Blank Magnetic Stripe Cards Explained: HiCo vs LoCo
What Every Business Should Know About Blank Magnetic Stripe Cards
Swipe. That single motion - card against reader - triggers a transaction, opens a door, logs an employee in, or rewards a loyal customer. It looks simple. Behind it, though, is a surprisingly nuanced piece of technology that most buyers never think to question until something goes wrong. Magnetic stripe cards come in more than one flavor, and choosing the wrong type for your application can mean failed reads, corrupted data, or an access control system that simply does not work.
Chicago Pipe Essentials has spent more than 25 years guiding businesses - from small credit unions to large hotel chains, from boutique retailers to university campuses - through exactly this decision. With over 100,000 customers served and more than 50 million cards shipped across the United States, CPE has seen every use case imaginable. This page explains magnetic stripe card technology in plain terms, breaks down the HiCo vs LoCo debate thoroughly, and helps you walk away knowing precisely what to order.
The Magnetic Stripe: A Closer Look at What It Actually Does
A magnetic stripe is a band of iron-based magnetic particles embedded in a polyester film, laminated to the back of a standard CR80 PVC card. When the card is swiped through a reader, the reader head detects variations in the magnetic field - essentially reading a pattern of ones and zeros - and translates that into data your system can use. It is the same fundamental technology that has powered card programs since the 1970s, refined and standardized for modern reliability.
Most magnetic stripe cards conform to the ISO 7810 CR80 standard: 3.375 inches wide by 2.125 inches tall, 30 mil thick. That is the same footprint as a credit card, a hotel key, or a standard ID badge. The stripe itself runs along the top edge of the card back and is divided into tracks - typically Track 1, Track 2, and Track 3 - each capable of holding different types and amounts of encoded data.
Tracks, Encoding, and Why the Details Matter
Track 1 holds up to 79 alphanumeric characters, making it useful for names and account identifiers. Track 2, historically used in banking, holds up to 40 numeric characters - perfect for loyalty account numbers, membership IDs, or access codes. Track 3 is read/write capable and holds up to 107 numeric characters, though it sees less use today. Most business card programs rely on Track 1 and Track 2 either alone or in combination.
When CPE ships you blank magnetic stripe cards, those cards arrive unencoded - meaning the stripe is present and ready, but no data has been written to it yet. That encoding happens at your end using a card printer equipped with a magnetic stripe encoding module, or through a dedicated encoder. This gives your organization complete control over what data goes on each card and how it connects to your existing systems.
Why Blank Cards Give Your Organization the Most Flexibility
Buying blank magnetic stripe cards rather than pre-encoded or fully printed cards keeps your per-card cost significantly lower and your program infinitely more adaptable. Staff turnover? Print a new employee badge with updated encoding on the spot. Loyalty program rebrand? Load new card stock into your printer and go. You are not waiting on a vendor to produce a batch every time your needs shift.
The real power of blank card inventory is speed and control. Organizations running in-house card programs - whether issuing 50 cards a month or several thousand - find that a supply of blank CR80 magnetic stripe cards paired with the right card printer is the most cost-effective, responsive setup available. Chicago Pipe Essentials stocks both HiCo and LoCo options in quantity, ready to ship to businesses across the United States.
| Feature | HiCo (High Coercivity) | LoCo (Low Coercivity) |
|---|---|---|
| Coercivity Rating | 2750 Oersteds | 300 Oersteds |
| Durability | High - resistant to demagnetization | Moderate - more susceptible to magnetic fields |
| Best For | Long-term cards, loyalty, ID, access | Short-term use, hotel keys, event passes |
| Stripe Color | Typically dark brown or black | Typically brown |
| Cost | Slightly higher | Slightly lower |
| Reader Compatibility | Requires HiCo-compatible reader/encoder | Compatible with most standard readers |
HiCo Magnetic Stripe Cards: Built for the Long Haul
High coercivity magnetic stripe cards are the backbone of serious, long-term card programs. The term "coercivity" refers to how resistant a magnetic material is to having its magnetization changed - in other words, how hard it is to accidentally erase or corrupt the data on the stripe. HiCo cards rate at approximately 2750 Oersteds, which means they can sit near other magnets, survive the inside of a wallet crowded with other cards, and still read cleanly years after being issued.
