A card processing system , comprising: a card processing path ; a card printing mechanism disposed along the card processing path , the card printing mechanism includes: a primary card travel path along which cards can travel in a downstream direction; at least one drop-on-demand print station on the primary card travel path that is adapted to perform a drop-on-demand printing operation on a surface (A, B) of a card on the primary card travel path using ultra-violet, UV, curable ink; a return card travel path along which a card that has been fed through the at least one drop-on-demand print station can be diverted from the primary card travel path and returned back to the primary card travel path at a location upstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station to be fed again through the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; a UV curing station on the primary card travel path located downstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; the card processing system is characterized in that it comprises a smart card programming mechanism disposed in the card processing path upstream of the card printing mechanism or downstream of the card printing mechanism , the smart card programming mechanism configured to program a chip embedded in a card . a card processing path ; a card printing mechanism disposed along the card processing path , the card printing mechanism includes: a primary card travel path along which cards can travel in a downstream direction; at least one drop-on-demand print station on the primary card travel path that is adapted to perform a drop-on-demand printing operation on a surface (A, B) of a card on the primary card travel path using ultra-violet, UV, curable ink; a return card travel path along which a card that has been fed through the at least one drop-on-demand print station can be diverted from the primary card travel path and returned back to the primary card travel path at a location upstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station to be fed again through the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; a UV curing station on the primary card travel path located downstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; the card processing system is characterized in that it comprises a smart card programming mechanism disposed in the card processing path upstream of the card printing mechanism or downstream of the card printing mechanism , the smart card programming mechanism configured to program a chip embedded in a card . a primary card travel path along which cards can travel in a downstream direction; at least one drop-on-demand print station on the primary card travel path that is adapted to perform a drop-on-demand printing operation on a surface (A, B) of a card on the primary card travel path using ultra-violet, UV, curable ink; a return card travel path along which a card that has been fed through the at least one drop-on-demand print station can be diverted from the primary card travel path and returned back to the primary card travel path at a location upstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station to be fed again through the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; a UV curing station on the primary card travel path located downstream of the at least one drop-on-demand print station ; the card processing system is characterized in that it comprises a smart card programming mechanism disposed in the card processing path upstream of the card printing mechanism or downstream of the card printing mechanism , the smart card programming mechanism configured to program a chip embedded in a card . <EOS>