Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR (pronounced my-ker or micker), a character recognition technology adopted mainly by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of checks. The process was demonstrated to the American Bankers Association in July 1956, and was almost universally employed in the U.S. by 1963. On September 12, 1961, Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) was awarded U.S. Patent Number 3,000,000 for invention of MICR; the patent was assigned to General Electric. MICR is standardized by ISO 1004. The major MICR fonts used around the world are E-13B and CMC-7. The E-13B font was chosen by George Jacobi, who was working for General Electric at the time.[citation needed]Bull. Almost all Indian, US, Canadian and UK checks now include MICR characters at the bottom of the paper in the E-13B font. Some countries, including France, use the CMC-7 font developed by the 14 characters of the E-13B font. The control characters bracketing each numeral block are (from left to right) transit, on-us, amount, and dash.
An example of the CMC-7 MICR font. Shown are the 15 characters of the CMC-7 font. The control characters after the numerals are (from left to right) internal, terminator, amount, routing, and an unused character. 
In addition to their unique fonts, MICR characters are printed with a magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide. Magnetic printing is used so that the characters can be reliably read into a system, even when they have been overprinted with other marks such as cancellation stamps. The characters are first magnetized in the plane of the paper with a North pole on the right of each MICR character. Then they are usually read with a MICR read head which is a device similar in nature to the playback head in an audio tape recorder, and the letterforms' bulbous shapes ensure that each letter produces a unique waveform for the character recognition system to provide a reliable character result. Examples of MICR waveforms have been developed and can be displayed using spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel or compatible.
The error rate for the magnetic scanning of the numbers at the bottom of a typical check is smaller than with optical character recognition systems. For well printed MICR, the can't read rate is usually less than 1% while the substitution rate (misread rate) is in the order of 1 per 100,000 characters.
In 1960s, the MICR fonts became a symbol of modernity, leading to the creation of lookalike "computer" typefaces that imitated the appearance of the MICR fonts, but, unlike real MICR fonts, had a full character repertoire.
In 1991, Advantage Laser Products became the first toner cartridge manufacturer to offer MICR toner in lieu of MICR Ink for desktop laser printers. This revolutionized the check printing business. Prior to 1991 checks were printed with magnetic ink on an offset press. With the advent of MICR toner, checks could be printed on almost any desktop laser printer.
WHAT IS MICR?
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is the common machine language specification for the paper-based payment transfer system. It consists of magnetic ink printed characters of a special design which can be recognized by high speed magnetic recognition equipment. This series of readable characters provides the receiving party with information needed for processing the check including: check number, bank routing number, checking account number and in some cases the amount of the check.
MICR characters are printed in the form of either an E-13B or CMC-7 Font. Each font series is made up of a series of numbers and symbols specifically designed for readability on check sorting machines which read at extremely high rates of speed. The symbols provide a beginning and ending point for each group of numbers allowing the machine to quickly determine what each series of number signifies. Line placement, character placement, skew and quality are several critical components of printing MICR; the line must be precisely positioned in the MICR Clear Band area. To create consistency in the check clearing process it is critical that each character is readable and that the printing methods are reliable.
MICR, Magnetic Ink Character Recognition:
MICR is the technology which allows the characters printed on the bottom of the check to be read by reader-sorter machines. A special formulation of ink or toner, MICR can be printed with impact machines, on a printing press, or a laser printer.
The magnetically charged printing allows each character to be recognized based on the magnetic signal created by each character’s unique shape. These shapes create a unique magnetic “fingerprint” which allows the reader-sorter machines to recognize each character. Since MICR is a machine readable process, it is imperative that each character is accurately placed and is free of irregular marks or voids. The uniformity of print is another key component to readability.
MICR Printing:
Checks can be ordered with the MICR Characters already printed in the clear band of each check. This is known as a pre-printed check; these checks are typically printed by a production house utilizing high speed impact equipment and ship based on minimum order quantities. Pre -printed checks can be costly if purchased in small quantities.
Another option is to order blank checks where the MICR Characters are printed at the same time you print the checks. Other checks are typically printing using a laser printer on a blank check stock, in this case the MICR line is printed at the point in time when the check is created and the MICR line often contains the amount. When check printing is done in-house it is important to verify that all of the necessary elements for printing the MICR Line are in place. In order to printer your checks you will need a check writing software, which provides check formatting, blank check stock, MICR Toner, as well as a printer capable of printing MICR.
