THE HIGH COERCIVITY MAGSTRIPE CARD High Coercivity or “HiCo” cards are recommended for a majority of applications. HiCo magnetic stripe cards are typically black in color and they are encoded with a stronger magnetic field (2750 Oersted). The stronger magnetic field makes HiCo cards more durable because the data encoded on the stripes are less likely to unintentionally be erased when exposed to an outside magnetic field. HiCo cards are common in applications where they require a longer card life and are swiped often. Credit cards, bank cards, library cards, access control cards, time and attendance cards and employee ID cards frequently use HiCo technology. THE LOW COERCIVITY MAGSTRIPE CARD The less common Low Coercivity or “LoCo” cards are good for short-term applications. LoCo magnetic stripe cards are generally brown in color and they are encoded at a low-intensity magnetic field (300 Oersted). LoCo cards are typically used for short-term applications including hotel room keys and season passes for theme parks, amusement parks, and water parks. When selecting a magnetic stripe card for your business, ask yourself how long you want your cards to last. Many of us have experienced a situation where a hotel room key stopped working. Magnetic stripe cards can be reprogrammed, but it can be inconvenient. | High Coercivity (HiCo) | Low Coercivity (LoCo) |
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| Harder to erase | Easier to erase | | Requires higher magnetic energy to encode data | Can be encoded using low energy encoders | | Can be read by any magstripe card reader | Can be read by any magstripe card reader | | HiCo magstripe encoders typically cost more | LoCo magstripe encoders are generally cheaper | | HiCo encoders can write on both HiCo and LoCo cards | LoCo encoders can write only on LoCo cards | | Less susceptible to magnetic interference | Vulnerable to magnetic interference | | Ideal for bank cards, drivers licenses, access control cards, library & membership cards | Ideal for hotel key cards, gift cards, phone cards, transit passes |
It is also possible to identify the type of card used by simply looking at the magnetic stripe on the card. High-performance HiCo cards have magnetic stripes that are almost always black in color. LoCo cards, on the other hand, have brownish magnetic stripes.
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