What is a magnetic stripe?
A. A magnetic stripe is the black or brown stripe that you see on your credit card, or maybe the back of your airline ticket or transit card. The stripe is made up of tiny magnetic particles in a resin. The particles are either applied directly to the card or made into a stripe on a plastic backing which is applied to the card. The material used to make the particles defines the Coercivity (see below) of the stripe. Standard low coercivity stripes use iron oxide as the material to make the particles, high coercivity stripes are made from other materials like barium ferrite. These materials are mixed with a resin to form a uniform slurry which is then coated onto a substrate. In the case of a credit card or similar application the slurry is usually coated onto a wide plastic sheet and dried. The coating is very thin and the plastic allows the coating to be handled. It is then sliced into stripe widths and applied to the card during the card manufacturing process. The methods of applicat
