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An encoding profile describes what CaptrID writes onto a card’s chip when it prints. Define it once, attach it to a Master List, and every card produced from that list is encoded identically. Without a profile, printing produces a card with your design on it and nothing on the chip.
Encoding profiles configure the encoding. Actually writing to a card needs the CaptrID print utility, a small desktop application that talks to your printer and encoder over USB. It is not a download — contact us and we will provide it.You can build and save profiles before you have the utility; they simply will not do anything until a machine is set up to print.
You will find them under Encoding Profiles in the sidebar.

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Choosing a card technology

This is the first decision and the one worth getting right, because it depends on what your card is for and what your other systems already read.
If the card has to open a door, ask whoever maintains your access control what their readers expect before building a profile. Getting the technology wrong means reprinting the batch.

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Tap-to-web (NDEF)

The simplest option: the chip holds a URL, and tapping the card with a phone opens it. Point it at the person’s profile page and a tap becomes an instant credential check. Build the URL from a template with placeholders that fill in per person.
A tap-to-web card is readable by anyone with a phone — and rewritable by them too, unless you lock it.If the cards leave your building, add a 4-byte password block under Advanced to lock writes. Otherwise someone can point your card at a URL of their choosing.

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MIFARE Classic 1K

A 1K card is divided into sectors, each with blocks that hold data. Tap a sector in the editor to bind its blocks to fields from your Master List. Two things the editor enforces, both physical properties of the card rather than choices:
  • Block 0 is the manufacturer block and holds the card’s UID. It is not writable.
  • Block 3 of every sector is the trailer, holding keys and access bits. It cannot hold your data.

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Keys

Key A authenticates every sector. The factory default is FF FF FF FF FF FF, and for a simple card that is fine. Choose an organisation key instead when the card controls access to something that matters. An organisation key means a card cannot be read or rewritten by anyone with an off-the-shelf reader.
Keys are locked on existing profiles — you cannot change the key on a profile that has already produced cards, because the cards in circulation still use the old one. Clone the profile to use a different key, and be clear about which batch has which.

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DESFire EV3

DESFire works in one of two modes:
  • Tap-to-web — an NDEF URL, as above
  • Data files — structured data in applications
For data files, each application needs a 6-hex-digit AID (3 bytes) and at least one file. File IDs run from 0 to 31. Bind each file to a field from your list. DESFire has its own card-level key for create and format operations. As with MIFARE, the factory default suits simple cards; an organisation key suits cards that gate access.

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Field bindings

Whatever the technology, encoding comes down to field bindings: which field from your Master List goes where on the chip, and how it is encoded. Each binding needs a logical key — the name your other systems reference. It is auto-filled from the source field name, and you only rename it to reuse a key across lists. If two lists both produce cards a door controller reads as employee_id, give both bindings that same logical key. Preview the encoded bytes before saving. It is much cheaper than discovering a mis-encoding after printing three hundred cards.

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Magnetic stripe

For cards that carry both a chip and a stripe, or a stripe alone. Set the track data as your legacy system expects it.
Magnetic-stripe encoding is proven at the printer but not yet wired end-to-end. Bench-test it before relying on it for a production run.

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Archiving a profile

Archiving stops a profile appearing in the print wizard. Cards already produced with it are unaffected — they carry what they were encoded with, and archiving does not reach out to change them.

Card Printers

Registering the printer and encoder that use these profiles

Printing ID Cards

The print wizard, and exporting print-ready PDFs

Creating Card Templates

The visual design, as opposed to the chip contents

Support

Getting the print utility set up