MICR Toner:
MICR Toner provides the ability to print checks on demand using a desktop laser printer with blank check stock. The toners are formulated with a special grade of magnetic iron oxide
which provides the characters with a magnetic signal. Should you attempt to print checks with standard (non-magnetic) toner the characters will appear visually to be correct, but they will not be magnetically readable by a reader-sorter. The net results are check rejects at the clearing center and often times additional check processing charges imposed by the banks. Some areas to consider when deciding which MICR Toner cartridge to purchase include: cartridge type (new or remanufactured), cartridge brand (manufacturer) and cartridge price. Purchasing premium cartridges, a cartridge which has not been previously used, typically provides more reliable cartridge performance and consistent yields (or total number of prints per cartridge). When purchasing a remanufactured cartridge, yields and consistency can often be compromised.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR (pronounced my-ker or micker), a character recognition technology adopted mainly by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of checks. The process was demonstrated to the American Bankers Association in July 1956, and was almost universally employed in the U.S. by 1963. On September 12, 1961, Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) was awarded U.S. Patent Number 3,000,000 for invention of MICR; the patent was assigned to General Electric. MICR is standardized by ISO 1004. The major MICR fonts used around the world are E-13B and CMC-7. The E-13B font was chosen by George Jacobi, who was working for General Electric at the time.[citation needed]Bull. Almost all Indian, US, Canadian and UK checks now include MICR characters at the bottom of the paper in the E-13B font. Some countries, including France, use the CMC-7 font developed by the 14 characters of the E-13B font. The control characters bracketing each numeral block are (from left to right) transit, on-us, amount, and dash.
An example of the CMC-7 MICR font. Shown are the 15 characters of the CMC-7 font. The control characters after the numerals are (from left to right) internal, terminator, amount, routing, and an unused character. 
In addition to their unique fonts, MICR characters are printed with a magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide. Magnetic printing is used so that the characters can be reliably read into a system, even when they have been overprinted with other marks such as cancellation stamps. The characters are first magnetized in the plane of the paper with a North pole on the right of each MICR character. Then they are usually read with a MICR read head which is a device similar in nature to the playback head in an audio tape recorder, and the letterforms' bulbous shapes ensure that each letter produces a unique waveform for the character recognition system to provide a reliable character result. Examples of MICR waveforms have been developed and can be displayed using spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel or compatible. The error rate for the magnetic scanning of the numbers at the bottom of a typical check is smaller than with optical character recognition systems. For well printed MICR, the can't read rate is usually less than 1% while the substitution rate (misread rate) is in the order of 1 per 100,000 characters.
In 1960s, the MICR fonts became a symbol of modernity, leading to the creation of lookalike "computer" typefaces that imitated the appearance of the MICR fonts, but, unlike real MICR fonts, had a full character repertoire.
In 1991, Advantage Laser Products became the first toner cartridge manufacturer to offer MICR toner in lieu of MICR Ink for desktop laser printers. This revolutionized the check printing business. Prior to 1991 checks were printed with magnetic ink on an offset press. With the advent of MICR toner, checks could be printed on almost any desktop laser printer.
WHAT IS MICR?
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is the common machine language specification for the paper-based payment transfer system. It consists of magnetic ink printed characters of a special design which can be recognized by high speed magnetic recognition equipment. This series of readable characters provides the receiving party with information needed for processing the check including: check number, bank routing number, checking account number and in some cases the amount of the check.
MICR characters are printed in the form of either an E-13B or CMC-7 Font. Each font series is made up of a series of numbers and symbols specifically designed for readability on check sorting machines which read at extremely high rates of speed. The symbols provide a beginning and ending point for each group of numbers allowing the machine to quickly determine what each series of number signifies. Line placement, character placement, skew and quality are several critical components of printing MICR; the line must be precisely positioned in the MICR Clear Band area. To create consistency in the check clearing process it is critical that each character is readable and that the printing methods are reliable.
MICR, Magnetic Ink Character Recognition:
MICR is the technology which allows the characters printed on the bottom of the check to be read by reader-sorter machines. A special formulation of ink or toner, MICR can be printed with impact machines, on a printing press, or a laser printer.
The magnetically charged printing allows each character to be recognized based on the magnetic signal created by each character’s unique shape. These shapes create a unique magnetic “fingerprint” which allows the reader-sorter machines to recognize each character. Since MICR is a machine readable process, it is imperative that each character is accurately placed and is free of irregular marks or voids. The uniformity of print is another key component to readability.
MICR Printing:
Checks can be ordered with the MICR Characters already printed in the clear band of each check. This is known as a pre-printed check; these checks are typically printed by a production house utilizing high speed impact equipment and ship based on minimum order quantities. Pre -printed checks can be costly if purchased in small quantities.
Another option is to order blank checks where the MICR Characters are printed at the same time you print the checks. Other checks are typically printing using a laser printer on a blank check stock, in this case the MICR line is printed at the point in time when the check is created and the MICR line often contains the amount. When check printing is done in-house it is important to verify that all of the necessary elements for printing the MICR Line are in place. In order to printer your checks you will need a check writing software, which provides check formatting, blank check stock, MICR Toner, as well as a printer capable of printing MICR.
MICR Toner:
MICR Toner provides the ability to print checks on demand using a desktop laser printer with blank check stock. The toners are formulated with a special grade of magnetic iron oxide
which provides the characters with a magnetic signal. Should you attempt to print checks with standard (non-magnetic) toner the characters will appear visually to be correct, but they will not be magnetically readable by a reader-sorter. The net results are check rejects at the clearing center and often times additional check processing charges imposed by the banks. Some areas to consider when deciding which MICR Toner cartridge to purchase include: cartridge type (new or remanufactured), cartridge brand (manufacturer) and cartridge price. Purchasing premium cartridges, a cartridge which has not been previously used, typically provides more reliable cartridge performance and consistent yields (or total number of prints per cartridge). When purchasing a remanufactured cartridge, yields and consistency can often be compromised. 
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