Product Info
Table Of Contents
- SP_Info_Central.book
- SP Series Info Central
- What do you want to do?
- Answer questions you have about using the printer
- Learn how to use this online information
- Learn more about tasks, such as installation, setup, or maintenance
- Solve problems with printing
- Access an online version of the Printer Guide
- Open help for the Printer Toolbox and Messages
- Open help for Properties or Printing Preferences
- Safety and compliance (FCC)
- Acknowledgments
- SP Series Info Central
- SP_Install_e-guide.book
- Installation
- Before you install
- Install the printer
- Installing the driver
- Upgrading the driver
- Reinstalling the driver
- Troubleshooting Installation Problems
- PC port settings
- Connecting more than one printer or more than one PC
- On the CD-ROM
- Installation
- SP_Setup_e-guide.book
- Setting up for your card design
- How do I create a card design?
- What is a card design?
- When should I perform setup tasks?
- What do I use to set up the printer?
- Why are there several interfaces to set up the printer?
- Card design checklist
- Working with Properties and Printing Preferences
- Changing the type of print ribbon
- Set up for monochrome (K) printing
- Color settings
- Changing settings in the printer
- Magnetic Stripe Setup
- Smart card setup
- Setting up for your card design
- SP_Production_e-guide.book
- SP_Supplies_e-guide.book
- SP_Troubleshooting_e-guide.book
23
SP Series Info Central
Magnetic stripe problems
This section helps you to troubleshoot magnetic stripe problems.
Magnetic stripe test card
If the printer includes a magnetic stripe module, you can print a magnetic stripe test card. The card uses
the magnetic stripe settings in the Properties or Printing Preferences dialog box.
Use this card to verify that the printer encodes a card correctly.
Tips for success
• If the printer is set to print a custom magnetic stripe format, it will not print this test card
successfully. The driver will display a message indicating that the data does not meet the
requirements for the magnetic stripe track or that it cannot read the data.
• The printer must be connected to the PC with the driver installed, and both printer and PC must
be running.
1 Make sure that the Printer Toolbox is open. If needed, double-click the printer icon in the system tray to
open the Printer Toolbox.
2 Make sure that magnetic stripe cards are loaded in the card cartridge. The magnetic stripe must be
oriented with the stripe down and toward the right side of the printer (toward the name label).
3 Click once on the Print Mag Stripe Card button in the Printer Toolbox. The printer driver formats card
data for the type of module installed, as follows:
– Three-track: IAT formatted data (IATA data on track 1, ABA data on track 2, and TTS data on track
3).
– NTT track: NTT formatted data on the track.
– See Magnetic Stripe Setup in the Setup e-Guide for more magnetic stripe information.
4 Remove the card from the card output tray.
5 Test the card by passing it through a card reader that will display the data encoded on the card. The
encoded data should match the data printed on the test card.
Common magnetic stripe problems
This section lists some common problems that can occur when encoding magnetic stripe data and
provides solutions.
Problem Solution
Cards are not oriented
correctly in the card tray.
Load cards correctly in the card tray.
Cards do not have a magnetic
stripe.
Load magnetic stripe cards in the card cartridge. If the cards have a
magnetic stripe, check the quality of the cards. Change card stock if
needed.
The
card has dirt or damage
on the magnetic stripe.
Encode and print the card again. If the message appears again, run a
cleaning card to clean the magnetic stripe head.