What Is Coated Overlay and How to Choose the Right Thickness?

Coated overlay is an important material used in plastic card manufacturing. It provides a protective surface while helping different layers bond together during the lamination process.

Selecting the correct overlay can have a significant impact on card appearance, durability and production consistency.

What Is a Coated Overlay?

A coated overlay typically consists of a transparent film with a heat-activated adhesive coating designed for lamination.

During card production, the overlay is laminated together with the printed core material or other card layers under controlled temperature and pressure.

Common Thickness Options

Different card structures require different overlay thicknesses.

Common specifications may include thin overlays for digital printing structures as well as thicker overlays for conventional card production.

The correct combination should be determined according to:

• Core sheet thickness
• Finished card thickness
• Printing process
• Lamination conditions
• Card construction
• Surface requirements

Why Does Overlay Quality Matter?

An unsuitable overlay may contribute to problems such as poor bonding, bubbles, surface defects or inconsistent lamination.

For this reason, card manufacturers should evaluate not only price but also coating consistency, thickness tolerance and compatibility with their production process.

Test Before Mass Production

Different machines and card structures may behave differently during lamination.

RFIDock therefore recommends testing samples under the customer’s actual production conditions before confirming a new material for mass production.

RFIDock provides coated overlays in multiple thicknesses, sizes and specifications for smart card and plastic card manufacturing.

Send us your card structure, printing process and required thickness to discuss a suitable overlay solution.