Hi Jim,

Tolerances do depend on the reader/sorter that the bank uses. One of our banking gurus here says he has seen the IBM 3890 sorter read the MICR upside down and way out of specs. Another claims that some reader/sorters are very strict in their reading and gave me the .100 limit.

The only way to check specs and the MICR line for certain is to get a MICR-spec gauge from a company like Clearwave Electronics. These gauges come with a spec sheet and a list of tolerances which will satisfy most of the readers out there.

In our work here we attempt to be even tighter than the .100 limit. We also have to provide a method for the client to vary the page alignment in the software since even the same model of printer may vary the MICR enough to upset the bank readers.

All in all it gets 'very interesting' around here from time to time.

Tim