Datapro Research Corporation recently conducted a comprehensive user survey to assess user experience and attitudes with respect to current 'optical scanning equip-ment. An Optical Reader questionnaire was included in the November 1973 supplement to DATAPRO 70, and by February 1, 1974, usable responses had been received from 116 users representing about 125 pieces of equip-ment.
Users were asked to rate the overall performance of their optical readers and their ease of operation, freedom from
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©1974 DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION, DELRAN, N.J. 08075 REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED
MARCH 1974
70D"()10-78k Peripherals
All About Optical Readers
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recognition errors, freedom from document jams,equip-ment reliability, and the quality of maintenance service.
The evaluations were expressed in terms of an Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor rating for each category. The ratings for specific readers and for the products of specific manu-facturers, as submitted by the responding users, appear in the table on the next page.
The ratings submitted by all of the users can be con-solidated to form the following overall picture of user attitudes toward the optical readers now on the market:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Overall performance 26% 55% 16% 3%
Ease of operation 31% 52% 15% 2%
Freedom from 19% 57% 21% 3%
recognition errors
Freedom from 28% 33% 34% 5%
document jams
Equipment reliability 22% 48% 24% 6%
Maintenance service 23% 45% 28% 4%
These results may well explain the improvement over the past year in the financial posture of a number of com-panies in the industry. Scan-Data, Recognition Equip-ment, and Cognitronics, for example, all reported profits, while Optical Scanning reported a sizable reduction in its losses. There is no question that 1973 was a year of progress for the industry.
Another significant result of D~tapro's user survey is the table of Optical Reader Utilization Patterns, which pre-sents a profile of user application practices at the present time. As expected, most readers are called upon to read forms prepared by line printers, but a surprisingly large proportion of forms are at least partially handprinted.
OCR A appears to be the most popular font by a wide margin. Off-line manual re-entry is still the most prevalent method of character insertion. It is also noteworthy that on-line operation to a computer mainframe and off-line operation to a magnetic tape drive are about equally popular.
From the results of the survey and the emergence of new manufacturers in the industry, especially in the mark reader class, it is apparent that the acceptance of optical reading is gradually increasing at a steady though far from spectacular rate.
Comparison Charts
The comparison charts included in this report represent comprehensive coverage of essentially all the important optical readers currently on the market. The entries are largely self-explanatory,. but the following discussion will assist you in properly interpreting each entry and relating it to your application. Much additional infonnation can be gleaned from the charts by fully understanding the implications of each entry.
OPTICAL READER UTI LlZATION PATTERNS
Number Percent of User of Total Mentions Respondents Rejection rate:
Oto 2% 52 45%
2to 5% 35 30%
5 to 10% 15 1 JOA>
Over 10% 11 9%
Source material characteristics:
Documents (lor 2 lines) 45 39%
Pages (many lines) 36 31%
Numeric handprinting 33 28%
Alphanumeric handprinting 3 3%
Intermixed fonts on a single form 23 20%
OCR A 46 40%
OCR B 7 6%
IBM 1428 10 9%
NCR NOF 4 3%
E-13B 7 6%
7B 5 5%
12F 1 1%
12L 0 0%
Mark readers:
80-column card format 10 9%
Page format 31 27%
Marks and characters intermixed on 14 12%
same documents Bar-code readers:
Addressograph-Multigraph code 7 6%
G E COC-5 code 0 0%
Cummins l's code 2 2%
Method by which scanned forms are prepared:
Line printer 69 60%
Typewriter 32 28%
Embosser 12 10%
Handprinted 58 50%
Preprinted 40 35%
Procedure for correcting scanning errors:
On-line manual keying 35 30%
Off-line manual re-entry 73 63%
Character (error code) substitution 18 16%
Some operational characteristics:
On-line to computer 46 40%
Off-line to magnetic tape (or 45 39%
other medium)
Terminal 7 6%
Text 5 4%
Numeric on Iy 56 48%
Alphanumeric 35 30%
Turnaround documents 47 41%
The key functional characteristics of 104 commercially available optical readers from 46 manufacturers are presented in the accompanying comparison charts. The infonnation in the charts was supplied and/or verified by the manufacturers between November 1973 and February 1974; their close cooperation with the Datapro Research t:>
MARCH 1974 © 1974 DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION, DELRAN, N.J. 08075
700·010-781 Computer Entry 7100 Control Data 915 Cummins Scanak 216 ECRM Autoreader 1200 Honeywell DR D 200
Optical Scanning 17 Optical Scanning 70 Optical Scanning 100
All About Optical Readers USERS' RATINGS OF OPTICAL READERS
User Ratings*
No. of Overall Ease of Freedom Freedom User No. of Per· Opera- Recognition Document from from Replies Units formance tion
Errors Jams
© 1974 DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION, DELRAN, N.J. 08075 REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED
MARCH 1974
700-01 0-78m Peripherals
All About Optical Readers
!> staff in the preparation of these charts is greatly appreciated.
