Plastic cards featuring magnetic stripes can be encoded with data for applications including financial cards, gift cards, access key cards, library cards, loyalty cards, transit cards, and more. When shopping for magstripe PVC cards, you have two options: high coercivity (HiCo) cards and low coercivity (LoCo) cards. HiCo and LoCo cards can be encoded to store same amount of data, but HiCo cards offer superior durability and security. The basic differences between the two types are outlined below.
High coercivity magnetic striped cards are harder to erase, and are therefore appropriate for applications where cards are frequently used or expected to have a long life. HiCo stripes are resistant to damage from most magnets or magnetic fields. Typical HiCo applications include: employee ID cards, access control, time and attendance, bank cards, and membership cards.
Low coercivity magnetic striped cards are easier to erase and can be damaged by brief contact with a magnetic field. Due to their sensitivity, LoCo stripe cards are typically used for short-term applications such as hotel room keys, phone cards, transit passes, and season passes for amusement parks.
At a glance, HiCo cards can generally be identified by a black stripe, while the stripes on LoCo cards are generally brown. The encoding technique is the same for both types of cards, except that encoding HiCo cards requires a stronger electrical current.
If you need assistance choosing the right mag stripe card for you, call an ID Professional at (800) 321-4405.
There many of types of PVC plastic ID cards available to serve a variety of card printing applications. Our inventory includes: