stand behind our products with a guarantee that is at the heart of everything we do. If it’s not right, we will make it right. We know that when YOU succeed, WE succeed! That’s why when we say our newest line of materials –Xquisite- is the absolute purest, brightest white on the market, we mean that.

Gift cards, key fobs, membership cards, hang tags, menus – the possibilities are endless and in an industry of creatives, we know better than to limit your imagination! The brilliant, cool, bright white of Xquisite will inspire you and your toughest clients. It’s no longer enough to just compete, leave your competition in the dust and your customers begging for more! Become a company that stands out, take advantage of the latest technology to hit the card production market and give the Materials Experts at Masterpiece Graphix a call. We would LOVE to show you what makes our materials truly Xquisite!

If you’re a printer, chances are you read one of those items and immediately tied it back to your press and a job you do, or have done, for your customers. The card market is a booming market for printers with the explosion of digital technology and desire for brand owners to create loyalty. These cards and tags show up in nearly every purse, wallet, and key ring across the country with new ones being printed every day!

As the cards market continues to grow, many printers have faced a serious challenge. Few materials have held up to the rigors of producing a card and printers often times have found themselves restricted to one material. The printers also have found themselves held over a barrel with pricing and minimums, forced to produce cards with yellowed hues, and at the end of the day, struggling to find ways to captivate their customers when every card is produced with the same materials and construction. Many of the largest card manufacturers turned to Masterpiece for help and found the answer was simply…Xquisite!

You see, Masterpiece Graphix listened to the needs of the market. We worked with some of the largest card manufacturers to tackle the challenges that they presented. The end result of this cooperative development was Xquisite, the revolutionary new synthetic paper for the card and tag market! The brighter white, strong lamination bond, and supreme printability deliver a synthetic material for the card market like never before.

Xquisite was designed with the card and tag market in mind. Working closely with our partners, we addressed the lamination bond first. In testing, Xquisite has achieved peel strengths exceeding 12 lbs! The next challenge was to address the color. Gone are the days in which you had to settle for a dirty looking card. Xquisite’s ultra white appearance and cool coloring deliver a card that shows off your printing and leaves your customer saying, “WOW”!

Lastly, we addressed your business. You see, traditional cards required you to build a card using thick laminates, expensive materials, and slower processing. Based on the feedback, we developed products not only in the standard 10 mil range, but also in 15, 18, and 20 mil thicknesses! These new gauges allow your operation to reduce the total applied cost of building a card, allow you to use thinner cost-effective laminates, and to increase your throughput by up to 30%! Quite simply, your card production will never be the same.

Want to learn more on how you can capture new opportunity, become more efficient, and take advantage of the latest technology to hit the card production market? Give the experts at Masterpiece Graphix a call. We would love to show what makes our materials truly Xquisite.

Masterpiece Graphix (MGX), the premier digital material manufacturer and treatment center, has released a new line of synthetic papers stocks to the digital print industry: Masterpiece Xquisite. The new Xquisite family of products will provide an exceptional print base for all markets and is being rolled out with four new varieties: Xquisite, XquisiteTitanium, XquisiteOnyx, and XquisitePlatinum. While the entire line was designed to address the full print market, each member of the Xquisite family was developed to tackle specific industry challenges.

So you’re in the card market, or any market for that matter, and you want something that is eye-catching, brilliant bright white, making your product outshine the rest. Xquisite, the flagship product in the new synthetic lineup, is exactly what you need. It serves to be a general purpose, multi-use synthetic paper. When combined with lamination, it fulfills the card and tag market as a rigid, brilliant bright white, economical material for the classic card application. The full Xquisite line with lamination construction replaces the traditional loyalty and ID card constructions with a brighter white, more cost-effective solution without sacrificing rigidity, print quality and lamination bond.

Beyond the card market, the brighter white, easy run-ability and superior print quality makes for a perfect option for menus, signage and a variety of other products where water and tear resistance is critical. You will find yourself asking why you didn’t get your hands on Xquisite sooner!

For applications in which additional durability and heat resistance is required, XquisiteTitanium fits the bill. Designed to tackle the toughest of projects, the improved durability, higher heat stability and chemical resistance creates the ideal material for harsh environments. It features a high chemical resistance, impact strength and its cost competitive.

XquisiteOnyx is perfect for light blocking applications such as playing cards and heavy coverage two-sided applications. XquisiteOnyx features all of the benefits of the original Xquisite with the additional benefit of being completely light blocking.

Certain applications require softer synthetic papers. Designed with a softer hand, XquisitePlatinum is perfect for applications where flexibility and heat resistance are key. XquisitePlatinum’s high tear resistance and easy handling make it a great solution for tear-resistant books, folded items and soft tags. In addition, XquisitePlatinum’s high heat stability allows it to compete with other heat stabilized synthetic products on the market.

Interested in learning more? For more information and a demonstration of how the Xquisite family of synthetic papers can change your business, please contact Masterpiece Graphix. Our team of Digital Materials Experts can help guide you to the Xquisite product that best fits your needs.

Hoppy Easter!! 

We will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2013. Normal material lead times may be affected by holiday hours. Be sure to communicate and verify your order delivery requirements with your MGX rep to avoid any conflicts.

We will return to normal business hours on Monday, April 1, 2013. We hope you all have a fantastic holiday weekend!!

Converting To MSI

I will start by saying that 1 MSI and 1 MMSI are not the same.
1MSI = 1,000 square inches
1MMSI= 1,000,000 square inches

For the roll material users out there, this is a pretty standard measurement.  Chances are you know these numbers inside and out, forward and backward.  However, for the sheet users, you may not encounter these as often.  Either way, it never hurts to know how to work in MSI.  The great thing about using MSI measurements is that you can quickly and efficiently convert to anything else (rolls, sheets, and feet).

