magnetic
card option – stripe
card
option
HiCo/LoCo magnetic stripe
Magnetic stripe cards are one of the cheapest and the most available solutions of recording information.
Magnetic stripe reader allows for reading the content.
MAGSTRIPE CARDS
The location and parameters of magnetic stripe is specified in ISO/EIC 7811.
Currently we use two types of magnetic stripes:
- LoCo (low coercivity) – low coefficient of coercivity of magnetic stripe – approx 300 oe (oersteds)
- HiCo (high coercivity) – high coefficient of coercivity of magnetic stripe – up to 4000 oe (oersteds)
Magnetic stripe is a tape, on which we can encode information. Reading of magnetic stripe takes place during swiping a plastic card through the reader.
Saving and reading data from the card enables their effective operation in self-identification systems, access control, working time registration systems, maintenance-free sales systems and many more.
The HiCo magnetic strip is the most popular strip due to its higher resistance to demagnetization. LoCo magnetic stripe cards are quite susceptible to degaussing and data loss.
MAGNETIC STRIP CAPACITY
There are 3 tracks on the magnetic stripe with a total storage capacity of 75 alphanumeric characters and 147 numbers.
Relatively small capacity of the magnetic strip is quite enough to save the card number, expiration date, the holder of personal data and other information.
MAGNETIC STRIP CODING STANDARDS
Possibilities of encoding information on magnetic stripe tracks:
- track 1 (76 characters): 01234567890ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTVWXYZ!@#$^&'()*+-=,./\<>_:;][ (space),
- track 2 (37 characters): 0123456789:<=>,
- track 3 (104 characters): 0123456789:<=>.
Control characters:
- ;? – the start and the end of track 2 and 3,
- %? – the start and the end of track 1.
Control characters can’t be encoded inside of the track, for example:
- 12345;123 will encode only 123,
- 12345?12345678 will encode only 12345.
Some readers show control characters, some readers doesn’t. So both readings ;12345? and 12 345 are correct.
COLOR VARIANTS – THE MAGNETIC STRIP DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BLACK
In our offer you can find a few colours of magnetic stripe:
- gold,
- silver,
- dark blue,
- green,
- black.
