OCR A and OCR B are standardized, monospaced fonts designed for "Optical Character Recognition" on electronic devices. OCR A was developed to meet the standards set by the American National Standards Institute in 1966 for the processing of documents by banks, credit card companies and similar businesses. This font was intended to be "read" by scanning devices, and not necessarily by humans. However, because of its "techno" look, it has been re-discovered for advertising and display graphics. OCR B was designed in 1968 by Adrian Frutiger to meet the standards of the European Computer Manufacturer's Association.
It was intended for use on products that were to be scanned by electronic devices as well as read by humans. OCR B was made a world standard in 1973, and is more legible to human eyes than most other OCR fonts. Though less appealingly geeky than OCR A, the OCR B version also has a distinctive technical appearance that makes it a hit with graphic designers.
