Input/Output/Storage (1.1.3)
- 20p13280
- Sep 9, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 14, 2025
Scanners
A scanner is a device that can take documents on paper and turn them into files on a computer that can then be opened, viewed and even edited (using another tool like OCR) using something like a PDF Reader.
They work by shining a beam of light onto the surface of the document that is being scanned, the light is then reflected back onto a sensor that detects the colour of the light, this is then used to create a digital image of the document.
OCR - Optical Character Recognition
OCR is a system which detects (hand)written characters from documents and turns them into text data that the system can understand and can be entered into a word processing tool. Optical Character Recognition is typically trained on a large dataset in order to be able to properly recognise different styles of handwriting.
A typical application of OCR maybe at a postal sorting facility, OCR would be used to read the addresses on letters and packages, this can then be entered into their system and have the letters and parcels routed where they need to go. This also saves time for the as they don't have to get people to manually enter the data, and it's cheaper as you don't have to pay people to enter the large amounts of text daily.
MICR - Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
An MICR is a device that can recognise characters that have been printed using a special type of magnetic ink. Each character is formed with the dimensions of 7x10 (in a matrix). The MICR scanner can only detect characters written within the special font.
They are commonly found in cheques and banks, a bank account details would be printed on to a cheque using the magnetic ink that can then be read in usig an MICR device. In the context of a bank, they are used to improve security and allow for deteching counterfeit cheques (e.g. some people may produce a cheque by photocopying it).
Generally the reader and the magnetic ink are quite expensive, so they are mostly used by banks for security reasons only.
Barcode Scanners
A barcode scanner is a device that is used to typically scan 1D barcodes. A barcode typically consists of a mix of letters and numbers, they wont store much data and usually once the barcode data is read it will have to be looked up in a database to get more information about what the barcode represents.
They work by sending out visible red light and then its reflected back into the scanner, the reflected ligt is then translated into data that is interpreted by the scanner then passed onto the computer as an input.
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