Application
The most distinguishing features of optical readers are the types of media they accept and the form of data they read.
There are two principal media-documents and journal tape. Documents are any type of discrete paper form.
Special types include several card forms, such as 80-column punch cards and tickets. Journal tape is the rolls of paper used by adding machines and cash registers.
A new medium just coming into use is microftlm. In particular, the growing use of computer output microfilm (COM) units may dictate increasing use of readers of fIlm.
The three principal data forms are marks, bar code, and characters.
Marks are typically made by hand with a conventional pencil or pen. Almost all mark readers can also read preprinted marks if the proper ink is used. Usually, conventional punched holes, made by a keypunch, can also be read.
Bar codes are imprinted by a special device and in most cases are not easily read by humans.
Characters refer to the human-readable form. Recognition of hand-printed block numerals and a few letters is becoming common.
Optical readers can be used on-line or off-line. The on-line readers input data to your computer in much the same manner as any other peripheral device. The off-line readers output a machine-readable copy of the material being read. A terminal for remote data entry is a specialized type of on-line device that can be connected to a distant computer by means of a data communications link.
Document Handling
The movement of documents from the input hopper to the output stacker is of critical importance. Development of adequate mechanisms has been a real bugaboo for equipment designers since the earliest days of computers.
Reliable, high-speed transporting of card forms is defi-nitely solved, and inexpensive mechanisms are now available.
But card forms have a stiffness that is lacking in ordinary paper. This problem was solved in computer line printers through the use of forms with holes at the edges and driven by means of sprockets. This is not a practical
solution for transporting individual documents, so other means have been worked out.
For low-speed readers, drive rollers (also called pinch rollers) are adequate, if only one size form is to be read.
(Typically, only the width of the form is important, and length can vary without causing any major difficulties.) As the need for increased speed or the capability to handle different form sizes arises, more sophisticated techniques are required. Conveyor belts are typically used in higher-speed devices, often with a vacuum assist to hold the documents in position on the belt.
The document transport mechanism must solve a two-phase problem: (1) pick up one document from the input stack and start it moving, and (2) move the document through the read station to the stacker. Depending on the type of scanning technique, the document may need to be stopped under the read station for scanning.
Two common types of feeding are used: friction and vacuum. Friction feeding uses rollers that revolve against the documents to start them on their way. Vacuum feeding causes the document to be lifted slightly by the pick-up mechanism to free it from the remaining stack.
Two problems are outstanding in the area of document handling: double pick-up and jams. If two documents are picked up together they will usually pass through the reader as one unless special facilities are included to detect this problem. Jams will occur, even with the best and most carefully designed transports. The problem is intensi-fied if the documents to be read have been handled considerably. However, the incidence of jams definitely seems to be on the decline. The ease with which the document path can be accessed for removal of jams is an often-overlooked factor in selecting equipment.
The range of sizes and weights of documents that can be accommodated by a reader govern your choice of source documents. The limits for maximum and minimum size are fairly obvious criteria-except that not all sizes in between the maximum and minimum are necessarily acceptable. One thing to be particularly watchful for is the aspect ratio; i.e., the ratio of the length to the width.
The weight of the paper tends to be a very confusing specification. The weight is determined by the actual weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of the paper.
The problem arises in that different types of paper are measured using different size sheets. Three types of paper are in common use: bond (office correspondence), offset (printing and copying), and card stock (tab cards). Typical bond and offset stock in use are actually about the same weight but carry different weight deSignations because of the different sheet size used in measuring. Another type of paper product in common use is tissue or onionskin, which is used to make copies when typing.
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MARCH 1974 © 1974 DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION, DELRAN, N.J. 08075
700-01 D-78n Peripherals
All About Optical Readers