F, G and H here: http://www.promisechecks.com/line.aspx?lineid=111
Why, in this day and age, are the numbers along the lower left edge of checks still that quaint-looking Seventies computer font? I’d have thought it would’ve been updated to something like, I dunno, Helvetica by now.
These numbers are printed in magnetic ink, so that machines can read them with a high degree of accuracy. The numbers have those quaint shapes, as you call them, increase the distinctiveness of each of the characters. The font is called E-13B. It first appeared on checks in the late 1950s.
MICR: magnetic ink character recognition. The routing and account numbers printed in that typeface are scanned by the processing machines automatically. The interesting bit is that they are not read optically, but as the name implies, each digit has a specific magnetic value. That’s why the funny shapes and blobs, it’s to give each numeral it’s own specific volume of ink that can then be associated with the correct number by the scanner.
Although they’re still printed with magnetic ink, I think the vast majority of MICR scanners now work optically. So it’s just a matter of technological inertia, for the most part.
They do it optically too. They have to be able to, otherwise they’d still need you to hand over the actual piece of paper to deposit a check into your account.
Why do you call those “seventies-looking” fonts? To me they just look like “check” fonts.
Oh, in the ‘70s that font had a certain futuristic, computerized vibe to it.[sup]*[/sup] In the original Rollerball the numbers on the players’ jerseys were done in that font. Although now that I take a closer look, they’re not quite the same.
I couldn’t find a cheque book to confirm it, but I think ours are identical. It is quite probably that there is an international standard so that would be very difficult to change, especially where there is no good reason to.
Helvetica is actually older, designed in 1957.
I would think the properties that make it easily distinguishable with a magnetic scanner will also make it easier to distinguish using optical character recognition.
Indeed. The lead-in for the CBC’s flagship news program used that font, coupled with a computery “boopity-boop” sound effect:
So update it from a 70s font to a 50s font?
(actually, they’re both 50s fonts)
I’m sure it would, but OCR has its own ‘default’ font:
(it’s a moot point now - modern OCR is capable of reading just about anything, including handwriting)
And let’s not forget Space:1999 (designed around 1975).
That appears to be using a font called Westminster, which is an offshoot of MICR, with alpha characters included (MICR only had numbers and a few symbols).
Ahhh, they’re 1950’s-style “debt pays”.
You, sir, should be taken behind the barn and tickled mercilessly with goose feathers!
If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Thanks, all.
Yes! I remember that now.
Modern OCR can usually read almost everything. But the occasional errors still creep in. And when even a single error could mean misplacing a very large amount of money, with possibly an even larger amount needed to fix it, you want to get that error rate down as low as you possibly can. And if that means writing numbers using a barcode that’s disguised as a font, then that’s what you do.