The company has been elaborating on MICR toner and what it is used for.
As Static Control reveals, “Paycheck and personal checks in the United States and Canada use MICR toner to allow for machines to read the ink directly off the page.”
MICR is an acronym, representing Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. Static Control writes, “It is the process used to create machine readable information on documents. When you think of your checks, recall the numbers at the bottom that include your account number and other pertinent information. This is the line written in MICR toner or ink that is used to process checks. Each check that is deposited is read and sorted multiple times by high-speed machines, so the dependability of the toner inside the cartridge is critical to the efficiency of the process.”
The toner used in the cartridges forms the “crucial” element for the “encoding, resting and sorting of checks and other documents.”
As a result, Static says its own MICR toners have more performance requirements than other toners and are subjected to “rigorous quality control testing” as well as having to “achieve consistent signal strength during the entire run of the cartridge.”
The company explains, “ A machine is used to test that the toner is within ANSI specifications. The qualifier reads the character waveforms and looks for an average signal strength for the entire check.
The accepted U.S. range for this average is 50 percent – 200 percent of nominal. We narrow that range to 80 percent -175 percent and average 125 percent to give you a MICR toner you can depend on for uniform performance. This signal strength range also meets Canadian 006 MICR Standards of 80 percent to 200 percent signal strength. Abrasive tests are run with a high-speed reader-sorter machine to test for low reject rates through multiple passes. Quality check paper and the correct fonts are used throughout the testing process. Finally, statistical sampling and testing of each lot of toner ensures that you receive a reliable cartridge filled with MICR toner.”
