Editing Smart card (section)

====Manufacturing====

Complex Card manufacturing methods are inherited from the smart card industry and from the electronics mounting industry. As Complex Cards incorporate several components while having to remain within 0.8&nbsp;mm thickness and be flexible, and to comply with the [[ISO/IEC 7810]], [[ISO/IEC 7811]] and [[ISO/IEC 7816]] standards, renders their manufacture more complex than standard smart cards.

One of the most popular manufacturing processes in the smart card industry is lamination. This process involves laminating an inlay between two card faces. The inlay contains the needed electronic components with an antenna printed on an inert support.

Typically battery-powered Complex Cards require a cold lamination manufacturing process. This process impacts the manufacturing lead time and the whole cost of such a Complex Card.

Second generation, battery-free Complex Cards can be manufactured by existing hot lamination process. This automated process, inherited from traditional smart card manufacturing, enables the production of Complex Cards in large quantities while keeping costs under control, a necessity for the evolution from a niche to a mass market.