46 years experience delivering complete card solutions.

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Personalisation

Sector Titles

ABOUT

Secure Personalisation

Personalisation is the process of applying individual information, identifiers or messaging to cards and carriers, turning printed products into functional items, such as a gift card that scans seamlessly at checkout, or a personalised mailer containing an encoded NFC card and the customer’s name.

At Certus, personalisation is managed at our secure Skelmersdale facility, where dedicated teams handle data processing, personalisation and verification for both cards and carriers. This ensures that personal details, codes and variable content are applied accurately, securely and consistently across every programme.

Our Services

Our experienced data and production specialists work closely together to personalise cards and carriers within a controlled, end-to-end process. By keeping personalisation in-house and aligned with production, assembly and fulfilment, we ensure the right data is applied to the right product every time.

Card Personalisation Capabilities

We support a wide range of personalisation methods to suit different card programmes, environments and system requirements. Personalisation can be visual, machine-readable or functional, depending on how the card or carrier is intended to be used.

Our personalisation capabilities include:

  • Variable text and numbering
  • Barcodes and 2D codes
  • Magnetic stripe encoding
  • Thermal and re-transfer printing
  • Inkjet and drop-on-demand printing
  • NFC and encoded contactless elements


Each method is selected to ensure compatibility with checkout systems, access control, fuel networks, loyalty platforms or digital interactions.

Application

Personalisation can be applied either during printing or after cards and carriers have been produced. This flexibility allows us to support everything from standardised designs with variable data through to fully unique outputs, including photo ID cards and variable imagery.

Managing both approaches in-house allows us to balance speed, consistency and flexibility, while maintaining full control over quality and accuracy.



Secure Assure Accuracy Control

Accuracy is fundamental to personalisation. Our processes are supported by camera verification and control measures that ensure data is applied correctly and consistently across every card and carrier.

These controls reduce the risk of error, support traceability and provide confidence that personalised products will function exactly as intended once issued or distributed.




Data-Led Personalisation

Personalisation relies on accurate, well-structured data, and we recognise that customer data may not be production-ready. Our in-house data specialists support personalisation by validating, formatting and preparing data before it enters production.

We work closely with customer data teams on both one-off projects and ongoing programmes, including daily data files, ensuring a reliable flow from data receipt through to personalised output.

Find out more

Personalisation is often just one stage of a wider card programme. From producing cards and carriers to assembling packs and managing fulfilment, Certus supports every step needed to deliver personalised cards accurately and securely. Explore the related services that help bring card programmes together.