Card moves back and forth on the encoder a few times and gives an encoding error.

Topic or Information

Card moves back and forth across the encoder a few times and gives an encoding error.

Applies To

All Printer models equipped with magnetic encoder

Details

First (and most important) make sure you have magnetic stripe cards correctly loaded in the card feeder.

• If you have a stripe down encoder installed in you printer, the cards should be loaded with the magnetic stripe down and towards the back of the printer.
• If you have a reversed encoder (stripe up) installed in your printer, the cards should be loaded with the magnetic stripe up and towards the back of the printer.
• Refer to your users manual for the exact way magnetic cards need to be installed.

Are you using low-coercivity or high-coercivity magnetic stripe cards?

• Check the packaging of your cards to see the coercivity of the magnetic stripe.
• Once you know the coercivity of the magnetic stripe on your cards change it in the driver accordingly.

The encoder head may need cleaning.

• All encoder heads become contaminated with magnetic oxides, dust, dirt, fingerprint oils and other environmental contaminants. These contaminants when left on the encoder heads can and actually do result in processing errors, lost data and increased wear on the encoder heads.