For most business card programs that expect a card to remain in a customer's or employee's hands for months or years, HiCo is the right call. Loyalty programs, membership cards, employee ID badges, access control credentials, and gift cards that get reused regularly all benefit from HiCo's resistance to demagnetization. The marginal cost difference between HiCo and LoCo is small - the reliability payoff is substantial.
When HiCo Is the Only Sensible Answer
Consider a retailer running a loyalty program. Customers carry those cards in wallets alongside transit cards, credit cards, and other magnetic stripe items. Each time a card is stored near another magnetic source, LoCo data is at risk of degradation. HiCo data shrugs off those everyday magnetic encounters without breaking a sweat. The result is fewer failed reads at checkout, fewer frustrated customers, and fewer card replacements cutting into your margins.
Access control is another area where HiCo earns its place without question. An employee badge used ten times a day, stored in a pocket or lanyard pouch, passed through a bag near a laptop - that card needs to hold its encoding reliably. Security staff do not want to troubleshoot reader errors at a controlled entry point. CPE recommends HiCo for any application where card longevity and consistent read performance are non-negotiable.
Industries That Rely on HiCo Every Day
- Retail and hospitality loyalty programs - cards that live in wallets for years, swiped frequently at point of sale
- Corporate and campus ID programs - employee and student badges used across multiple readers daily
- Healthcare facilities - staff access cards in clinical environments where reliability is critical
- Gym and fitness memberships - cards that take physical wear and are handled in bag-heavy environments
- Casino player cards - high-frequency use cards that must perform consistently across multiple gaming terminals
- Gift card programs at reloadable retailers - cards that return to the point of sale repeatedly over time
Chicago Pipe Essentials stocks HiCo blank magnetic stripe cards in standard CR80 size and can accommodate programs ranging from a few hundred cards to tens of thousands. Call 312-555-4821 to discuss your volume requirements and get pricing that reflects your actual program size.
Encoding HiCo Cards: What Your Printer Needs to Handle
Not all card printers can encode HiCo stripes. Because the stripe requires a stronger write signal to set the magnetic particles, the printer's encoding module must be rated for HiCo operation. Evolis, Zebra, and Fargo - the three printer brands Chicago Pipe Essentials carries - all offer HiCo encoding options across their product lines. When you purchase a magnetic stripe printer from CPE, our team confirms compatibility with your card stock before anything ships.
If you already own a printer, verify its encoding specification before ordering HiCo cards. A LoCo-rated encoder writing to a HiCo card will produce a stripe that reads inconsistently or not at all. This is one of the most common mistakes new card program managers make, and it is entirely avoidable with a quick specification check.
LoCo Magnetic Stripe Cards: Smart for Short-Term Applications
Low coercivity cards, rated at approximately 300 Oersteds, require much less magnetic force to encode and erase. That sounds like a disadvantage - and in long-term applications, it is. But in short-duration use cases, that same characteristic becomes an operational feature. LoCo cards can be erased and re-encoded quickly and repeatedly, making them ideal for programs where cards change hands or change purposes frequently.
The hotel industry is the classic example. A hotel room key needs to work reliably for two, three, maybe seven days. After checkout, the card is collected, wiped, and re-encoded for the next guest. LoCo handles that cycle beautifully and economically. The stripe color on LoCo cards tends to appear lighter brown compared to the darker stripe of HiCo cards, which also provides a quick visual identification method for staff managing mixed inventory.
Ideal Use Cases for LoCo Cards
Event access passes represent another strong LoCo application. A conference badge or concert entry credential needs to function for one day or one weekend. After the event, those cards have served their purpose. The economics of LoCo make sense: lower encoding requirements, lower risk if a batch is reprogrammed incorrectly, and easy reset for reuse in a future event if the cards are collected.
Some parking garage access programs use LoCo cards for visitor passes issued at entry - short-duration tokens that get reclaimed on exit. The fast erase-and-rewrite cycle suits the operational rhythm perfectly. Understanding that LoCo is a feature, not a flaw, changes how you approach card program design. The right coercivity for your application is the one that matches the actual lifecycle of that card in your users' hands.
LoCo and Reader Compatibility Advantages
One practical upside of LoCo is broader compatibility with older or lower-specification magnetic stripe readers. Because the stripe requires less read sensitivity, many legacy reader systems - particularly in older access control installations or smaller point-of-sale setups - handle LoCo cards without any modification. This makes LoCo a sensible default for organizations working with mixed or aging reader hardware where upgrading the infrastructure is not immediately feasible.
