Drop-on-demand identification document printing with surface pre-treatment

A method of processing a plastic card or a passport page in a plastic card or passport page printing system, comprising:

• in the plastic card or passport page printing system, plasma treating a surface of the plastic card or the passport page in a plasma treatment station, the plasma treatment station has a plasma discharge width that is less than a width of the surface so that only a portion of the surface is plasma treated in a single pass of the plastic card or the passport page along a travel path within the plasma treatment station and a portion of the surface is not plasma treated, wherein the portion of the surface that is plasma treated borders on the portion of the surface that is not plasma treated;
• prior to, during or after plasma treating the surface of the plastic card or the passport page in the plasma treatment station, using a controller that is operatively connected to the plasma treatment station to move a plasma nozzle of the plasma treatment station in a direction toward or away from the travel path;
• after plasma treating the surface of the plastic card or the passport page in the plasma treatment station, inputting the plastic card or the passport page into a printer of the plastic card or passport page printing system;
• and
• thereafter printing on the surface of the plastic card or the passport page using the printer.