linn%bbn-unix@sri-unix.UUCP (06/02/83)
From: John Linn <linn@bbn-unix> A rumor/anecdote about the use of OCR in a realm wider than the bottom of checks: I've been told that OCR is one of the few type fonts which postal automated sorting equipment is entirely incapable of processing! Apparently, it is in some sense so unlike other fonts that its use on an envelope forces a person, rather than a machine, to scan it. --jl
fritz@utastro.UUCP (06/06/83)
This OCR discussion reminded me of a book which presents a non-computer-savvy English professors' struggles to obtain the same kind of information. He needed help in establishing a data base of all the performances of Shakespeare's plays at the Globe theater. I know, it sounds dry and boring, but it is pretty funny! 'Travels in Computerland', by Ben Ross Schneider Addison Wesley (year= ????, sorry)
SXNAHM@bbng@sri-unix.UUCP (06/08/83)
A while back I sent out an inquiry about reading the bank codes
found on the bottom of returned checks (the codes include check
number and amount).
Several people told me that MICR (Magnetic Ink Character
Recognition) is used by the banks. The numbers are enocded in
magnetic ink, and the check is read in a manner similar to audio
tapes.
MICR, while great for high volume, high throughput applications
of the banks, seemed too expensive and specialized for personal
computer use. I therefore visited the local Sears store where I
had seen an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) device being
used.
The name on the device led me to this company:
Recognition Equipment Incorporated
P.O. Box 222307
Dallas, Texas 75222
(214) 579-6000
They mailed me some literature for several devices they sell.
One was a slot reader, meant specifically for checks. Nice, but
again too specialized. The device I had seen at Sears was their
OCR WAND* Reader.
The electronics for this device can be programmed for several OCR
fonts. One of them, OCR-A, looks compatible with the numbers
found on checks. The OCR WAND* has a serial RS-232 output
interface, plus a parallel 8-bit TTL interface.
A call to the marketing department reveals that the OCR WAND retails
for $1888 (ouch!). They have a few distributors, but I didn't
contact any.
A search for info on OCR standards led me to ISO standard 2033.
I ordered it from ANSI (1430 Broadway, New Yorn, N.Y. 10018) -
$15 plus $4 for shipping. 2033 is a scant seven page document (I
recommend you try to get your library to order it, although
dealing directly with ANSI took nearly two months).
There's not a whole lot in 2033. It shows 4-bit and 8-bit
representations for fonts OCR-A, OCR-B and something called
CMC-7. The latter has the characters represented by zebra
stripes, similar to bar codes, but shaped as characters.
The May Computer magazine (IEEE Computer Society) has an article
on Optical Scanning Devices (Pages 13-24). OCR is one of the
applications mentioned, and I took heart in reading, "OCR input
devices may eventually be attached to even the smallest computer
systems, complementing the keyboard for alphanumeric entry."
Recognition's OCR WAND is pictured on page 20 of the article, and
apparently the device uses an "integrated linear array." The
linear array provides the Y-axis for the scan, and moving the
wand across the characters provides the X-axis scan. The price
range shown in the article was $1000, which matches pretty well
what Recognition says.
The article has a bibliography of Optical Scanning articles, plus
a list of vendors of related products.
I would be very interested if anyone has seen OCR wands of any
type on the surplus market, and what price is asked. I don't
mind doing my own programming and basic electrical, electronic
hook-up, but I'd rather not try to design such a device from
scratch.
Thanks to all who replied to my first message.
Steve Nahm
-----
* OCR WAND is a U.S. Registered Trademark of Recognition
Equipment Incorporated.ron@BRL.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (06/08/83)
From: Ron Natalie <ron@BRL.ARPA> One of the electrical surplus mail order places (like H&R or someone) had OCR wands for some low (<$100) price. They claimed that these were the same as the Sears ones and the picture provided was a dead ringer for it. I would probably guess that the electronics that came with it not as extensive (or not at all) as the $2000 package from the first company. A reasonable toy for people who have the initiative to build their own interface. OCR would be a very nice thing to have on a personal computer because it is so much easier produced than bar codes (all though the hardware to read it is more complex). In addition OCR can be read by humans easily, unlike bar codes. You can get OCR balls for your selectric and for most of the wheel printers. Bar codes require somekind of medium resoulution plotting (I've seen it done on Printronix dot matrix printers) that may be a little too rich for the average home printer. -Ron P.S. I used to have a friend who always printed his correspondance with an OCR diablo wheel because he wanted people to be aware that it came from a computer.
Fbrown.Micom%udel-relay@sri-unix.UUCP (06/09/83)
Just a thought, before you get too wrapped around the axle with your OCR system for managing your checking account, you should probably talk to your bank. It seems that a trend is afoot to quit providing the canceled checks back to the writer as a routine action. In order to get a copy of a check that has cleared, you will have to request it (for a fee no doubt). The bottom line is that your system may be operational just in time to not be of any use! Frank Brown fbrown.micom@udel-relay
SXNAHM%bbng@sri-unix.UUCP (06/09/83)
I have also heard that some banks have discontinued returning checks, however my bank still does. Some that do not return the actual check return a facsimile of the check. Recognition Equipment shows one such system that uses a laser printer in the literature I received from them. This might still be usable for OCR input. Also, I would think that there will always be some conservative bankers somewhere who will return checks. If there is a move afoot to discontinue this practice *entirely* I would like to hear about it. In any case, OCR can be applied to more applications than the check reading example I used. If it can be done on your basic micro cheaply, I'm sure people will find ways to use this powerful input device. Steve
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (06/12/83)
Canadian banks will return your cheques if you have a normal chequing account (which usually means you pay around 25 cents a cheque). IF you want one of their special accounts which give you (sometimes high) daily interest, you don't get your cheques back, although you can request any particular cheque for a couple of dollars.
dce@tekecs.UUCP (06/14/83)
When I worked at Record Bar, we used OCR for printing labels for albums, scanning labels that came off sold albums, and using the data for orders. This is a pretty fast way of entering order information, at least it's a lot faster than keypunching all of that data in. The problems we had were : 1. Requires very good OCR printers. 2. Data pages must be aligned almost perfectly. 3. Programming a scanner is very hard. 4. Requires operator to help the scanner out when it gets confused. 5. Drives aforementioned operator insane (we went through 3 operators in a year) but overall, the results were pretty good. David
tim@minn-ua.UUCP (06/15/83)
My bank does not return checks. They can lower the minimum and give me intreast that way I suppose (They seem to be the best deal in town). I doesn't really bother me because they give me the check that have the carbonless duplicates underneith. The copies still have the ORC numbers on it and you don't have to wait for your check to come back to process it. ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!minn-ua!tim