document reader

A document reader is an input device of a data processing system that is equipped with a reading function and recognizes data from written documents.

Depending on the type of technology, a barcode reader can operate optically, magnetically or mechanically. For example, clear character readers operate with optical character recognition( OCR), magnetic stripe readers and magnetic card readers, as known from passbooks and magnetic cards, operate with magnetic character recognition, and bar code readers operate with optically scanned bar codes. Other readers include normal character readers, handwriting readers, universal character readers, strip readers, and label readers.