Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) reads specially-formed characters printed in magnetic ink. MICR is primarily used to read the bank ID, account number and check number on checks. Although typically produced by commercial printers, some companies offer magnetic toner for laser printers.

MICR Advantages:

• Human- and machine-readable,
• Can be read by MICR or ORC readers,
• Less susceptible to damage than OCR.

MICR Limitations:

• Contact reading,
• Limited character set.