Is there an online reference that details the various fields of the
MICR line on checks used in the United States banking system? 
Examples should include MICR lines for 6 inch personal checks as well
as 8.5 inch business checks. What are the maximum number of digits
each of the fields can accomodate? It would be swell if the online
reference had illustrations.

Hello ardyb-ga,

I found several online sources, which I believe, provide the
information that you are looking for.

Infomax International provides a good overview of MICR at it’s website
(http://www.infomax-usa.com/micr-check_readers.htm).  They give a
description of the two MICR character sets used worldwide: E13-B which
is used by the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom,
Japan, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Far East, and some
countries in Central America; and CMC-7 which is used in France,
Spain, other Mediterranean countries, and most South American
countries.

Infomax provides a description of each field including the number of
digits. An illustration of the MICR fields on personal checks and
business check is also provided.

Another good resource is Barcode Direct, an Australian company
(http://www.barcodedirect.com.au/articles/micr.html).  In addition to
a good description of the MICR fields, Barcode Direct includes a brief
history of MICR technology and it’s use in the banking industry.  They
state the following:

“MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, is a process in which
magnetic ink and special fonts are used to create machine readable
information on documents. The most common application for MICR is
automated check processing.”

They go on to say:

“The American Banking Association (ABA), in cooperation with Stanford
University, developed a set of fourteen unique characters called the
E-13B MICR Font, which was accepted as the standard by the ABA in
1959. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) followed suit
in 1963, adopting E-13B as the American standard for MICR printing.
Several other countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, Columbia,
Venezuela and the United Kingdom have adopted E-13B as well. A second
magnetic font, CMC-7 is used in Brazil, France, and a number of other
European countries.”

Here are a few more resources:

Printerm Datascribe, Inc.
http://www.printerm.com/fonts2.htm

Burton MICR System Solutions
http://www.burtonmicr.com/fonts.html

ASAP Checks ”MICR Repository “
http://www.asapchecks.com/micr/micr.htm


I hope you have found this information helpful.  If you feel that I
have not fully answered your question, or if you would like additional
information, please request clarification.

Googlenut-ga


Google search terms:

MICR line field checks
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=MICR+line+field+checks&btnG=Google+Search

MICR fields checks business characters
://www.google.com/search?q=MICR+fields+checks+business+characters&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&start=20&sa=N

MICR fields checks
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=MICR+fields+checks&btnG=Google+Search

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Clarification of Answer by googlenut-ga on 22 Dec 2002 18:25 PST

Thank you for the generous tip!

I'm glad I was able to help.

Googlenut

Thank you very much.  The information was helpful.  I also appreciate
the speedy response.  Here's a $5 tip.
Thanks again.