Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or popularly known as MICR, is a standardized printing and character recognition technology primarily used by the banking industry. The technology allows for the speedy processing of bank cheques and for other printing purposes that require some level of security. For most people, this technology seems obscure. Nevertheless, recent advancements in MICR printing are making it even more relevant for a more diverse set of functions.
The Need for MICR Technology
Why is there a need for MICR in the first place? To answer this we need to look at its predecessor, the barcode. Barcodes remain an industry standard for faster and secure processing of various items and documents. It is a very familiar mark since most goods sold at retail stores are tagged with barcodes. It is certainly more convenient and quicker to shop at an establishment that has point-of-sales systems that read off barcodes.
The same benefit applies for MICR technology. Documents can be processed faster and with a level of security and reliability that is more acceptable than if it were processed manually. The main difference between the two technologies is that MICR can be readily recognized by humans unlike barcodes.
Magnetic Ink Technology in a Nutshell
First developed in 1956, magnetic ink character recognition has grown more reliable over the years. The process starts with the special MICR toner or ink, which contains iron oxide. This allows the printing of the characters to be magnetized or polarized.
The next element of the process involves the standard fonts used for printing cheques. The most commonly used are known as E-13B and CMC-7. If you examine these fonts from right to left, you would see that each character is completely unique in form.
The printed cheques will then be scanned using a special magnetic reader. This device will be able to distinguish the different waveforms generated by the magnetized character shapes. Checking and sorting of cheques thus becomes a breeze.
The use of special software and dedicated printer ensures that the quality of printing is flawless, eliminating reading errors. However, there are already MICR toners for popular laser printer brands like HP and Lexmark. Toner cartridges that are MICR-compatible are understandably more expensive than regular toner cartridges for commercial and home-use laser printers; even though they beat the price of MICR dedicated equipment and supplies.
Lately however, magnetic ink cartridges for inkjet printers have become available in the market. If you find a need to use MICR ink and toner cartridges for your regular laser or inkjet printers, make sure that they are of high quality and from a reliable vendor. You don't want printer ink drops or streaks to appear on your documents or cheques.
Although still in its infancy, magnetized ink for consumer-grade printers are expected to open up multiple opportunities for the technology to flourish. Further development for this product line will surely open up the demand and drive prices down for MICR toner and ink cartridges in the foreseeable future.
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