TROY Group MICR Basics Handbook - Manual (Page 15)

Section 3 MICR Quality Control
MICR Basics Handbook -- Document #50-70300-001 Rev. C
3-2
Check Quality Requirements
Refer to ANSI Specification X9.27 - Print Specifications for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition for
more details on check quality requirements.
Dimension
The width of horizontal and vertical bars is to be 0.013" using average edges. The nominal edge
dimension tolerance is +/-0.0015" using average edges. Minimum width of horizontal bars is to be 0.011"
using average edges.
Irregular Edge
Edge irregularities may extend +/-0.0035 from the nominal edge dimension. No more than 25% of the
edge may be present in the zone, which begins 0.0015" away from the nominal edge and extends out to
0.0035" away from the nominal edge. Edge irregularities that exceed 0.0035" zone are treated and
measured as character edge irregularities. Edge irregularities that exceed the -0.0035" zone are treated
and measured as voids. The portion of the edge void within the -0.0035" zone is included in the 0.0015"
to 0.0035 irregular edge measurement.
Voids
Single voids are allowable if contained within an 0.008" square. Single voids in double-wide zones
(except for edge voids) are allowable if contained within a 0.010" square. Edge voids are allowable if
contained with an 0.008” square (using average edge of character). Voids 0.002" wide by any length are
allowable. The combined void area of any row or column must not exceed 20% of the row or column.
Uniformity
Toner must be laid down uniformly inside the outline of each character.
Extraneous Toner (front)
Magnetic toner spots within the clear band that are visible to the naked eye are acceptable if they can be
contained within a 0.004" square and are no more than one per 1/8 of a character space or five per field.
The portion of magnetic toner that is attached to a character and exceeds the +0.0035" irregular edge
limit is considered to be extraneous toner and must conform to extraneous toner specifications.
Extraneous Toner (back)
Magnetic toner on the back of the document within the area of the clear band is allowable if contained
within a 0.006" square.
Signal Level
The signal level may vary from 50 to 200% of the characters nominal signal level. The TROY minimum
is 70%.
Alignment
The bottom edge of adjacent characters within each field must not vary vertically more than 0.015".
Spacing
The distance between the right average edge of adjacent characters in all fields is to be 0.125 +/- 0.010".
Skew
The maximum character skew allowed is +/- 1.5 degrees measured with respect to the bottom edge of the
document.