 The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), a global non-profit association for card manufacturers, personalizers and suppliers, announced the results of its Annual Card Manufacturing Global Market Survey. In 2007 the unit market reached 19.2 billion cards which represents a 12% increase over 2006. The products surveyed were plastic cards of all thicknesses including traditional cards, with and without magnetic stripe, and chip cards that include contact, contactless and combicards for diverse applications such as financial hologram cards, ID cards, telecom cards, gift cards, transit cards and more. ICMA regional results (Cards produced Billion units): North America 9.1, Asia Pacific 4.5, Europe 4.0, Latin America 1.0, Middle East / Africa 0.5. ICMA lists cards regardless of their technology. The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) serves the dynamic plastic card industry and the various companies and organizations involved in manufacturing and personalizing these cards. As the complexity of card manufacturing and applications has increased, so have the production, standards, quality, security and environmental issues surrounding the cards. The need to bring together these diverse elements of the plastic card industry led to the formation of the ICMA.
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