The content of the database provided by our customers is not checked for logic and semantics.
The originator alone is responsible for defects in the database content. In case of repeat editions of the same card type, the database must be delivered in exactly the same structure as was used for the first personalisation procedure – otherwise it is not possible to process it automatically. It can even result in the entire data sets being rejected.
File formats
a) Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel tables are suitable for most personalisation procedures. They are easy to create from the popular Microsoft Excel spreadsheet programmes. Please give each required data field its own column in Excel and format this according to the data it contains.
Please bear in mind. A ”salutation“ field is required for mail shots in order to address the recipient in the letter.
b)Text database with field separator
Text databases have a pure ASCII format, which makes them easy to create on any simple text editor. The data fields of a data set are directly attached to each other, whereby each data field has to be divided from the next one by a separator (preferably a semicolon). The individual data sets must be separated by CR (ASCII 13) and LF (ASCII 10).
Example:
John;Smith;12345;Sampletown;No.1234567890CRLF
Bill;Jones;67890;Testaddress;No.9876543210CRLF
c) Text database with fixed field length
Similar to dBase databases, the fields in a text database have fixed field lengths, which are the same in each data set. Text databases have a pure ASCII format, however, which makes them easy to create on any simple text editor. The data fields of a data set are directly attached to each other, whereby each data field may have to be adjusted to fit the required field length by filling it with spaces. The individual data sets must be separated by CR (ASCII 13) and LF (ASCII 10).
Example:
John____Smith________12345_Sampletown___No.12345CRLF
Bill______Jones_______67890___Sampleaddress__No.67546CRLF
‘_’ means a space in each case.
Please attach a description of the data set with this format, which includes information about the field lengths and the composition of the file.
d) dBase III–IV–V database files
All standard field types for this system are permitted apart from the memo field type. The database files are automatically given the extension DBF (DataBaseFile). For example, a valid dBase file name would be: NAME.dbf.
Character set and maximum field lengths (personalising mail shots and cards)
Due to the tracking of the font, data fields that are going to be stamped may not exceed certain field lengths. If data fields exceed this permitted length, then they will be cut off after the last valid character. The field length is dependent on the layout and the type of personalisation.
a) Character set and maximum field lengths for thermal labelling The following characters are allowed for creating data sets:
Capital letters (A–Z, Ä,Ö,Ü)
Small letters (a–z,ä,ö,ü,ß)
Numbers (0–9)
Plus some special characters
If data fields exceed the permitted length (depending on the font type and the font size), then they will be cut off after the last valid character.
b) Character set and maximum field lengths for stamping The following characters are allowed for creating data sets:
Capital letters (A–Z)
Numbers (0–9)
The German ‘ß’ must be replaced by ‘ss’.
The maximum field length of data fields, which can be stamped, depends on the positioning on the card. However, it may not exceed 21 characters for OCR 7B fields (character set consists only of large numerals), or 30 characters for Gothic fields (alphanumeric character set).
c) Character set with magnetic stripe coding
Track 1: ’0–9‘,’A–Z‘,’–‘,’.‘,’(’,‘)‘,’$‘
Track 2/3: ’0–9‘,’=‘
Mail shot (file format for standard texts)
If the personalised cards are intended to be sent out as a mail shot, we need the text of the letter as a Microsoft Word file. (*.doc)
Please do not provide us with popular font types as TrueType fonts. There must be a field with the salutation (Mr/Mrs) in the database for a mail shot.
The details for the mail shot (address) and the details for personalising the cards must be made provided as a database.
Graphic format/colour format for thermal sublimation printing
The following Windows graphic formats can be processed:
Bitmap File (*.bmp)
Tagged Image File (*.tif)
JPEG Image File (*.jpg)
All these graphic formats must be available RGB encoded! For employee identity cards with company logo, passport photo, personal details or the like, please do not create complete graphics. Ideally you should send us all graphics separately (photo, company logo) and name these clearly. For example: firstname_surname.jpg or employeenumber.jpg. These will be joined together by us to form a layout. Text fields that are going to be printed in black, such as name and address, will also be transferred by us into the card layout, as long as it is a popular Windows font type.
