What is full form of OMR

OMR is an abbreviation for Optical Mark Reader or Optical Mark Recognition. It is the new way of entering data into a computer. An Optical Mark Recognition gathers information by reading certain marks made on the paper or document.

Many OMR devices have a scanner that highlights a paper. The device then observes the reverse reflection of light at certain locations on the paper. This will detect the dark marks because they reflect less light than blank areas on the paper. It is one of the most popular and accurate recognition technology that is widely used for collecting data from marked information on paper.

History of OMR

Previously, OMR was used in two forms, punch cards, and paper tape. These were used in actual holes to fill bubbles, rather than modern OMRs. A punch card is a piece of paper with small holes in it. These holes are designed in such a way that machines can read them.

But when modern OMR came into existence, the optical mark scanner recognizes the bubbles made by pencil or pen.

Uses of OMR

Today OMR is used to collect data and generate the report in different fields such as -

• Educational Field
• Elections
• Surveys
• Business
• Banking
• Product Evaluation

Advantages of Optical Mark Reader

• The scanning capacity of OMR is very fast. It can scan 1500-10,000 forms per hour. In this way, it has speedup up the evaluation process.
• Accuracy is the key advantage of OMR.
• It is also very cost-effective.
• It can also detect the possibility of mistakes and fraud in the answer key.
• Any MCQ exam can be conducted with the help of OMR.

Disadvantages of OMR

• OMR only favors MCQs (multiple choice questions).
• If the OMR sheet is not kept properly, then the OMR will not be able to read it.
• A large amount of data can be lost.