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Appendix A: Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module 87
Pro-L Card Printer Users Manual
B. ISO TRACK LOCATIONS
The magnetic encoding module encodes onto tracks in accordance with an ISO
7811-2 magnetic stripe. Refer to the following diagram for track locations:
NOTE:
Although all standard Pro-L printers are capable of printing onto oversized cards, a special
version of the printer is required if you also need to encode the magnetic stripe of oversized
cards. Please contact your authorized reseller if you would like more information.
C. SENDING TRACK INFORMATION
Magnetic track data is sent in the form of text strings from the application software
to the printer driver along with all of the other printable objects within your card
design. In order for the printer driver to differentiate between magnetic track data
and the rest of the printable objects, the magnetic track data strings must be
uniquely tagged. In other words, specific characters must be added to the
magnetic track data in order for the printer driver to know which data is to be
encoded, which tracks to encode, when the track data stops and starts, and so forth.
In some cases, these specific characters are automatically added to the string of
track data by customized ID software applications. In most cases, however, the user
must manually add these characters to the string of magnetic track data. If these
characters are not added to the track data, the text intended for the magnetic track
will most likely appear as printed text on the card. To avoid this, track information
must be entered as follows.
When entering track data, the ~ character is entered first, followed by the track
number (1, 2, or 3) on which you intend to encode the data. The data to be encoded
should then follow. The first character of this data string must be the tracks specific
Start Sentinel (SS) and the last character must be the specific End Sentinel (ES). The
characters or data in between the SS and ES can include all of the valid characters
specific to each track. The number of these characters, however, is limited by each
tracks maximum character capacity. When segmenting track data, the appropriate
Field Separator (FS) must be used. The following table shows the SS, ES, FS, and
the valid characters defined for each track.
TRACK1 0.110"
TRACK2 0.110"
TRACK3 0.110"
0.130"
0.140"
0.223" 0.353" 0.493"
proL.qxd 8/6/2000 3:30 PM Page 87