Magnetic stripe hotel key cards (HiCo & LoCo)

Stripe position and track layout

ISO/IEC 7811 defines how a magnetic stripe is recorded: the stripe sits on the back of the card along the top edge and carries three parallel tracks. Hotel locking systems typically encode room access data on track 3, or in a proprietary layout of their own; the banking-style track 1 and 2 formats play no part in a door key. The encoding format is set by the issuing system, so a reorder must match your encoder’s format as well as the stripe grade.

For printing this matters twice. Artwork has to keep clear of the stripe area — the CR80 design templates mark bleed, safe area and the magstripe zone — and the finished stripe must carry the coercivity your encoder writes. A card that looks right but carries the wrong grade or layout fails at the first swipe.

Why magstripe cards demagnetise and RFID cards cannot

A magstripe card stores data as magnetic polarity in a band of ferromagnetic particles. A strong enough external field re-orients those particles and the data is gone: genuine demagnetisation, usually caused by magnetic bag and wallet clasps, money clips or name-badge magnets rather than phones. How easily it happens depends on coercivity — a LoCo stripe at about 300 Oe scrambles far more easily than a HiCo stripe at about 2,750 Oe. A failed swipe alone does not prove it, though: a dirty read head or a worn stripe produces the same symptom.

An RFID key card holds its data in a silicon chip connected to an antenna loop, with no magnetic storage anywhere in the chain, so it cannot be demagnetised by phones, magnets or airport scanners. If your property taps rather than swipes and cards still fail, the cause is something else: the troubleshooting guide ranks the seven causes that actually occur and gives a five-step front-desk check.

Three checks before reordering magstripe stock

Checks a front-desk or purchasing team can complete from the stock on hand. None of them replaces a test sample on your own encoder.

1. 1

   Read the current carton label or last invoice

   Look for the stripe grade: "LoCo" or "300 Oe" names the standard hotel grade, "HiCo" or "2750 Oe" the high-coercivity grade. A carton that names neither leaves the question open; do not infer the grade from the stripe’s colour.

2. 2

   Confirm the encoding format with the installer

   Ask which track and format the issuing system writes. Hotel systems typically use track 3 or a proprietary layout, and the encoder’s configuration — not the card — defines it. Record the lock model, encoder model and software version alongside the stripe grade.

3. 3

   Encode and swipe one test card before the print run

   Have your front desk encode a sample from the proposed stock and swipe representative doors, including reissue and expiry. A stripe that encodes but fails at the door points at grade, format or reader condition — settle that before approving a batch.

Which systems use magstripe cards

Reference pairings from the per-system guides on this site. Confirm the coercivity, stripe position and track layout from the current stock or installer before reordering.

• Onity (Honeywell): HT and ADVANCE properties that still swipe read magstripe; a retrofit can change the reader, so confirm what is actually on the doors.
• Saflok (dormakaba): Magstripe and mixed floors remain in service; record the reader type on each floor rather than assuming one card format serves the property.
• Kaba / dormakaba (dormakaba): Ilco 760 and 790 installations commonly run magstripe; confirm stripe requirements from the current stock.
• VingCard (ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions): Legacy magstripe properties confirm the stripe and encoding specification separately; mobile access does not replace the physical card requirement.
• Tesa (ASSA ABLOY): Legacy Tesa swipe locks read LoCo magstripe cards (300 Oe as a reference).
• CISA (Allegion): Legacy CISA magstripe lines, common in older European city hotels, run on LoCo cards.
• Orbita (Orbita Technology): Magstripe-era Orbita locks still run in some older estates on LoCo stock.
• Be-Tech (Be-Tech Security Systems): Legacy magstripe models remain in service alongside the RFID series.
• Hune (Hune): Magstripe-era models are still present in some older estates.
• Adel (Adel Group): The oldest Adel floors still in service run LoCo magstripe.

Mixed estates: a property upgrading floor by floor can run swipe and tap readers at once. Hybrid chip + magstripe cards can serve both during the transition, subject to site testing in both reader groups; the RFID upgrade guide covers the sequencing.

Ordering magstripe cards from Cardotel

• Stripe confirmed by sample: request magstripe test cards, encode them on your own encoder and swipe representative doors, including reissue and expiry, before approving the run.
• Indicative LoCo range in PVC: $0.03–$0.10 per card at 1,000–4,999 pieces per design, printing included, EXW Dongguan; HiCo stripes and hybrid chip + magstripe constructions are quoted per specification. The cost guide gives the full basis and the quantity bands; the exact price is set in a dated quote.
• What to send: lock and encoder model, issuing software, the coercivity (LoCo or HiCo) and encoding format from the current stock or installer, quantity per design, artwork status and destination. Mark unknown fields as not sure.
• Artwork clear of the stripe area: the CR80 design templates mark bleed, safe area and the magstripe zone.
• Mid-upgrade properties: hybrid chip + magstripe cards can be quoted for estates running swipe and RFID readers at once, subject to site testing in both reader groups.
• Swipe or tap not certain? The chip guide starts with exactly that check; for cards that stopped working, use the troubleshooting checklist.