scope:

This standard establishes paper specifications for the MICR documents that are used in the US Payments System. While checks, substitute checks (IRDs) and deposit tickets are the primary documents considered in these specifications, users of MICR/OCR E-13B font readers will be well served by applying these specifications to internal documents, when intended for use in reader/sorters.

This standard gives specifications to those attributes most important and most common both to raw base stock and to finished printed products of MICR documents. When available, methodology for measurements of the various paper attributes shall conform to those of the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).

The specifications state what are considered to be the appropriate requirements for paper documents intended for external processing from the viewpoint of the end user, namely the institution performing post encoding in proof-ofdeposit applications and those that operate reader/sorter equipment for in-clearing and transit clearing applications. Nonetheless, these same specifications are also considered appropriate requirements for paper before any print process is applied to base stock. Base stock, either from rolls or from sheets, must meet the specifications as well as fully processed, end user documents.

Paper specifications from the standpoint of fraud prevention and security are not given within this standard. The various features that paper can have that hinder fraud and aid authentication of original document are addressed in ANSI X9.100-170 Check Fraud Deterrent Icon standard and in X9/TR 8 Check Security. Although reference may be made within this standard to various commonly used paper-based security features, setting specifications for paper-based security features are excluded from the scope of this standard.

There are additional paper characteristics important to document printers and end users in terms of printability and mechanical performance in their individual operations that are related to document performance. Paper characteristics such as moisture content, filler content, brightness, pH, coefficient of friction, ink absorption, etc., are quite variable within the industry and are not covered in this standard because many of them are not measurable by the end user due to exposure to other conditions during the manufacturing processes.

Purpose

The reasons for specifying and defining the particular paper properties addressed in this standard are to assure that paper documents entering automated sorting systems meet minimum physical strength and surface characteristics to withstand the rigors of individual handling and multiple sorts through reader/sorters. This standard provides reasonable assurance, in so far as the paper itself is concerned, that the physical requirements for banking purposes are met.

Experience has shown that these properties specified herein are necessary for the efficient automated handling of paper documents in order to survive multiple passes through high-speed reader/sorters. The paper attributes specified within this standard can be measured using existing equipment according to the established testing procedures that are common to the paper industry as described by the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI), unless other allowances are described herein with a specific paper attribute.