CardMask tags are always included in both new media layouts and reload layouts. However, that doesn’t mean they are always used. By default, the behavior of the Axess Smart Printer is to erase a card prior to printing and encoding, but ONLY if there are no valid segments found on the card. If a valid segment is located, then no erasing or printing occurs (only encoding is performed assuming a segment is available). The default behavior of always erasing prior to printing is very useful, especially when recycling previously used cards for new media purchases. This can, however, impact printing speed. To turn off the default behavior of erasing prior to printing in order to increase printing speed, insert <BlankType>1<BlankType> tags in the appropriate new media layouts (it is recommended that reload products always perform an erase/print).