Input and Output

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition(MICR)

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR, is a character recognition technology usually by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of cheques. The technology allows computers to read information off of printed documents such as account numbers. MICR codes can be easily read by humans unlike barcodes or similar technologies. MICR can be machine-read with much greater accuracy than human reading or other optical character recognition (OCR) systems so therefore it is ideal for marking and identifying the account and sort code numbers on cheques. These characters are printed in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide. As a machine decodes the MICR text, it first magnetizes the characters in the plane of the paper then the characters are then passed over a MICR read head, a device similar to the playback head of a tape recorder. As each character passes over the head it produces a unique waveform that can be easily identified by the system.

Optical-Character Recognition(OCR)

Optical character recognition, is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-editable text.Before OCR can be used, the source material must be scanned using an optical scanner to read in the page as a bitmap where software to recognize the images is also required. The OCR software will then processes these scans to differentiate between images and text and determine what letters are represented in the light and dark areas. Multiple algorithms of neural network technology to analyze the light and dark along the side of stroke edge,the line of discontinuity between the text characters, matches to known characters and makes a best guess as to which character it is and the background is added into today's OCR. OCR software then averages or polls the results from all the algorithms to obtain a single reading.

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 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 like the bubbles that the applicant fills in to indicate their selections made on the form. This technology is useful for applications in which large numbers of hand-filled forms need to be OMR is usually used for variety of applications as it processed quickly and with great accuracy, such as surveys, reply cards, questionnaires and ballots. The optical mark reader will shines a light beam onto the input document and marks could be detected because less light is reflected back from them than from the paler, unmarked paper.

Dot-Matrix Printer

A dot matrix is a kind of printer with a print head that runs back and forth, or in an up and down motion, on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like a typewriter. Unlike a typewriter, the letters are drawn out of a dot matrix so different kind of fonts and arbitrary graphics can be produced. Each dot is produced by a tiny metal rod, also called a "wire" or "pin". Dot-matrix printers are relatively expensive yet does not produce high-quality output. However, carbon copies of multi-page can be produced which inkjet printers can't do so.

Plotter

It is a device which draws pictures on paper based on the commands from a computer. Plotters is different from printers because they draw lines using a pen, so continuous lines is produce. Whereas printers can only simulate lines by printing a closely spaced series of dots. That's why different-coloured pens are used to draw different colours. Plotters are way expensive than printers and it's usually used in engineering applications where precision and high resolution is mandatory.

Portable Printer

It is a small and lightweight portable printer. It is a miniature of a normal printer,and more likely reduce in power and features. With the introduction of the color printers and the latest photo printers, this has had an impact on the travel printers as well(portable priners).It is used as a tool to print holiday pictures while on vacation as the weight might not be an issue and you’re able to put it into your trolley or suitcase.

Fax Machine

Facsimile means make a copy, or make similiar.Fax machine is a telecommunications technology used to transfer copies of documents using affordable devices operating over the telephone network. It is also known as a telecopier in certain industries because faxes have obvious advantage over postal mail because it is nearly instantaneoussending documents to people at large distances. Yet its disadvantages in quality have relegated it to a position beneath email as the prevailing form of electronic document transfer except where the legal status of a sent fax and its accompanying sending report are desired. Fax machines digitize an image and divide it into a grid of dots where each dot is represented by a bit which has a value of 0 and 1. The fax machine translates a picture into a series of zeros and ones that can be transmitted like normal computer data and on the receiving side, the fax machine reads the incoming data and then translates the zeros and ones back into dots, and reprints the picture out.

Multi Functional Device

Multifunctional devices is one neat, efficient and cost-effective package which bring the worlds of copying, printing, finishing, and scanning together.multifunctional copier increases user productivity. It offer much greater functionality than local or work group printers and are much more cost effective from a total cost of ownership perspective.Users can print many documents over a period of time and then collect them all at once by inputting a PIN number at the multifunctional device and selecting the documents previously sent.

Internet Telephones

Internet telephone refers to communications services such as voice, facsimile, and/or voice-messaging applications which are transported via the Internet, rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Steps involved is convert the analog voice signal to digital format and then translate the signal into Internet Prootocol for transmission and the process is vice versa at the receiving end. 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.