Magnetic Stripe – the Facts Revealed

Technology can seem mysterious and sometimes daunting, but once explained, it becomes useful and familiar. It is then that its full power is loosed and one can utilize it for all it was meant to be.

These days, that simple black stripe on the back of your bank card seems somewhat outdated – so “yesterday” as the youth today would say- compared to the glitzy looking smart chip. However, it has not failed have a very fitting use for those who are in need of an affordable, straight forward way to collect and maintain data.

The stripe itself is a band of magnetic material – and it is capable of storing data by the modification of the iron-based particles through the process of encoding. The stripe is “read” by physical contact and swiping past a reading head.

Two types of magnetic stripes are available – each with its own level of strength, or coercivity – high-coercivity (Hi/Co) and low-coercivity (Lo/Co). Each stripe features 3 Tracks for encoding - Track 1 holds 79 alpha/numeric characters; Track 2, 40 numeric; Track 3, 107 numeric characters

How it functions:
As outlined, it is obvious that a magnetic stripe is simply a storage device. Its “magic” is held in the program that the magnetic reader communicates with.
The code, be it simply a name and ID number, or an encrypted code, containing secure information, is read into the program, then it, depending on its design, accomplishes the task that is required.

An excellent article on magnetic stripe cards and readers can be found at Magnetic Stripe Systems - A Primer .

Cards Plus, manufacturers and distributors of printed cards and card printing equipment, can assist with the printing and encoding of magnetic stripe cards. If you would like to discuss the potential use of a magnetic stripe in your card project, contact Cards Plus at 086 16 CARDS or 011 894 3914.

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