Magnetic Stripe Setup; Iata, Aba, And Tts Character Sets - DataCard ImageCard Magna User Manual

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Magnetic Stripe Setup

Do the following to set up the printer and driver to encode magnetic stripes on cards:
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IATA, ABA, and TTS character sets

The IAT encoding format selection for the Magna Class printer encodes IATA data on
track 1, ABA data on track 2, and TTS data on track 3.
IATA (International Air Transport Association)
The maximum field length for IATA format is 76 characters. IATA allows spaces,
upper case alphabetic characters, numeric characters, and the following special
characters:
! # $ % ' ( ) * + , - . / ; : < @ > = ^ ] \ [ " & _
ABA (American Bankers Association)
The maximum field length for ABA format is 37 characters. ABA allows numeric
characters and the following special characters:
: ; < = >
TTS (Thrift Third Standard)
The maximum field length for TTS format is 104 characters. TTS allows numeric
characters and the following special characters:
: ; < = >
Use cards with magnetic stripes when making a printer test card.
Determine whether to send coercivity and encoding format data with each card or
whether to set values in the printer and use those values. If you are using a
custom format, you might want to set values in the printer and choose "Use printer
settings" in the Properties, Printing Preferences, or Default Document Properties
dialog box.
Determine the coercivity to use. Usually, the coercivity is a system-wide decision:
magnetic stripe readers are likely to require a specific coercivity value. Card stock
is purchased to match that coercivity value. Set the coercivity in the Properties,
Printing Preferences, or Default Document Properties dialog box.
Select the encoding format. If a custom format, such as triple-IATA, is used, select
"Binary" or "Use Printer coercivity" in the printer driver.
Determine the order for encoding magnetic stripe and printing. Typically, the
magnetic stripe is encoded first, and then the card is printed. In some cases, a
card design works most efficiently when the magnetic stripe side of the card is
printed, the magnetic stripe data is encoded, and then the reverse side of the card
is printed. The "Print and Encode Sequence" choices allow you to choose which
way to process cards. If you choose to print first, be sure to load cards with the
magnetic stripe up and toward the front of the printer.
User's Guide for ImageCard® Magna™ and UltraGrafix® Magna™