| Remember Frank Abagnale, Jr. (or Hollywood | | | | these symbols have a pre-determined prefix and |
| hottie, Leonardo DiCaprio, to you!) in the movie | | | | suffix that serve as codes for these |
| "Catch Me, If You Can?" A lot of scenes there | | | | machines-there's no way Leonardo DiCaprio's |
| showed him cashing Pan Am Airline checks that | | | | character could decipher this as MICR printing |
| he wrote using a typewriter. Well, that is not | | | | follows a lot of strict conditions such as the |
| possible now with the emergence of MICR or | | | | positioning of the printed lines in relation to the |
| Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. | | | | Clear Band Area of the check. |
| Banks have started to find ways to streamline | | | | MICR printing involves a special formulation ink |
| their handling of checks as more people grew | | | | called the MICR toner, and these can be printed |
| mobile and (perhaps have grown rich) found more | | | | using a laser printer or printed on a printing press |
| use for bank checks. To automate the processing | | | | or w/ impact machines. The MICR toner is |
| of these, a standard electronic processing, handling | | | | magnetically charged so that the reader-sorter |
| and reading system was established. This is now | | | | machines can recognize them through each |
| known as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. | | | | character's unique shape. And since it is a machine |
| Magnetic Ink Character Recognition | | | | that optically recognizes these characters, it |
| The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) | | | | become important then to have an even or |
| defines MICR or Magnetic Character Recognition | | | | consistent print quality, correct placement of |
| as the accepted machine language specification | | | | characters on the designated printing area to |
| used in payment transactions on paper - that's | | | | ensure readability. |
| bank checks for you. These are characters | | | | MICR Toner |
| printed (MICR Printing) in a special magnetic ink | | | | You can use your regular desktop laser printer in |
| (MICR Toner) that is then read by high speed | | | | MICR printing as long as you use MICR toner. |
| magnetic equipment that is especially made to | | | | MICR toners are specially formulated magnetic |
| recognize these. MICR printing follows an agreed | | | | inks that are not the type that you usually use |
| pattern or syntax that, besides authenticating the | | | | with your printers. These may be readable to the |
| check, provides the bank with the necessary | | | | human eye but what the reader-sorter machines |
| information like the account number, bank routing | | | | are looking for are the magnetic signal or the |
| number, check number and even the amount | | | | electronic "fingerprints." Trying to pass a check in |
| requested. | | | | a bank with invalid MICR codes will have them |
| Printed with an E-13B font or CMC-7 font, these | | | | rejected at the clearing center, may cause you a |
| MICR characters have to follow a standard | | | | lot of delays, or worse, the bank teller may |
| arrangement of numbers and symbols for these | | | | suspect a modern Frank Abagnale, Jr. who is |
| to be read by a high speed check sorting and | | | | totally clueless about Magnetic Ink Character |
| reading machine. Just like some barcode fonts, | | | | Recognition. |