Input and Output

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

In computing, a technique that enables special characters printed in magnetic ink to be read and input rapidly to a computer. MICR is used extensively in banking because magnetic-ink characters can be machine-read with much greater accuracy than human reading or other optical character recognition (OCR) systems, and are therefore ideal for marking and identifying the account and sort code numbers on cheques.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
OCR (optical character recognition) is the recognition of printed or written text characters by a computer. This involves photoscanning of the text character-by-character, analysis of the scanned-in image, and then translation of the character image into character codes, such as ASCII, commonly used in data processing.
In OCR processing, the scanned-in image or bitmap is analyzed for light and dark areas in order to identify each alphabetic letter or numeric digit. When a character is recognized, it is converted into an ASCII code. Special circuit boards and computer chips designed expressly for OCR are used to speed up the recognition process.
OCR is being used by libraries to digitize and preserve their holdings. OCR is also used to process checks and credit card slips and sort the mail. Billions of magazines and letters are sorted every day by OCR machines, considerably speeding up mail delivery.

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is the technology of electronically extracting intended data from marked fields, such as checkboxes and fill-in fields, on printed forms. It is generally distinguished from OCR by the fact that a recognition engine is not required. This requires the image to have high contrast and an easily-recognizable or irrelevant shape. OMR technology scans a printed form and reads predefined positions and records where marks are made on the form. This technology is useful for applications in which large numbers of hand-filled forms need to be processed quickly and with great accuracy, such as surveys, reply cards, questionnaires and ballots.

Dot Matrix Printer

A type of printer that produces characters and illustrations by striking pins against an ink ribbon to print closely spaced dots in the appropriate shape. Dot-matrix printers are relatively expensive and do not produce high-quality output. However, they can print to multi-page forms (that is, carbon copies), something laser and ink-jet printers cannot do.

Plotter

A plotter is a very versatile tool. It is sometimes confused with a printer, but a plotter uses line drawings to form an image instead of using dots. A common type of plotter is one that uses a pen or pencil, usually held by a mechanical “arm,” to draw lines on paper as images are typed. It may be a component that is added to a computer system or it may have its own internal computer. It can be used to create layouts, diagrams, specs, and banners.

Photo Printer

A photo printer is usually an inkjet printer, although it can be a thermal dye printer, which has the ability to print high-quality digital photos and other vibrant color projects. The appeal of being able to print pictures instantly, along with the drop in digital camera prices, has enticed many people to purchase a photo printer. Prior to that, these types of printers were larger, more expensive and generally used only by professionals.

Portable Printer

A portable printer performs the same functions just like any other ordinary printer except its a portable printer is smaller in size compared to the usual printers used in the offices. Some Portable printers use blue tooth while others vary in sizes i.e when some can be fitted in a car dash-board or a small table, others can easily slide inside a pocket or a purse. Companies like HP, Samsung and Dell dominate the world of portable printers.

Fax Machine

Short for facsimile machine, a device that can send or receive pictures and text over a telephone line.A fax machine consists of an optical scanner for digitizing images on paper, a printer for printing incoming fax messages, and a telephone for making the connection.

Multifunctional device

Multifunction Device (MFD), is an office machine which incorporates the functionality of multiple devices in one, so as to have a smaller footprint in a home or small business setting or to provide centralized document management,distribution and production in a large-office setting. Eg printer, Scanner, Photocopier, Fax, Email

Internet Telephones

An Internet phone service uses the Internet, instead of old-fashioned phone lines, to send voice. In most cases, you just plug your current telephone into a small box that your Internet phone company provides to you. The box, in turn, plugs into your broadband connection. Just as with regular telephone service, you pick up the phone to get a dial tone and press numbers on the keypad to call the person you want to talk with. And as with a regular telephone, you can call anybody in the world who has a phone. Alternatively, some services have softphones: your computer becomes your telephone, and you talk via a handset or a headset plugged into USB ports.