Addmen Group : OMR Blog, News & Tips

Addmen’s OMR software can read and design OMR mark sheets that have both OMR and ICR elements.

Addmen OMR software has introduced OMR mark sheets that are attached to subjective exam answer sheets. These mark sheets make transferring of marks to the computer system easy, less time consuming as well as free of errors. The mark sheets only have to be scanned, and then they are read by the OMR software and the marks are automatically transferred to the college system.

St. Aloysius College in Jabalpur makes use of these OMR mark sheets for their semester examinations. The OMR sheet is divided into three sections.

The first section is to be filled by the students and contain details like semester, subject code, exam roll no., etc. These details have to be filled in the OMR format too which can be read by the OMR software. This section has a barcode which can also be read by the OMR software. This section is separated from the main sheet before sending it to the examiner.

The examiner receives the answer sheet with Part B and Part C. Part B has to be filled by the examiner after checking the answer sheet. The total marks received by the students have to be written as well as filled in the OMR format. The OMR software can read both the OMR bubbles as well as the written text as it has ICR technology along with OMR technology. ICR or Intelligent Character Recognition is a technology that helps to read written text.

As it has both OMR and ICR technology, any discrepancy between the written and filled marks is detected by the OMR software. It then sends alerts to the user who can correct the mistake manually. This rules out the chances of manipulation as well as errors while entering the marks.

The second section also has a barcode to identify the person to whom the answer sheet belongs to. Usually, the examiners do not receive the section where the students have mentioned their roll numbers and other details. This is to avoid manipulation in marks. Once the sheets are checked and the marks are added, the sheets are identified with the help of the barcode which can be read by the OMR software.

The Part C of the answer sheet remains with the answer sheet and provides detailed marks (question-by-question) received by the students. This sheet also has a barcode which, again, helps to identify the actual mark sheet in case the sheet has to be given for revaluation.

Addmen OMR software is a pioneer in providing complete as well as unique OMR solutions. This OMR software is used by prestigious educational institutes, government agencies, private companies, etc. for all their OMR requirements.

Colored OMR sheets scanning

For technical and few other reasons, the OMR sheets are printed in different combinations of Red, Green and Blue colors. How to scan color OMR sheet is not a difficult job. Commonly you will find such sheets in pink color with a combination of black. The reason to use pink color is because it’s quite crowning which make it quite simple to handle on the screen by the scanner or the software. It is possible to remove all the matter present in pink color which make it easy to check the accurate answers or the darken ovals. Color dropping is the name given to this process or removing all the pink color matter from the sheet.

Only advanced versions of scanners are equipped with such feature. It is possible and in fact simple to scan OMR sheets in colorful format. The reason that why there is nothing to worry about undesired color is because modern scanning software’s are able to drop unwanted colors. Our scanning software is well known for this feature.

With a more advanced scanner, it is possible to drop all the color from an OMR sheet and can have scanning only in Black & white format.

It is not always necessary to have high end scanners for this task. If they are not available and the scanning is not as good as it needs to be, it is still possible to have accepted scanning in Black & white format.

Thus one can use scanners that have reasonable price than higher if one has quality scanning software such as the one we offer. Contact us if you want to know more on How to scan color OMR sheet.

Placement of index points is crucial to ensure an OMR sheet’s compatibility with the OMR software. While murky prints and misplaced index points yield sheet rejections, the OMR reading process is also affected by minor errors like printing other text very close to the index points. Addmen developers have long worked on bug fixes and updates, but you may say the index points are form most important parameter that determines the accuracy of the OMR software’s functioning.

It is always advised that you discard misprinted OMR sheets and never use them. In case you are editing a previously used OMR sheet template, then do remember to keep the index points intact. Also, never alter their location after exporting them. Refrain from printing anything (serial number, form number, OMR blocks etc) near the index points. If you are printing OMR sheets that contain a cutting margin, make sure that the index points are placed sufficiently far from the cutting edges.

Offset printing is a little tricky, though. In such cases, a perfect overlapping of different colored index points yields accurate results. For instance, if you’re using black and pink, you need to print the index points in both colors, ensuring a perfect overlap so that there’s no displacement. Also, while scanning the sheets using an image scanner, ensure that you leave sufficient blank space outside the area where the index points are placed.

Addmen OMR software is a highly modern OMR software solution, fully loaded with updates and fixes. Our developers are continuously working to improve its performance. However, there are no fixes to resolve the issues caused by misprinted or misaligned index points. The working and accuracy of any OMR software depends largely on the placement of the index points.

Printing OMR sheets is a simple process. You do not have to spend too much money on special thick sheets or hire a printing company to get the sheets printed. The OMR sheets can be printed on normal white sheets on a regular printer or an inkjet printer or an offset printer or a digital printer. However, whatever method you choose, there are some precautions for printing that you should know. Let us take a look at them.

• The size of the OMR sheet should match the size of the design. In other words, the proper dimensions of the design have to be taken care of. Otherwise, there would be problems while scanning and reading the sheet.
• The OMR sheet is a technical document that is made with precise dimensions. You should not make any changes to the sheet design format.
• The index points of the OMR sheets are extremely crucial. Do not delete them or move their positions. Also, make sure that these index points are dark black in color.
• The thickness of the OMR bubbles should not be increased. The OMR software is designed to read dark areas and may consider the bubble edges as the answer. So keep the bubble edges thin.
• The OMR sheet should be printed by taking the design source file. You can also use CorelDraw software to do the same. However, refrain from using PDF file.
• It is possible to add things like the logo, name of the organization and such other details on the OMR sheet with the help of Inkscape and CorelDraw.
• It is extremely crucial that you do not change the position of the index points as well as that of the OMR bubbles before printing.
• It is important to leave enough space around the index points. Hence, it is best to print on the center of the sheet.
• The text inside the bubbles should be kept small. Refrain from using bold or big fonts inside the circle.
• If you have to include a tearing or cutting margin in the OMR sheet, ensure that it is at a good distance from the index points.
• You can print colored OMR sheets if the preferred pattern of marking is thin strokes or tick marks.
• Ensure that the OMR sheets are not misaligned or misprinted. It is best not to use such type of sheets.

These precautions for printing should be followed to ensure that you get perfectly printed OMR sheets.

Gone are the days when the OMR machine was used to scan and read OMR sheets. The OMR machine has been replaced with the OMR scanning software that is more efficient, fast and less expensive too. The OMR software that is installed in the computer or laptop reads the sheets scanned with the help of a regular printer. Let us take a look at some of the OMR scanning features.

Features of OMR scanning software

• The software does not require you to use any specific scanner. You can use an automatic or a flatbed scanner according to your budget and scanning needs.
• The work of the scanner and the OMR software are not linked in any way. When you scan the sheets, they are saved in a folder which are then read and evaluated by the reader.
• The OMR scanning software is built to read all kinds of OMR sheets including single, duplex, colored or black and white, carbonless sheets, etc.
• This software can not only read OMR marks but also OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and images. It also has the ability to read barcodes which are sometimes found in case of multiple OMR sheets.
• The OMR scanning software also offers the service of single pass reading of data and photographs.
• The OMR sheets should be scanned in TIFF or BMP for achieving best results.
• The OMR scanner software allows the scanning of the OMR sheets in black and white, color and grayscale modes. It would be best to use 100-200 DPI. While 100 DPI is enough for normal OMR sheets, 200 DPI would be needed if you have to scan OMR sheets with photographs.

The OMR scanning features make it a popular tool for OMR scanning and reading. Choose a brand that provides all these features or facilities.