To calculate the number of MSI in a Roll of material:
Formula:
(width of material in inches x 12 x length of material in feet) / 1000 = number of MSI in a roll

          ex: 13″ wide roll of material @ 5000 ft = (13 x 12 x 5000)/1000 = 780 MSI

To Calculate the number of MSI in a Sheet of material:
Formula:
(width of sheet in inches x length of the sheet in inches)/1000 = number of MSI in a sheet

ex: 12″ x 18″ sheet = (12 x 18)/1000 = .216 MSI

Ok, now what? Converting from MSI

Converting to MSI is a great thing to know.  It helps you know how much you will spend on material if you were quoted an MSI price.  It helps you pinpoint the exact amount of material running through a press.  You can use it to break down the cost of master rolls into smaller roll (not to mention make you the hero on trivia night!).  All this is great, but let’s be honest, when was the last time you said “Hey, can you put that 500 MSI roll on the Indigo?” or “Do you mind running 250 MSI of sheets for a job”?  Let’s look at how you can take those MSI’s and put them back into something usable.

To calculate the footage or width of material with a known number of MSI:
Formula:
MSI x 1000 / (width of the material in inches x 12) = length of material in feet
MSI x 1000 / (length of material in feet x 12) = width of material in inches

example 1:  You receive an invoice that says 1440 MSI.  You know the material is 13″ wide, but need to determine the length of material you received.
1440 x 1000 / (13 x 12) = 9,230.77 ft

example 2:  You receive an invoice that says 720 MSI.  You know you received 5,000 ft of material, but need to determine how wide each roll is.

720 x 1000 / (5000 x 12) = 12 inches

Last Notes and Quick Tips

Once you get a grip on these formulas, the majority of  your conversion needs should be pretty simple.  I intentionally left out conversion formulas for lbs of material, M weights, and CWT.  That’s a whole other article with new formulas.  Need to work with those in the meantime?  Neenah Paper makes a great smartphone app for doing just that!

Need help with converting pricing such as price per foot to price per MSI?  Give us a call!

Quick References:
1 msi = 1,000 sq inches
1 MMSI = 1,000,000 sq inches
12 x 18 sheet = .216 msi
13 x 19 sheet = .247 msi
12″ x 5000 ft roll = 720 msi
Price per msi x .216 = Price per 12 x 18 sheet
Price per 12 x 18 sheet / .216 = Price per msi

I hope this helps answer some of the measurement-converting questions some of you have had.  As always, let us know if there’s anything more we can do to help.  We’re always just an email, text message, or phone call away!

For the roll material users out there, this is a pretty standard measurement. Chances are you know these numbers inside and out, forward and backward. However, for the sheet users, you may not encounter these as often. Either way, it never hurts to know how to work in MSI. The great thing about using MSI measurements is that you can quickly and efficiently convert to anything else (rolls, sheets, and feet).

To calculate the number of MSI in a Roll of material:
Formula:
(width of material in inches x 12 x length of material in feet) / 1000 = number of MSI in a roll

ex: 13″ wide roll of material @ 5000 ft = (13 x 12 x 5000)/1000 = 780 msi

To Calculate the number of MSI in a Sheet of material:
Formula:
(width of sheet in inches x length of the sheet in inches)/1000 = number of MSI in a sheet

ex: 12″ x 18″ sheet = (12 x 18)/1000 = .216 msi

Please note the Masterpiece Graphix Holiday Schedule.

We will be closed on Tuesday, December 25th & Tuesday, January 1st.

Our Shipping & Receiving Department will also be closed on Monday, December 24th & Monday, December 31st (however, the office will remain open).

Normal material lead times may be affected by holiday hours. Be sure to communicate and verify your order delivery requirements with your MGX rep to avoid any conflicts.

Wishing You & Your Family A Joyous Holiday Season!

So you’re in the card market, or any market for that matter, and you want something that is eye-catching, brilliant bright white, making your product outshine the rest. Xquisite, the flagship product in the new synthetic lineup, is exactly what you need. It serves to be a general purpose, multi-use synthetic paper. When combined with lamination, it fulfills the card and tag market as a rigid, brilliant bright white, economical material for the classic card application. The full Xquisite line with lamination construction replaces the traditional loyalty and ID card constructions with a brighter white, more cost-effective solution without sacrificing rigidity, print quality and lamination bond.

Beyond the card market, the brighter white, easy run-ability and superior print quality makes for a perfect option for menus, signage and a variety of other products where water and tear resistance is critical. You will find yourself asking why you didn’t get your hands on Xquisite sooner!

For applications in which additional durability and heat resistance is required, XquisiteTitanium fits the bill. Designed to tackle the toughest of projects, the improved durability, higher heat stability and chemical resistance creates the ideal material for harsh environments. It features a high chemical resistance, impact strength and its cost competitive.

XquisiteOnyx is perfect for light blocking applications such as playing cards and heavy coverage two-sided applications. XquisiteOnyx features all of the benefits of the original Xquisite with the additional benefit of being completely light blocking.

Certain applications require softer synthetic papers. Designed with a softer hand, XquisitePlatinum is perfect for applications where flexibility and heat resistance are key. XquisitePlatinum’s high tear resistance and easy handling make it a great solution for tear-resistant books, folded items and soft tags. In addition, XquisitePlatinum’s high heat stability allows it to compete with other heat stabilized synthetic products on the market.

Interested in learning more? For more information and a demonstration of how the Xquisite family of synthetic papers can change your business, please contact Masterpiece Graphix. Our team of Digital Materials Experts can help guide you to the Xquisite product that best fits your needs.