Quality Credit Card Swiper out in the Market

Credit card swipers, which are also known as credit card readers, magnetic stripe or swipe readers, are needed if one wants to accept credit cards at the Point of Sale (POS). These swipers come in different kinds. Some can be attached via keyboard wedge while others are connected to a serial port or even a USB.

A prime example of the device is the HP Mini Magnetic Card swiper. With plug and play technology, the credit card swiper can be connected to the computer’s USB port. There are no issues on software compatibility, although it seems that depending on the installed application a few modifications on the settings would be necessary. Due to its size, the HP Mini Magnetic Card swiper is recommended in places where space is an issue. It measures 3.5 inches long and has a very small footprint. It also comes with brackets for easy mounting on an HP touch screen monitor. The device measures a mere 1.1 in x 3.5 in x 1.3 in and weighs roughly around 4.6 oz. It reads ISO card tracks 1, 2 and 3 at a read speed or 3 to 60 ips (7.62 to 152.4 cm/sec).

Another major player in the credit card swiper market is the EzWriter from IDTech. This machine can read and write data for up to three tracks in one quick swipe of a card. At the same time it can also verify the encoding with that one swipe. The machine comes with its own application named as “Workshop.” The application allows the device to read and write at fast speeds. IDTech designed the machine with a deep card slot and a die-cast housing which offers stability, reliability and accuracy. Among the magnetic stripes it can read include cards, tickets, badges and passbooks. The machine boasts of an operating life exceeding 1,000,000 card swipes.

One other compact swiper is the Logic Controls’ MR1000 magnetic card swipe reader. Measuring a length of 100mm, the device can easily be used in POS and desktop applications. It can be used alone or attached to a monitor or touch screen. It easily reads all combinations of tracks 1, 2 and 3 through a built-in decoder. It also follows a GUI-based programming. Other features include stainless steel card guide, bi-directional reading head that lasts 1 million swipes, and supports USB/PS2. To avoid transmission errors, Logic Controls find it fit to equip MR1000 series a wide range of reading speeds. The easy to operate buttons and menus allow the device to be used by without long and elaborate discussions about the application and hardware.

For general POS, access control and self service applications, the MSR120 Programmable Swiper by Unitech is probably the best choice. The device claims to provide all the necessary solutions to whatever magnetic swipe reader needs one might have. This is connected via the USB port. No need for any programming or even driver installation since it is equipped with low-power CMOS. The swiper is also a bi-directional one which allows cards to be swiped and read in both directions. LED indicates if the read was a good one or a bad one.