IC Cards - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What type of IC Cards will work in FS-Series printers?

  • Industry standard SRAM or Flash memory IC Cards which conform to the PCMCIA 1.0 specification may be used. IC Cards are further designated by "Type" which indicates thickness. Only Type I cards will fit in the printer's IC Card slot. Read on for more specific limitations.
Q. What is the difference between SRAM and Flash memory IC Cards?
  • SRAM IC Cards contain battery maintained memory which may be written and rewritten indefinitely until the battery fails. Flash memory IC Cards can be written a limited number of times (about 10,000). SRAM battery life varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The SRAM IC Cards sold by Kyocera recharge from the printer's power, thus as long as the IC Card is plugged into the printer, the battery will last indefinitely.

    SRAM IC Cards can be appended to while Flash IC Cards must be erased and rewritten entirely.

    Most importantly, SRAM IC Cards can be programmed by the printer while Flash IC Cards can only be programmed with an IC Card Reader Writer.

    Because of the greater versatility of SRAM IC Cards, Kyocera only sells SRAM IC Cards and does not carry Flash IC Cards.
Q. Why doesn't the printer recognize my IC Card?
OR
Q. Why does my IC Card work in this printer but not in that printer?
  • All IC Cards contain a Common Memory area where the data is stored. IC Cards may also contain a separate memory area called Attribute Memory. Kyocera printers require IC Cards to have the Attribute Memory area (although some models are more forgiving than others). IC Cards also contain what is called CIS data. CIS (Card Information Structure) data includes information about the IC Card such as size, type, etc. CIS data may be stored in the Attribute Memory area, the Common Memory area, or may be missing from the IC Card altogether. The presence or absence of Attribute Memory and CIS data affect whether an IC Card is recognized by the printer.

    This complex information about CIS data and Attribute Memory begs the following questions.
Q. How can I tell if my IC Card has Attribute Memory or CIS data?
OR
Q. What do I do when my IC Card doesn't work on / isn't recognized by my printer?
  • Programmed Cards

    IC Cards that are programmed (e.g. with ICLink) and are working on one printer model will work on all other printer models with the following exception: IC Cards without Attribute Memory will not be recognized on the FS-1550A, FS-1550+ or FS-3400A. If you have an IC Card that works on another model but is not recognized on one of these three, contact your IC Card vendor and ask to exchange your IC Card for one with Attribute Memory. (Or buy your IC Cards from Kyocera and this won't happen!)

  • Brand New Cards

    Inserting a new IC Card into the printer will cause 1 of 3 results; 1) the printer will display "Format Error IC Card", 2) the printer will recognize the card normally, or 3) the printer will not recognize the card at all. Dealing with the Format Error is covered in a later question. To see if an IC Card is recognized by the printer, press Mode Select and press + or - until IC Card is displayed. If there is a greater than sign next to IC Card (IC Card >), then the IC Card is recognized by the printer.

    If the IC Card is not recognized, send the following command to format the IC Card: !R! ICCD F, A; EXIT; (This command may be sent from a DOS prompt by preceding it with: echo>lpt1. Also this command will not work on the FS-1500A. Formatting an IC Card on the FS-1500A is covered in a later question.) Sending this command should cause a format verification page to print and the IC Card should now be recognized by the printer. If it is still not recognized on the FS-1550A, FS-1550+, or FS-3400A, the IC Card is missing the Attribute Memory area.

    The following is a technical explanation of what determines whether the printer recognizes the IC Card:
  1. An IC Card without CIS Data in either Attribute Memory or Common Memory will not be recognized by the printer.
  2. An IC Card with CIS Data in Attribute Memory but not in Common Memory is considered unformatted and will cause a Format Error on the printer's front panel.
  3. An IC Card with CIS Data in Common Memory is considered formatted. Formatting an IC Card with ICCD F,A; or from the printer's front panel causes CIS data to be written to the IC Card Common Memory area.
  4. An IC Card without Attribute Memory is not recognized by the 1550A, 1550+, or 3400A, even when CIS Data is in Common Memory.
Q. Why can't I write to my IC Card?
  1. Make sure that you have an SRAM IC Card - Flash IC Cards cannot by programmed by the printer.
  2. Find out if the IC Card is recognized by the printer as described in the preceding answer. If the IC Card is not recognized, it will not be possible to write to the IC Card. Follow the instructions in the preceding answer to get the printer to recognize the IC Card.
  3. Make sure the IC Card is not write protected. Press Mode Select and scroll to IC Card. Press > Form Feed to enter the IC Card submenu. Press + or - to scroll through the choices, List of Partitions, etc. If Format is not one of the choices then the IC Card is write protected. There is a small tab on the IC Card which controls the write protect status of the card.
Q. Why doesn't writing the IC Card on the FS-1550A, FS-1550+, FS-1600A, FS-1600+, FS-3400A, FS-3600A, or FS-3600+ work with ICLink?
OR
Q. Why does my printer display F3 Call Service Person when I try to write the IC Card with ICLink?
OR
Q. When I try to program my IC Card with ICLink, why do I get a printout like this: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR etc.
  • Programming IC Cards on the FS-1550A, FS-1550+, FS-1600A, FS-1600+, FS-3400A, FS-3600A, and FS-3600+ with ICLink requires using version 2.12 of ICLink. 1.x versions of ICLink definitely will not work on these models and may cause the F3 error.

