What are the dimensions of the PVC card?
The size of standard PVC card is:
- length: 8.6 mm
- height: 5.4 mm
- thickness: 0.76 mm or 0.82 (chip cards)
The standard defining the physical dimensions of the PVC card is ISO 7816-1-2-3.
What is the difference between the magnetic stripe HiCo or Loco?
There are two types of magnetic stripes most diffused: the HiCo (High Coercivity) and Loco (Low Coercivity). The main difference between the two is the duration of magnetism: the data encoded on a HiCo last a few years, while they last much less on LoCo.
The LoCo are also more sensitive to electromagnetic fields (such as mobile phones) and get demagnetized easier. The LoCo cost on average € 0.01 less than the HiCo.
Almost all readers on the market can read both HiCo and LoCo, but not all coders can write to both types of magnetic stripes (the intensity of the magnetic field provided by the encoding head for magnetizing the data, is different).
The HiCo are easily recognizable because they have a black colour (such as ATM) and are also known as "high intensity cards".
The LoCo are characterized by a brownish color and are marked with a magnetic band of "low intensity".
How is a RFID badge made?
The RFID badge has the same shape and size of the classic card as ATM, PVC or fidelity card.
Compared to the other card RFID is different because in the plastic there are "merged" the RFID chip and its antenna. Being inside of the plastic, they are invisible at first sight.
The RFID chip has a small size which is of around 2x3mm surface. Instead, the antenna usually has two types of layout: either it has a rectangular shape and runs close to the edge of the card or it has a circular shape and occupies about half of the surface.
Usually by putting a RFID badge against the light we can see how the antenna is made and where is the chip.
What is a smart card?
The smart card, literally considered as a "smart card", is a piece of PVC on the size of a credit card (85x55x0,82mm) that has an integrated chip. The chip may have a capacity of storing and processing data. Smart cards are used for many applications: for telephone charges, for access control, loyalty circuits, digital signature applications etc.
What are the cryptographic smart cards?
The cryptographic smart card is a microprocessor smart card with a cryptographic coprocessor. This gives the opportunity to perform cryptographic operations on-board, or directly from the cryptographic chip.
The smart cards with the support of encryption are born to meet the needs of applications of information security, in particular they are used in the "strong authentication" and digital signature applications.
What are the types of memory smart cards?
The memory smart cards (SC) diversify for:
- The size of the chip memory; these are called free memory smart cards.
- The protection of read/write memory; in this case they are indicated as protected memory smart cards.
