Card reader

Magnetic stripe readers, also called card readers, are devices that read the information encoded on the magnetic stripe located on the back of the plastic card. Mostly it is installed on the housing of POS system, but sometimes it can be stand-alone connected via cable.

Information is written to the magnetic stripe using a special device, an encoder. Some models of specialized plastic card printers are also equipped with encoders and can print texts and graphics on the card and simultaneously print the information on the magnetic stripe.

Plastic cards are often used to identify a client or an employee in different kinds of access control systems, loyalty systems and others. The reason of choosing the magnetic stripe identification instead of the barcode is that it's rather difficult to forge the card with a magnetic stripe.

Magstripe readers are classified according to the reading process - a card can be inserted into the reader or "pulled" through it. The reader decodes and transmits the read information to the head device (usually a POS-system or a computer) through the interface (USB, RS-232 or keyboard wedge). Information can be placed on one, two or three tracks of the magnetic stripe, and it is important to consider this when selecting the reader to work with specific software.

When choosing a magnetic card reader it also makes sense to pay attention to the manufacturer's guaranteed number of readings, as it indicates the reliability of the device.