A MICR font consists of 14 characters. They include the numbers 0-9, and four special characters. Space is used to produce a blank space. Two additional mappings are added to assist programming.
Table 2.1. Character Mappings in MICR Fonts
| Character | MICR Symbol | Mapping |
|---|---|---|
| One |  |
1 |
| Two |  |
2 |
| Three |  |
3 |
| Four |  |
4 |
| Five |  |
5 |
| Six |  |
6 |
| Seven |  |
7 |
| Eight |  |
8 |
| Nine |  |
9 |
| Zero |  |
0 |
| Transit Symbol |  |
A or [ or ] |
| Amount Symbol |  |
B or # or $ |
| On-US Symbol |  |
C or @ |
| Dash Symbol |  |
D or - |
Note: some symbols have multiple mapping. In these cases, any character in the list produces the same symbol. For example, typing either “-” (dash) or “D” produces a dash symbol.
The meanings of the four special symbols are briefly explained here, as below:
- Transit Symbol
The data between transit symbols indicates the institution which the check is drawn from. It is also called Routing Number in US.
- Amount Symbol
The data between amount symbols represents the amount. This portion does not usually appear in the check; it is used internally in the bank.
- On-US Symbol
This character indicates the following data represents the account number.
- Dash
This character separates the account number.
In addition to standard 13B symbols, our fonts contain an extra glyph
that looks like “X”. This drawing is accessible by typing
X or S. It is a useful feature at the check
design stage. Because
there are many spaces in a MICR line, it is not easy to tell if a character is
placed in the specified positions by simply
counting characters. To make character position evident, first substitute
every space with character
X. After
you are satisfied with work, change them back to spaces.