A 45-column card for the Powers-Samas tabulating machine, which was mechanical rather than electrical like IBM tabulators. To avoid IBM patents, Powers-Samas cards were punched with round holes. A card was read by pushing a block of metal pins against it. Pins that passed through would actuate mechanical linkages that incremented counters, operated printers, etc.

The mechanism could be quite complex and required skilled maintenance. It was also loud—in the words of a user at one installation: "Given all the metal on metal, the cranking of hundreds of rods, and hammering of printheads, noise levels in a machine room with a dozen or more tabulators (plus sorters etc.) can perhaps be imagined." Powers-Samas provided a special tool to clear "card wrecks", i.e., jammed cards.