Abstract: A financial transaction card 2, such as a check guarantee and/or credit card includes a tagging element 4 of a high permeability, low coercivity magnetic material, such as Ni Fe. The tagging element 4 is arranged in magnetic communication with a magnetic stripe 10 of relatively hard magnetic material or in a region of the card 2 used to record identifying data, such as user details, so as to be deactivated when the user details are recorded on the card 2. The provision of the element 4 enables card blanks to be monitored by an electronic article surveillance system during manufacture or prior to issue.

Abstract: Coating apparatus for a thin plastics web comprises a coating deposition station for applying a coating to the web by vapor deposition and a support for supporting the web at the coating deposition station. The apparatus includes a device for urging gas into the region where the thin plastics web converges with the support to improve the thermal coupling between the web and the support and also to reduce the coefficient of friction between the web and support. The gas enables the coating to be applied by vapor deposition at coating speeds of up to 90 meters per minute without deformation of the thin plastics web.

Abstract: An electromagnetic article, such as a responder tag for detection by an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system, is fabricated by forming a deposit of a relatively low coercivity high permeability magnetic material on a substrate 22 under the influence of an applied magnetic field so as to provide the deposit with easy and hard axes of magnetization. During deposition the substrate is subjected to a mechanical tension 32 so as to provide the deposit with an inherent benign strain substantially aligned with one of the axes of magnetization. The inherent benign strain is arranged to dominate any detrimental strain to which the responder tag may be subjected during use, enabling detection by the EAS system to be maintained.

Abstract: A tag for use with an electromagnetic identification system includes a magnetic control component 1, having alternating regions 10, 20 of, respectively, high and medium coercivity material, and an element 30 of magnetically soft material. The element 30 may be polarized so as to deactivate the tag by, for example, selectively demagnetizing the regions 20 of medium coercivity, such as by exposing the tag to an alternating magnetic field having an initial field strength which is intermediate between the coercivity of the regions 10, 20, which may be formed as a striped coating or from a number of discrete magnetic components.

Abstract: Transverse bowing of a plastics web coated with a magnetic thin metal film is substantially eliminated by laterally stretching the coated web such that the lateral stress applied to the metal film exceeds the tensile strength of the film and the lateral stress applied to the plastics web lies within the yield point of the plastics material. The coated web is stretched by passage over a curved roll adjusted to provide a lateral strain of at least 1% and typically 1.8% in the web, and such stretching may cause a pattern of interlaced micro-cracks to occur in the metal film. Recording tapes slit from such stretched webs exhibit negligible cupping, and the pressure of micro-cracks has no adverse effect on recording performance or wear.