Sourcing guide

RFID access-control formats & reader compatibility

Access-control readers do not all speak the same language. Before you order credentials, you need to know which frequency band your readers use and which encoding family they expect — get that wrong and a technically perfect tag simply will not open the door. This guide maps the credential families you will meet in the field to the products we manufacture, so you can specify with confidence.

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Credential families and what we supply

Match your reader ecosystem to a chip and form factor before you order.

125 kHz · LF

Reader ecosystem	Frequency	How it encodes	What RFIDPrime supplies
EM / EM4100-compatible prox Open format	125 kHz	Read-only 64-bit serial number, the most widely deployed LF standard. TK4100 and EM4200 are drop-in compatible.	Cards, keyfobs, coin tags, wristbands and patrol points with TK4100 or EM4200 — our highest-volume LF line.
HID Prox (125 kHz) Open format	125 kHz	Wiegand-format prox with a site code and card number; 26-bit H10301 is the most common layout. The data is not encrypted.	T5577-based cards and fobs that emulate 125 kHz prox formats, supplied blank for your own encoding.
Indala (40134) · AWID Open format	125 kHz	Proprietary LF encodings; the 26-bit Indala layout is also catalogued as format 40134. Both are commonly read by multi-format readers.	Blank T5577 credentials in card, fob and clamshell form for integrators who encode in-house.
Kantech ioProx · Keri · Pyramid Open format	125 kHz	Vendor-specific LF families — ioProx uses XSF (39-bit) and KSF (34-bit); Keri legacy credentials use the K-format also branded MS/Megastar; Farpointe Pyramid is an OEM 125 kHz line.	Blank LF card, fob and clamshell bodies; encoding is performed by the system owner or integrator.
Secura Key Radio Key · DoorKing · IDTeck · Rosslare · Mircom · PDK Open format	125 kHz	Building-entry and gate ecosystems widely installed in residential and commercial properties, most running fixed-ID LF credentials.	Matching form factors — round and teardrop fobs, clamshell cards, coin tags — in TK4100 or T5577.

HF / UHF

Reader ecosystem	Frequency	How it encodes	What RFIDPrime supplies
MIFARE Classic 1K / 4K Secured platform	13.56 MHz	ISO/IEC 14443 A with 1 KB or 4 KB EEPROM in key-protected sectors — the most common HF credential in transport, campus and e-wallet systems.	MIFARE-compatible S50/S70 and Fudan F08 in cards, fobs, epoxy tags and wristbands; sector data written to your key list on request.
HID iCLASS · Seos · MIFARE DESFire Secured platform	13.56 MHz	Secured smartcard platforms using mutual authentication and encrypted data. Credentials are issued under the system owner’s keys and cannot be re-encoded by third parties.	We do not clone secured credentials. We supply compatible blank form factors and NFC alternatives for new deployments.
NFC Forum Type 2 (NTAG213/215/216) Open format	13.56 MHz	Smartphone-readable tags with 144–888 bytes of user memory for URLs, contact cards and app triggers.	NTAG213 in epoxy tags, smart rings, cards and stickers — plus anti-metal versions with ferrite backing.
ISO/IEC 15693 (I-Code SLIX) Open format	13.56 MHz	Vicinity standard read at longer range than 14443 — common in libraries, laundry and asset tracking.	I-Code SLIX laundry buttons, coin tags and cards on request.
UHF EPC Gen2 (ISO 18000-6C) Open format	860–960 MHz	Long-range, multi-tag reading with a 96-bit EPC plus optional user memory.	UHF inlays in coin tags, windshield labels, laundry and animal tags.

Contact

Reader ecosystem	Frequency	How it encodes	What RFIDPrime supplies
iButton (Dallas 1-Wire) Open format	—	A contact chip in a stainless steel can — touched to a probe rather than read over the air. Not an RFID technology.	Not manufactured by RFIDPrime. Where a site is migrating away from iButton, we supply LF/HF replacements.

Brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe reader compatibility. RFIDPrime is an independent manufacturer and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of the companies named above.

Background

Understanding RFID credentials

How a passive RFID credential works

The reader radiates an electromagnetic field. When a credential enters that field, the coil inside harvests just enough energy to wake the chip — no battery is involved. The chip then modulates the field to send its data back: on legacy 125 kHz formats that is a fixed serial number, while 13.56 MHz smartcards can exchange far more data and run a challenge-response authentication first. The controller compares what it receives against its authorised-user database and decides whether to release the door.

Open formats vs. secured credentials

Most legacy 125 kHz credentials transmit their identifier in the clear, which is why rewritable chips such as the T5577 can be programmed to present the same number. Modern 13.56 MHz platforms — DESFire, iCLASS, Seos — encrypt the exchange and authenticate with keys held by the system owner, so credentials can only be issued by whoever controls those keys. We supply blank and customer-encoded credentials for open formats, and blank compatible form factors for secured platforms; we do not duplicate credentials belonging to a secured system on behalf of third parties.

Specifying an order: what we need from you

Send the reader make and model (or a photo of the reader and of an existing credential), the frequency if you know it, the quantity, the form factor you want and any printing or numbering requirement. If you need cards encoded, supply the UID list or sector data as a spreadsheet. Our engineers confirm compatibility before tooling, and we recommend approving a sample against your own reader before committing to volume.