Sending The Track Information - HID FARGO DTC 5500LMX User Manual

3.5.5.1 Sending the Track Information

Magnetic track data is sent in the form of text strings from the application software to the printer
driver.
In order for the printer driver to differentiate between magnetic track data and the rest of the
printable objects, specific characters must be added to encode the magnetic data. These specify
the data that is to be encoded, the tracks to encode, and mark the start and stop of the data string.
In some cases, these specific characters are automatically added to the string of track data by ID
software applications.
In most cases, the user must carefully add these characters to the string of data. If these characters
are not added to the track data, the text intended for the magnetic track will appear as printed text
on the card.
To avoid this, track information must be entered as described below.
When entering track data, the ~ (tilde) character is entered first, followed by the track number (1, 2
or 3) on which the data should encode. This is followed by the data to be encoded.
The first character of this data string must be the track's 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 track's maximum character capacity.
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When segmenting track data, the appropriate Field Separator (FS) must be used. The ASCII Code

and Character Table shows the SS, ES, FS and the valid characters defined for each track.
May 2017
Printing Preferences Page 3-15
PLT-02496, Version: 1.2