User guide

12 Implementation Choices for Features
for other printers. Escape codes provide a limited ability to customize
magnetic stripe formats.
• The printer can be used to encode the magnetic stripe without printing on a
card. The Windows driver contains a setting to enable this feature. For more
information on encoding magnetic stripe without printing, see the XPS Card
Printer Installation and User Guide.
• The default format for data depends on the type of magnetic stripe module
installed:
• A three-track module encodes IAT data by default. This format is
sometimes called ISO format.
• A single-track module encodes NTT data by default. This format is used
in Japan and is sometimes called JIS-II format.
Smart Card
A smart card is a card with one or more integrated circuits embedded in the card.
Other names are chip card, integrated circuit card, or IC card. Cards can be
memory cards or microprocessor cards. Memory cards contain memory storage
components. Microprocessor cards contain memory and microprocessor
components. All cards can have security features built in.
Cards can be contacted or contactless cards. One card can also include both
technologies, called dual-interface cards. Both types take advantage of the power
used to program or read the card as the power for card operations. Some smart
cards have cryptographic tools to generate key pairs on board, useful for digital
signatures and secure IDs. The system used with the smart card might require
additional identification methods, such as biometrics. That data can be stored on
the card to support multi-factor ID systems.
Smart Card Readers
The hardware that communicates with the card is called a reader. In the past,
some were called couplers. A smart card module in the printer includes a reader.
Depending on the type of card and the type of reader, the reader might have
read-only or both read and write functionality.
The system that uses the card, such as an access system or payment system, also
includes readers at the location in which the card holder accesses the system. The
system reader can be connected to data components (a database), application
components, or other parts of the overall system.
Readers must match the card type and features used. For example, a contact card
reader cannot read contactless cards, and different types of contactless cards must
be matched with readers that read the frequency and proprietary format of the