In the Contactless tab you are able to test your hardware configuration for encoding contactless cards.
The Reader Info Section
- Reader type - Select the reader being used inside your printer or external
- Serial port - Select the serial port the reader communicates with (not applicable for PC/SC)
- Baud rate - Select the baud rate (speed) of the used reader
- PC/SC version - When PC/SC readers are used, select the version 1 or 2
- Reader pin code - If reader requires a pin for access, you have to enter it here
- Test reader with card movements - Set to True or False
In the Reader Info Section you can also find two buttons. The button Refresh refreshes the list of readers available in the Reader type drop down menu. When a new PC/SC reader is added to the system, this button needs to be pressed to make it available. The second button is the Test button. Depending on card movements setting, clicking this button will move the card to the encoding position of the printer that is selected in the Printer Options section and will test the reader.
In the reader test window it will indicate if it is able to communicate with the reader, and if a card is presented, can read the CSN (Chip Serial Number). These test are clearly marked with Red and Green lights.
When using printers that work with escape commands to move the card in the encoding position, there is no information shared about the exact position of the card in the printer. For these printers we need to set the Time delays in the Time delays section.
There are basically two settings that can be entered; Time delay before encoding and Time delay after printing. The average time delay after printing is round 30 seconds (30.000 ms). On the the moment that the card is electronically processed, it will be set to print position. On that moment the next card will be prepared for encoding, when printing multiple cards of course. After 30 seconds, independently of the state the printer is in, CardExchange® Producer or TrustID will instruct the reader to access the card. You may have to have to play a little with these time delays to get the best results. Don't forget to make sure to check the Configuration settings in the Advanced options for using Factory or non-factory build in readers.
Factory build in readers normally work via SDK's (Software Development Kits) that give full control of the printer and time delays are normally never needed and can stay in the default settings of 2000 ms.
1 sec = 1000 ms
Of course, all these settings can apply for all cards or the selected card only.
For more information about Contactless encoding, please see our Using Contactless Encoding section of this Help file.