Knowledge Base MICR Solution - Read MICR E13B from check images, correction strips, payment stubs, MICR OCR, PDF TIFF JPG images from cash letter file, scanner, fax

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About MICR

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) OCR technology was developed 30 years ago to automate the processing of checks, and has been widely implemented around the world. The characters are printed within a clear band at the bottom of checks and on substitute checks. Traditionally they are read by contact magnetic readers as the check is being scanned on countertop check scanners, or high speed scanners operating at back office processing centers in banks.

Collection American National Standards Institue (ANSI) documents xan be found HERE.

With the advent of Check21image exchange, it has become necessary to read the MICR characters from images at the point of capture as well as the point of exchange. Inlite's Check21 solutions include the ClearImage MICR recognition engine that enables solution providers to build applications for check security and payment processing based solely on the MICR data in the images.

What is MICR?

MICR (also called E13B) consists of the characters shown below :

The punctuation marks shown at right, delineate the fields within the MICR line, and indicate the purpose of the field.

On-Us symbol			Transit symbol
Dash symbol			Amount symbol

Example of business check with a full MICR line

Example of an Image Replacement Document (IRD)

Legally called Substitute Checks, IRDs are created within the exchange system wherever it is not possible to exchange an image directly. The document contains a second set of MICR lines as shown below.

Where Inlite Research MICR Reader Fits In

The ClearCheck21 MICR Reader engine offers several important benefits

	It can read and parse the original check MICR line
	It can read and parse the MICR line on the correction strip, allowing the user to check for errors, and to compare lines
	It can read and the MICR line from the check and the correction strip on the IRD which is very useful for processing credit return IRDs automatically
	It can read and parse the MICR line on the correction strip of the IRD
	E13B MICR designs from outside North America can also be recognized