Introduction to Barcode Magnetic Card Technology

A magnetic card is a magnetic recording medium card. It is made of high-strength, high-temperature resistant plastic or paper-coated plastic, which is moisture-proof, wear-resistant and flexible. It is easy to carry and relatively stable and reliable to use. Usually, one side of the magnetic card is printed with information such as the card insertion direction; the other side has a magnetic layer or magnetic stripe with 2-3 tracks to record relevant information data.

The magnetic stripe is a thin layer of material composed of aligned and oriented ferrous oxide particles (also called pigment), tightly bonded together with a resin binder and bonded to a non-magnetic substrate medium such as paper or plastic.

The magnetic stripe is essentially the same as the magnetic tape or disk used in computers. It can be used to record letters, characters and digital information. It is firmly integrated with plastic or paper by bonding or heat sealing to form a magnetic card. The information contained in the magnetic stripe is generally larger than the long barcode. The magnetic stripe can be divided into three independent tracks, called TK1TK2TK3. TK1 can write up to 79 letters or characters; TK2 can write up to 40 characters; TK3 can write up to 107 characters.

Computer processing technology

The barcode/magnetic card reader is a collection device for the barcode/magnetic card application system. It can quickly and accurately capture the data information represented by the barcode/magnetic card and send the data to the computer for processing.

Computers are data storage and processing devices in barcode/magnetic card application systems. Due to the large storage capacity and fast computing speed of computers, many complex data processing tasks become convenient, rapid and timely. Computers are used for management, which can greatly reduce the labor intensity of workers in various industries, improve work efficiency, and in some aspects, complete tasks that cannot be completed manually. The key to data processing technology in barcode/magnetic card systems is data processing technology. It can be said that any system with computer database management may involve barcode/magnetic card equipment.

Key technologies of barcode magnetic cards

The rapid development of barcode magnetic card technology and its wide application in many fields have attracted the attention of many countries. Today, there are thousands of manufacturers engaged in the development, research, production and operation of barcode card technology and its series of products in countries around the world, with thousands of product varieties, becoming a high-tech industry of considerable scale.

From the perspective of application, barcode magnetic card technology should involve the following key points:

1. Coding Technology

2. Loading technology

3. Collection technology

4. Decoding technology

5.Transmission technology

6. Processing technology

The technical indicators of barcode and magnetic card equipment are generally mentioned in these points. The differences between different barcode and magnetic card equipment are generally due to the different emphases on the above points. For application engineers, they must have a clear understanding of the connotations of these indicators in order to facilitate selection.

1. Coding Technology

The information loaded on the barcode and magnetic card is numbers and letters, which are strings of numbers encoded according to certain standards. Since the magnetic card barcode is quite different, they are discussed separately below.

(1) Barcode encoding technology

Barcode coding technology mainly involves barcode coding rules and standards.

Barcode encoding rules are the main basis for formulating code standards and identifying barcode symbols.

At present, the commonly used code systems in the world are as follows:

① UPC code

In 1973, the United States took the lead in applying it in domestic commercial systems. This code system is mainly used in commercial systems. The code length is fixed at 12 bits.

② EAN code

In 1977, the European Economic Community countries developed the European Article Number EAN code according to the UPC code standard. There are two types of EAN codes: EAN-13 code and EAN-8 code.

③ Cross 25 yards

Interleaved 2 of 5 Code is a continuous self-checking digital code with variable length.

④ Code 39

Code 3 of 9 is a variable-length discrete self-checking alphabetic code.

⑤ Codabar

Codabar code is a discrete self-checking digital code system with variable length.

It is commonly used in the management of warehouses, blood banks and air express packages.

⑥ Code 128

Code 128 is a continuous alphanumeric code with variable length.

⑦ China Post Code

China Post Express Code.

⑧ Other codes: Code 93, Code 49, Code 2 of 5, Code 11, Matrix 2 of 5

Among the above code systems, the commonly used codes in my country are as follows:

① UPC/EAN code

my country's universal commodity barcode

5. Transmission technology

Transmission technology refers to the technology that transmits barcode/magnetic card decoding information to the computer through data communication technology. Usually the transmitter is included in the decoder.

Common data transmission methods are:

① Computer keyboard simulation

② Single machine RS-232/RS-422 communication

③ Cascade RS232/RS-422 multi-machine communication

④ RS-485 multi-machine communication