Meanwhile, the banking industry began experiencing its own explosion – an explosion in terms of volume and the quantum leap in the need for security. In the 1950s, banks, bankers, machine manufacturers and check processors in the United States put together a cadre of thinkers charged with the responsibility of meeting the challenges coming at them with the advancing demands for information. Technology responded to the demand for data processing by developing machines to do the jobs previously done by human eyes and hands.

In 1958 the American Bankers Association (ABA) adopted a new industry standard: E-13B Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The answer came in the form of specially shaped letters printed with magnetically charged ink. The black bars and numbers printed at the bottom edge of every one of today's checks are the result. For MICR toners to work properly, they must be manufactured to closest tolerances and checked for quality on a regular basis. Then, reader-sorter machines handle the processing mechanically and electronically at the speed of light.

In order for MICR toner to withstand the abrasive effects of the sorter process, the characters must be printed accurately and according to precise specifications. The industry and the private sector expect data to be read at warp speed. MICR toners get the job done.