OMR refers to the technique of converting a handwritten marks into an ASCII value. The Mark is created by filling a circle or a box on a pre-printed form .

The presence or absence of a Mark in a specific location is then converted into a value such as a selection in a multi- choicequestion, the selection of one item in a list of several, or even to code a specific numeric or alphanumeric value, such as a date using six columns of 10 boxes or name with 26 columns etc

Thus, if a Mark by itself can only generate a binary choice (presence or absence), the combination of several marks arranged on a form can provide intelligent answers to questions and be used as a fast and accurate replacement to data entry in many applications. Basically an OMR Reader is only intelligent to accurately give the postion of the marks , interpretation of marks is an important aspect and more than often known as Template Creation

Optical marks recognition is traditionally performed using Reflective Light Method where a beam of light is reflected on a sheet with marks. (Sekonic Optical Mark Readers , a low priced Japanese Readers are very special )Special forms are created using Timing Marks and color