    In addition, these printers must be set to normal parallel mode (except the FS-1550A which only supports normal mode) to work with 2.x versions of ICLink (repeated characters is one symptom that may occur if not in normal mode). To set normal parallel mode, press Mode Select and scroll to Interface. If Parallel is not already displayed, press Enter and + or - until Parallel is displayed and press Enter again. Once Interface Parallel is displayed, press Form Feed, then Enter. Press + or - until Normal is displayed and press Enter. Press Mode Select to exit the menu and turn the printer off and then on.
Q. Why does my printer display "Format Error IC Card" when I insert my IC Card?
  • The IC Card must be formatted before it can be used. To format the IC Card, press Mode Select, then + or - until IC Card is displayed. Press Form Feed to enter the IC Card submenu. Press + or - until Format is displayed. Press Enter twice to Format.

    IC Cards purchased from Kyocera are pre-formatted.
Q. How do I format an IC Card on the FS-1500A?
  • IC Cards cannot be formatted per se on the FS-1500A; there is no Format command on the IC Card menu and the ICCD command is not supported. Even if it is not formatted, the IC Card can be programmed on the FS-1500A with ICLink 1.x versions or using the FS-Series Level I selection in 2.x versions. The FS-1500A will also recognize IC Cards programmed on any other model.
Q. Why don't my fonts, forms, signatures, or other macros print unless I go into the IC Card menu and manually read the partitions?
OR
Q. How do I read the IC Card into the printer's memory at power up?
  • Data can be stored on IC Cards in two different formats, in a Font partition or in a Host Data partition. Only fonts can be stored in a Font partition, and Font partitions can only be created with ICLink.

    Font partitions are automatically read when the printer is powered on and the fonts are available on all interfaces. If the IC Card is inserted while the printer is on, the fonts will not be available until Read Fonts is selected from the IC Card menu or the printer is powered off / on.

    Host Data partitions are NOT read automatically at power up. A single Host Data partition can be read automatically into the default interface by sending the following command: !R! frpo i0, "partition name";exit;

    Please note that the character following the "i" is the numeral zero. Also note that the partition name is case sensitive. The factory default interface is Parallel. If you want the partition read into a different interface, you must change the default interface M2 parameter, e.g. !R! frpo m2, 3; exit; sets the Option interface as the default. A partition cannot be set to automatically load into more than one interface.
Q. In ICLink 2.x what level printer should I choose and what are the differences between the levels?
  • If programming on an FS-1500A, you must select Level 1. Level 1 programs the IC Card with a command that is not supported on many of the other models. For all models other than the FS-1500A, use Level 2. Level 2 programs the IC Card with a command that is not supported by the FS-1500A. Level 3 supports a new partition type for macros, but it is not correctly implemented and should not be used.
Q. How do I create a form on an IC card?
  • Forms can be created and stored on an IC Card using either Prescribe or PCL commands. Calling the form with PCL is much more difficult, so Prescribe is the preferred command language.
Creating a form using Prescribe can be done three ways.
  1. Write the Prescribe code by hand. Once you get the hang of it, this is easier than it sounds.
  2. Using JetForm Design. The form is designed using JetForm's Design program and is then printed to a file using the Kyocera driver. The output file must then be modified slightly to include only the form macro. The form is then copied to the IC Card using ICLink or the ICCD command.
  3. Using FormsDesigner. FormsDesigner is a form software package from the UK which has excellent support for Kyocera printers. Forms Designer was previously distributed in the U.S. by Prisma Software. Prisma has left the software business, so FormsDesigner, Inc. is currently setting up another U.S. distributor. This will be concluded in tandem with the release of the new 32 bit Windows version of FormsDesigner in June. In the current version of FormsDesigner, the form can be designed and written directly to the IC Card from within the program.
Once the form is on the IC Card, it is then printed in one of two ways.
  1. Prescribe macro call command (e.g. !R! CALL FRM1; EXIT;) must be included with each page of the data that you want printed with the form.
  2. The form can be set up as an auto macro so it will print on every page until the auto macro is disabled or the printer is turned off. The auto macro is useful when it is difficult to insert the macro call in the data stream. Usually, when auto macros will be implemented, it is best to include the auto macro setup on the IC Card.
As an alternative to designing or programming your own IC Cards, a number of Kyocera resellers offer this service.