That said, most modern readers handle both HiCo and LoCo without distinction. If your infrastructure is current, the choice between them should be driven entirely by how long you expect each card to remain in service and how much magnetic exposure it will encounter - not by reader compatibility concerns.
Choosing Between HiCo and LoCo: A Practical Decision Framework
The HiCo vs LoCo question is really just one question in disguise: how long will this card be in the field? Cards that are expected to remain with one person or organization for more than a few weeks almost always perform better as HiCo. Cards that cycle through users rapidly or that are collected and reissued routinely are strong LoCo candidates. Everything else - cost, stripe color, encoder requirements - flows from that single determination.
A useful mental model: think of HiCo as permanent employee parking permits and LoCo as visitor passes. Both have their place. Neither should be forced into the other's role. Chicago Pipe Essentials can help you think through your specific program - whether you are issuing 200 loyalty cards to a mailing list or onboarding 5,000 new gym members in a single launch campaign.
Questions to Ask Before You Order
- How long will each individual card stay in service before being decommissioned or replaced?
- Will cardholders keep these in wallets near other magnetic stripe cards or items?
- Is your card printer encoder rated for HiCo, LoCo, or both?
- Will cards be collected, wiped, and reused - or are they single-issue?
- Do your existing readers have a coercivity preference or requirement?
- What is the total volume of cards you expect to issue in the next 12 months?
Answering these questions honestly before placing an order prevents the single most common magnetic stripe card mistake: buying the wrong type for the intended application. CPE has helped thousands of organizations work through this checklist and land on the right product the first time.
What About Multi-Technology Cards?
Some applications demand more than a magnetic stripe alone. Casino player cards, for instance, often combine a HiCo magnetic stripe with an embedded RFID chip - giving the card two independent data channels for different systems. Hotel infrastructure increasingly pairs magnetic stripe with contactless RFID. Chicago Pipe Essentials carries multi-technology cards that combine magnetic stripe (HiCo or LoCo) with proximity, smart chip, or contactless RFID technology including MIFARE DESFire.
These combination cards are not significantly larger or more expensive than their single-technology counterparts in most production volumes. For organizations planning a technology upgrade - moving from purely magnetic stripe to contactless access, for example - a dual-technology card bridges the transition period gracefully, allowing old and new readers to function simultaneously without forcing an all-at-once infrastructure swap.
Volume, Pricing, and Getting the Most From Your Budget
Blank magnetic stripe cards are priced on a per-card basis that scales favorably with volume. A small organization ordering 500 cards will pay more per card than a mid-sized enterprise ordering 10,000, but both benefit from Chicago Pipe Essentials's competitive pricing relative to the broader market. Typical blank HiCo card programs fall in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on volume and any specialty features selected.
Buying slightly ahead of your immediate need is generally smarter than ordering just enough. Card programs rarely shrink. Unexpected demand - a new client, a promotional campaign, faster-than-anticipated membership growth - is far easier to handle when you have inventory on hand. CPE can help you model 6-month and 12-month card consumption estimates based on your current program data.
Beyond the Stripe: The Full Magnetic Stripe Card Ecosystem
A card is only as good as the system around it. Blank magnetic stripe cards need printers to encode and print them, ribbons to produce sharp, durable graphics, cleaning kits to keep readers and printers operating at spec, and often card carriers or sleeves to protect them in transit or at the point of issuance. Chicago Pipe Essentials supplies all of it - not as an afterthought, but as a core part of the proposition.
Running a card program means managing consumables. Ribbon yields vary by card design - full-bleed color printing uses more ribbon per card than a simple one-color design. Cleaning kits extend printer head life and reduce encoding errors caused by dust and debris. Organizations that maintain their printers consistently report dramatically lower total cost of ownership over the life of the equipment. CPE stocks Evolis, Zebra, and Fargo ribbons and cleaning supplies to keep programs running without interruption.
Card Printers That Handle Magnetic Stripe Encoding
Evolis, Zebra, and Fargo each produce card printers with integrated magnetic stripe encoding modules. Entry-level models from these brands are well-suited for programs issuing a few hundred cards per month. Mid-range and high-volume models add features like dual-sided printing, lamination for added card durability, and high-speed encoding throughput. Chicago Pipe Essentials sells across the full range of these manufacturers' product lines.
