Encoding
HiCo vs LoCo: which magnetic stripe you actually need
Coercivity is the difference between a key that lasts and a key that dies in a week.
LoCo (low coercivity) is cheaper and easier to encode. It is the right call for short-life cards — event passes, temporary access, a gift card that will be used a handful of times.
HiCo (high coercivity) holds the data when the card sits next to a phone, a fridge magnet or another wallet full of cards. That is what hotels, gyms and membership programs should specify if the card has to keep working after months of daily use.
How to brief us
- Tell us the reader brand if you know it.
- Say whether the card is daily-use or single-event.
- Leave a quiet zone in the artwork where the stripe sits.
- We encode and test a sample before the rest of the run leaves.
We encode HiCo and LoCo on the floor in Wantirna South. Guessing the stripe is how you get a reprint.
