Banks have started to find ways to streamline their handling of checks as more people grew mobile and (perhaps have grown rich) found more use for bank checks. To automate the processing of these, a standard electronic processing, handling and reading system was established. This is now known as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition:
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defines MICR or Magnetic Character Recognition as the accepted machine language specification used in payment transactions on paper – that’s bank checks for you. These are characters printed (MICR Printing) in a special magnetic ink (MICR Toner) that is then read by high speed magnetic equipment that is especially made to recognize these. MICR printing follows an agreed pattern or syntax that, besides authenticating the check, provides the bank with the necessary information like the account number, bank routing number, check number and even the amount requested.
MICR printing involves a special formulation ink called the MICR toner, and these can be printed using a laser printer or printed on a printing press or w/ impact machines. The MICR toner is magnetically charged so that the reader-sorter machines can recognize them through each character’s unique shape. And since it is a machine that optically recognizes these characters, it become important then to have an even or consistent print quality, correct placement of characters on the designated printing area to ensure readability.
MICR Toner:
You can use your regular desktop laser printer in MICR printing as long as you use MICR toner. MICR toners are specially formulated magnetic inks that are not the type that you usually use with your printers. These may be readable to the human eye but what the reader-sorter machines are looking for is the magnetic signal or the electronic “fingerprints.” Trying to pass a check in a bank with invalid MICR codes will have them rejected at the clearing center, may cause you a lot of delays, or worse, the bank teller may suspect a modern Frank Abagnale, Jr. who is totally clueless about Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
Removing stains could be a tough and frustrating job. Before you work on a stain, you need to know the stain type and fabric type. Read these simple stain removal rules to know more.
1. Remember to test any stain remover on a hidden place first. Make sure you will not have color fastness problems before using the product on larger areas.
2. When working on a stain, apply the stain treatment on the back of the garment. Put a clean white cloth under the stained part. Change the place of the clean cloth under the stain while garment soaks up the removal product.
3. Bleaching usually works on white fabrics. However, bleaching one tiny stain on color fabrics can result in an uneven color patch. Check the washing label before you consider using bleach.
4. Everything takes time, and stain removal is no exception. It is required sometimes to repeat the treatment if stain persists. Just make sure to check if the stain is still there or not before the garment dries out. Drying only helps to fix the stains.
How to Get Rid of Stains?
There are two main types of stains: water-based stains and oil-based ones. For example, tea or coffee stains are water-based. Most food stains are also considered as water-based. Oil-based stains include cooking oil, butter and grease stains. Other stains such as paint and lipstick are classified as solvent-based. Make sure you identify the kind of stain you have, and use the correct stain removal product for it.
Oil-Based Stains
The key to remove grease and oil stains is to wash clothes in the hottest water that is safe for the fabric. Gently rub liquid stain remover into the stain and let stand for 1 to 3 minutes. A citrus solvent based liquid stain remover, helps break down tough stains, leaving the clothes smelling fresh. Wash in hot water as indicated on the garment tag. If stain persists, re-apply and re-wash.
Water-Based Stains
Remove the stain excess with a clean cloth. Get a natural solvent to dissolve water-based stains it works well even in cold water. This kind of product will not cause fabrics to shrink or fade. Apply the stain remover spray to the soiled part, and allow it to sit for 1 to 3 minutes. If the stain is removed, wash as recommended. For tough stains, repeat the treatment and wash before drying.
Stain Removal from Non-Washable Clothing
To remove stains from non-washable clothing, sponge to remove any excess. Remove the stain by using a product made especially for dry cleanable clothes , while placing a clean cloth under the stained area. When cleaning the stain, work from outside to the center, to avoid the clean part from leaving a mark.
Pen and Ink
Quill pens were bird feathers. Around 700 A.D., someone got the idea to use a goose feather dipped in Chinese “Indian Ink” to scratch messages on primitive paper. As the idea spread, a swan’s feather became the luxurious choice. Also, eagle, hawk and turkey feathers were fancied at different times and places. It is highly notable that quill pens are still the longest running mainstream writing instrument in history – lasting over 1000 years!
The quill pen was messy and needed constant dipping. It took a great deal of time and international experimentation to bring about the first fountain pen. In their most primitive state, a fountain pen is simply a ink reservoir with a nib (tip) attached to it. In modern form, they have a number of devices to fill them with ink including, converters, levers, suction devices and more. They also now come with disposable ink cartridges that you simply snap inside of the pen’s barrel.
