Magnetic ink character recognition

The technology allows MICR readers to scan and read the information directly into a data-collection device.

Unlike barcode and similar technologies, MICR characters can be read easily by humans.

[1] In practice, this does not create particular problems as cheques and other vouchers do not usually flow out of a particular jurisdiction.

Israel is the only country that can use both fonts simultaneously, though the practice makes the system significantly less efficient.

[citation needed] CMC-7 has a barcode format, with every character having two distinct large gaps in different places, as well as distinct patterns in between, to minimize any chance for character confusion while reading magnetically; however, these bars are too close and narrow to be reliably recognised at a typical scan resolution if falling back to optical scanning.

CMC-7 can also produce superficially successful, but incorrect, scans of upside-down MICR lines.

In scanning, the document is passed through a MICR reader, which performs two functions: magnetization of the ink, and detection of the characters.

As each character passes over the head, it produces a unique waveform that can be easily identified by the system.

[9] OCR and MICR characters have been included in the Unicode Standard since at least version 1.1 (June 1993).

[11] Per the Unicode Stability Policy, the existing names remain, allowing their use as stable identifiers.

[13] Additionally, all four characters have informative (non-formal) aliases in the Unicode charts: "transit", "amount", "on us", and "dash" respectively.

[14] Before the mid-1940s, cheques were processed manually using the Sort-A-Matic or Top Tab Key method.

By the mid-1950s, the Stanford Research Institute and General Electric[15] Computer Laboratory had developed the first automated system to process cheques using MICR.

In addition, MICR remained machine readable, even through overstamping, marking, mutilation and more.