Choosing the right printer is as important as choosing the right card. A printer that bottlenecks your card production during peak issuance periods - new employee onboarding seasons, annual membership renewals, event registrations - creates unnecessary operational friction. CPE reviews your production requirements and recommends a printer that matches your throughput needs without overbuying capacity you will not use.
Card Affixing and Mailing Services
Not every organization wants to handle card distribution in-house. Chicago Pipe Essentials offers card affixing and mailing services that take the production output and handle the logistics of getting cards to cardholders. Cards can be affixed to mailers, inserted into welcome packets, or mailed directly to recipients - reducing the labor burden on your internal team while maintaining a professional presentation.
For loyalty and membership programs launching with a large initial cardholder base, this service eliminates a significant operational hurdle. A card that arrives in a branded mailer makes a stronger impression than one handed over in a plain envelope - and it arrives without requiring your staff to spend hours at a folding machine.
Common Questions About Magnetic Stripe Cards Answered
After 25 years and over 100,000 customer accounts, Chicago Pipe Essentials has heard virtually every question about magnetic stripe cards at least a thousand times. The following addresses the most frequent points of confusion that arise during the buying process, particularly for organizations setting up a card program for the first time.
FAQ: Compatibility, Data, and Card Lifecycle
Can I encode magnetic stripe cards without a dedicated card printer? Yes - standalone magnetic stripe encoders exist for organizations that need to encode cards but handle printing through another method or not at all. However, for most programs that require both a printed card face and an encoded stripe, a card printer with an integrated encoding module is the more streamlined and cost-effective solution.
How much data can I actually store on a magnetic stripe? Track 1 holds up to 79 alphanumeric characters; Track 2 holds up to 40 numeric characters; Track 3 holds up to 107 numeric characters. For most business applications - an account number, an employee ID, an access code - this is more than sufficient. The magnetic stripe is not a storage medium for large data sets; it is an efficient carrier for a specific identifier that your backend system uses to look up the rest.
FAQ: Ordering, Minimums, and Customization
What is the minimum order quantity for blank magnetic stripe cards? Chicago Pipe Essentials accommodates programs of virtually any size. Small organizations issuing 50 to a few hundred cards per month can order accordingly without being pushed into quantities that exceed their needs. Larger programs benefit from volume pricing that makes the per-card cost significantly more competitive. Call 312-555-4821 for current pricing at your specific volume.
Can I get blank magnetic stripe cards in colors other than standard white? Yes. CPE stocks colored PVC card stock - including black, blue, red, yellow, and other options - with magnetic stripes. Frosted and clear cards with magnetic stripes are also available for programs that want a distinctive look without sacrificing magnetic stripe functionality. Custom die-cut shapes are an option for premium or specialty programs.
FAQ: Magnetic Stripe Cards vs. RFID and Smart Cards
Should I be moving away from magnetic stripe to RFID or smart chip technology? That depends entirely on your application's requirements. Magnetic stripe technology is mature, cost-effective, and perfectly appropriate for a wide range of business card programs. RFID and smart chip cards offer contactless operation, higher data storage, and enhanced security features that some applications genuinely need - but they also come with higher per-card costs and require compatible reader infrastructure.
Many organizations run magnetic stripe programs successfully for years and never need to transition. Others find that adding a contactless layer to their existing magnetic stripe cards provides operational benefits that justify the incremental cost. Chicago Pipe Essentials carries the full spectrum - from basic blank HiCo PVC cards to MIFARE DESFire contactless smart cards - so the right answer for your program is always available, whatever it turns out to be.
Start Your Magnetic Stripe Card Program with Chicago Pipe Essentials
Twenty-five years. Over 50 million cards shipped. More than 100,000 businesses across the United States that have trusted Chicago Pipe Essentials with programs ranging from modest local operations to large-scale national deployments. That track record is not a coincidence - it reflects a genuine commitment to matching the right product to the right application, delivering it reliably, and being available when questions arise.
Whether you are launching a new loyalty program, upgrading an aging ID badge system, establishing access control for a growing campus, or simply restocking blank HiCo cards for an existing in-house printing operation, CPE has the inventory, the product knowledge, and the operational experience to make your program run smoothly from day one. Magnetic stripe cards - HiCo or LoCo, white or colored, standard CR80 or specialty formats - are ready to ship to your location anywhere in the United States.
Ready to get the right magnetic stripe cards for your program? Contact Chicago Pipe Essentials today at 312-555-4821 and speak with a card program specialist who will help you choose correctly, order efficiently, and keep your card operation running without disruption.