Signature Strips on Plastic Cards: Sizes, Positions and Uses

What a signature strip is

A signature strip, also called a signature panel, is a panel added on top of the finished card that takes an ordinary pen. The rest of a full colour PVC card can’t take a pen reliably. The design is printed on a central sheet and bonded between two clear PVC sheets, so the surface is smooth and sealed: that’s what stops the print scratching or wearing off, and it’s also why ballpoint ink skips on it.

When the panel is for something other than a signature, such as a name, an expiry date or the value of a gift card, it’s usually called a write-on panel. It’s the same thing, named for what goes on it.

Why add a signature strip?

Size and position

Any size is available, and a typical signature strip is 75 x 8mm. It can go anywhere on the card, on either side, provided it stops at least 4mm from the edge. On a card with a magnetic strip, the signature strip usually sits on the back, below the magnetic strip.

A 75mm strip on an 86mm wide card leaves 5.5mm either side, inside the 4mm margin. A strip doesn’t have to run across the back, though: it can be shorter, upright, or on the front, wherever your design has room for it. More about the strip it often sits under is on our magnetic strips page.

1. Magnetic strip, if the card has one: 13 x 86mm, on the back, 3mm down from the top edge. Cards with a magnetic strip must be 760 microns.
2. Signature strip. Here the typical 75 x 8mm, below the magnetic strip. It takes an ordinary pen.
3. The label. “Signature” is printed above the strip, as part of the design. Nothing can be printed on the strip itself.
4. A second panel, shorter, for the expiry date. Any size is available.
5. The 4mm margin. A strip can go anywhere, as long as it stops at least 4mm from the edge of the card.

Wording, labels and extra panels

Nothing can be printed on the strip itself, because it sits on top of the card surface. Wording such as “Signature” or “Name” is printed above, below or beside it, as part of your design. The same goes for every write-on panel, whatever it’s for.

Writing a value on a gift card?A written amount is easier to alter than a printed one, so give every card a number and keep a register. Our guide to numbered plastic cards explains how numbering works.

A card can carry one strip or several, on one side or both. Many organisations use two: one to sign, and one for an expiry date or membership level. Of the two cards below, the cricket club card carries a signature strip and a separate panel for the membership number, and the pool club card has its signature strip on the back, below a magnetic strip.

Designing the card around a signature strip

• Put it on white. On a coloured background the strip picks up the colour behind it instead of staying a crisp white, so leave a white area in your artwork where it goes.
• Leave a clear space, and tell us where it goes. The strip is added on top of the finished card, not printed, so your artwork needs a gap for it with nothing important underneath.
• Below the magnetic strip, if the card has one. The magnetic strip runs across the top of the back, so the signature strip goes under it.
• Plan the back early. A magnetic strip, a signature strip and a barcode all want the back of the card, and an 86 x 54mm card fills up quickly. A barcode and a signature strip together is an everyday pairing.
• Keep it 4mm from the edge, and keep the label close enough that it’s clear which panel it belongs to.
• Size each panel for what goes in it. Any size is available, so a panel for a date can be shorter than one for a signature.
• Check it on your proof. Every order gets a free photorealistic proof by email, showing every panel in place before anything is printed. You check the wording and approve it in writing.

Designing in Canva? Our guide to designing plastic cards in Canva shows how to leave space for a strip. For everything else that goes on the back of a membership card, see what to put on a membership card.

Pens, markers and wear

• Use an ordinary ballpoint pen. That’s what signature strips and write-on panels are made for.
• Not on the printed surface. Away from the strip, a PVC card is smooth and sealed, so ballpoint ink skips and most other inks smudge.
• A permanent marker is a stopgap. It writes on the printed surface, and a Premium Matt finish takes it better than High Gloss (£20 +vat per order, whatever the quantity). On either finish the ink sits on top and can be wiped off, so for anything that mustn’t be altered, use a write-on panel.
• The strip is the part that wears first. It sits on the outside of the card, so it takes the rubbing in a wallet that the sealed print doesn’t. The print itself can’t scratch or wear off.

Our guide to writing on plastic cards compares pens, markers and stamp inks on every surface, and how long plastic cards last covers what wears and what doesn’t.

Cards that use signature strips

Our recycled PVC and biodegradable cards are like standard PVC: add a signature strip or write-on panel for anything written by hand. Two materials don’t need one. EcoTough cards take an ordinary pen or pencil anywhere on the card, and Plastic-Free Board cards take pen and ink stamps anywhere.

Prices and ordering

Signature strips are priced on your quote, like our other optional extras. Email sales@cpcards.co.uk, or use our quotation request form, and tell us:

• The card and the quantity, for example 250 full colour membership cards.
• How many strips or panels, and on which side.
• The size, if not the typical 75 x 8mm.
• The wording beside each one, such as “Signature” or “Valid until”.
• Any other extras on the same side, such as a magnetic strip or a barcode, so we can check they fit.

We often reply within minutes, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and everything from the artwork to your approval is in writing. Standard production is 7 working days from proof approval and payment, including optional extras such as signature strips. Express production of 3 to 4 working days is also available: ask us for cost and availability. We’ve been supplying cards made in England since 1992, and we look after your order from start to finish.

Need the back of the card laid out around the strip? Our design service is £29 +vat, with no limit on reasonable amends.