Ballpoint pens were first introduced by a man called Biro in 1938. He was sick of the mess of primitive fountain pens and started experimenting with a tiny ball bearing placed in the tip of his pen to be. They took off instantly, and besides a few resurgences in fountain pen popularity, they have been the preferred writing instrument ever since. In 1950, the French Baron Bich, expanding on the idea, started selling Bic ballpoint pens and took over the world. Currently, there are over 14,000,000 Bic pens sold worldwide every day!
Roller ball pens are similar to ballpoint pens in that they both have a ball in their tip to dispense the ink. The difference between them is primarily the ink. A ballpoint pen uses an ink made from an alcohol-based paste. Roller ball pens use a water-based liquid ink that flows more smoothly. Since the ink is water-based, it tends to dry slower, making it prone to smudging. There is also the possibility of the ink saturating through the paper. Gel ink pens use a pigmented water-based ink that flows smoothly and is very bold in color. You can use colored gel ink to write on black paper. Black gel is very black and many people like that. The only problem with gel ink pens is that hey are sometimes prone to skipping. You can even get gel ink pens that dispense glittered ink!
Markers and felt tip pens complete our list and offer their own diverse usages. Sometimes, nothing else will do. They come in an endless array of colors and can write on just about any surface. For instance, it is quite impossible to write on plastic, glass or metals with most other pen types. The world of pens and ink is a diverse one. There is a pen type that is designed to accommodate any writing need that you may be faced with. One thing is sure, we have come a long way from cave wall scratching and bird feather scribbling!
Solid ink remains in solid form until heated to a very specific temperature so that it turns to liquid, then instantly turns back to solid when printed. A precise stainless steel print head with tiny holes smaller than a human hair applies the solid ink to the printing media. The print head houses 1,236 nozzles jetting more than 30 million drops per second. The print head jets the ink to a heated drum where it remains in a malleable state that ensures precise transfer to the paper. This reduces the amount of ink that is absorbed into the paper fibers and controls dot spread.
The brain behind such precise control is the Phaser controller, which is based on a 600 MHz processor and a high-speed 64-bit bus.
A solid ink printer consists of only three major components- the print head that applies ink to print drum, the print drum that transfers image to paper and the controller, which is the brain of the printer that converts data from the computer to information required to print the image on paper. Add a cabinet and a paper tray and you have a solid ink printer.
With print speeds up to 30 pages per minute, and first-page-out within six seconds, the solid ink printer can be three times faster than a comparably priced laser printer.Advantages of solid ink printers is they give outstanding print quality, 90% less waste as compared to other competitive printers in the market, prints up to 16 pages on a single sheet saving paper and it is Energy Star compliant.
Printing, writing, drawing, and dyeing are a few activities that have one thing in common – ink. Ink is a dense liquid that is a combination of various ingredients. Ink enables us to show an image or text on a surface.
The invention of ink was a natural outcome of the invention of writing. Humans first used ink more than 40 centuries ago, and still use it today in a variety of applications. The first inks made were composed mainly of carbon. Soot from pine smoke or lampblack was suspended in vegetable oils, gum or honey. These combinations were popular with the Hebrew and Arabians. Reeds and brushes were the writing vehicles for this ink to parchment and other tablets. During medieval times, black ink made from carbon or iron gall became common. The year 2000 BC saw the Chinese and the Egyptians make solid ink in the form of sticks. These sticks were mixed with water when needed. In the seventeenth century, Europeans started making ink from a mixture of tannic acid with an iron salt (commonly known as ferrous sulfate). A slow chemical reaction between the acid and salt left permanent markings on paper. The need for an ink suitable for the printing press caused an oily, varnish-like ink to be invented. The mid-nineteenth century brought ammonia-based aniline dye technology, the precursor of modern ink. This ink came to be used on plastic, fabric and other substances. The mid-eighties saw the advent of environmentally friendly soy ink made from soy beans.
Writing by hand will exist as long as people do. Yet today, people use ink even beyond hand writing. With a computer in nearly every home and business, and a printer attached to each computer, special inks are used to generate computer output in various forms. Printing presses have also made great advances in the type of ink used to create brochures, magazines, and books.