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what do you mean by optical mark reader

Optical Mark Reader or Optical Mark Reading or Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is the process of capturing human-marked data from document forms such as surveys and tests.

OMR processing is popular for tests, where students receive a special card containing several empty circles and a packet that contains the questions and possible answers to each of the questions. The student must complete the test by using a #2 pencil (HB in Europe) to fill in each bubble optical answer sheet with what he or she believes is the correct answer. For example, if the answer is "B", the student would have to fill in the "B Circle" in order to get the answer correct.

Many traditional OMR devices work with a dedicated scanner device that shines a beam of light onto the form paper. The contrasting reflectivity at predetermined positions on a page is then used to detect the marked areas because they reflect less light than the blank areas of the paper.

Many of today's OMR applications involve people filling in specialized forms. These forms are optimized for computer scanning, with careful registration in the printing, and careful design so that ambiguity is reduced to the minimum possible. Due to its extremely low error rate, low cost and ease-of-use, OMR is a popular method of tallying votes.


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