Considerations for setting up a card reader

Keyboard emulation mode captures and parses data from the card as if it were being entered from a keyboard. Kofax card readers support keyboard emulation mode.

This mode is preferred for the following reasons:

• It does not truncate long IDs.

• Newer card readers with decoding keys can read encrypted cards.

• Can support multiple card types.

During the card swipe, only the identification data is read from the card, and there is no additional parsing of data. If additional card ID parsing is required, contact your reseller or Support for assistance.

CCID mode reads the string directly from the card and matches it to a user database for authentication. You can use CCID mode with card readers that do not support keyboard emulation. CCID mode is supported by HID OMNIKEY and Y Soft version 2.0 card readers. (Y Soft version 3 card readers use keyboard emulation mode.)

When using CCID mode with these types of cards, note the following:

• Y Soft version 2.0 readers return IDs in hex format and have a limit of 32 bits. If the string is longer than 32 bits, the data gets truncated, which can cause IDs not to match database records. Use ID strings that are less than 32 bits.

• For HID, you can import and match an existing user ID database in Equitrac.

  Y Soft version 2 and CCID cards do not support this functionality. Users must use card self-registration the first time they swipe the card. Enable card self-registration in Equitrac as shown in Configuring card self-registration.

• Only one card type is supported per device.

For Konica Minolta devices, a technician will need to install and configure the card reader for you. During installation, the technician can use the software provided with a configuration tool or the Kofax Reader Maintainer.

For card readers that use CCID mode, a loadable driver must be installed by the technician. The documentation provided with the card reader provides instructions.