Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
you manually move or roll the scanning device over the image you want to scan. Both page
and handheld scanners can convert monochrome or color pictures, forms, text, and other
images into machine-readable digits. Considering that U.S. enterprises generate an estimated
1 billion pieces of paper daily, many companies are looking to scanning devices to help them
manage their documents and reduce the high cost of using and processing paper.
Optical Data Readers
You can also use a special scanning device called an
optical data reader
to scan documents.
The two categories of optical data readers are for optical mark recognition (OMR) and optical
character recognition (OCR). You use OMR readers for test scoring and other purposes when
test takers use pencils to fill in boxes on OMR paper, which is also called a “mark sense form.”
OMR systems are used in standardized tests, including the SAT and GMAT tests, and are
being considered as a means to capture voters' choices on Election Day. In comparison, most
OCR readers use reflected light to recognize and scan various characters. With special soft-
ware, OCR readers can convert handwritten or typed documents into digital data. After being
entered, this data can be shared, modified, and distributed over computer networks to hun-
dreds or thousands of people.
Con-way Inc. is a $4.7 billion company that offers freight transportation and logistics
services. Not long ago, the company had an antiquated and expensive payroll system that
required its 15,000 drivers to fill out timesheets, which were then manually processed at
several document management centers. The centers forwarded the timesheets to Portland,
where data-entry clerks keyed the information into the payroll system. The process was awk-
ward, error prone, and expensive—Con-way paid $300,000 per year just to have the forms
shipped to Portland. The firm converted to an OCR-based system so that the timesheets can
be processed and scanned at any of 38 locations in the United States and Canada, and then
forwarded electronically to the payroll office. Initially, the OCR scans were 85 percent ac-
curate, but over time and with a few improvements, the scans are now 99.9 percent accurate.
Con-way eliminated the cost of shipping the forms to Portland along with cost of three full-
time positions in the payroll department. In addition, the OCR system increased the speed
of the entire process and made it more reliable.
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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Devices
In the 1950s, the banking industry became swamped with paper checks, loan applications,
bank statements, and so on. The result was the development of magnetic ink character
recognition (MICR), a system for reading banking data quickly. With MICR, data is placed
on the bottom of a check or other form using a special magnetic ink. Using a special character
set, data printed with this ink is readable by people and computers (see Figure 3.11).
Figure 3.11
MICR Device
Magnetic ink character recognition
technology codes data on the bottom
of a check or other form using
special magnetic ink, which is
readable by people and computers.
For an example, look at the bottom
of a bank check.
(Source: Courtesy of NCR
Corporation.)
Bank
identification
number
Check
number
Account
number
