OMR Sheet – OMR Sheet Design and OMR sheet printing

OMR sheets or MCQ test sheets are used for facilitating OMR based examinations and surveys, and they contain multiple choice questions with elliptical bubbles or checkboxes for marking the answer responses. Addmen’s OMR Sheet Reader software is used to read the candidate responses from these sheets, which then compares it to the defined answer key to determine the accuracy of answer responses and to allocate scores. The OMR software basically reads black marks from the scanned images of OMR sheets and converts it into OMR data.

False assumptions with respect to OMR Sheets: Many people assume that OMR sheets are essentially designed using 2-coloured sheets with thick paper quality that can only be obtained on made-to-order basis, from specialized paper vendors. This is incorrect information.

Present facts about OMR Sheets: It might be surprising, but in today’s date, more than 90% of OMR users tend to design & print their own OMR based sheets using Addmen’s OMR sheet design software.

OMR Sheet – Uses

OMR sheets serve a variety of purposes. Here are some examples of how OMR sheets are used:

OMR Sheet Design

OMR Sheet Design

You can easily create an OMR sheet design using the OMR Sheet Design Software that comes integrated with the OMR Answer Sheet Checker and the OMR Form Reader. OMR sheets are designed with black index points on all four corners of the sheet, which happen to the most important parameter of an OMR sheet. You can’t simply design a sheet with MCQs and answer bubbles and call it an OMR sheet. You need to consider the specific dimensions that OMR technology supports. It is advised that you use the OMR sheet design software for designing the sheets as per OMR requirements.

The OMR sheet reader software comes packed with a bunch of predefined sheet templates that you can use readily by adding your institution’s name and logo. Or you can even create an OMR sheet design from scratch, and in just a matter of few minutes, you have a design ready.

Create OMR sheets in any layout, with as many number of questions and as many types of OMR blocks you wish to accommodate in the test. Typically, an A4 size sheet should fit upto 300 questions with 5 answer options each. You’ll find some OMR sheet samples here.

You can even design sheets that are half the size of an A4 size paper to fit a small number of questions and to save paper and cut down sheet printing costs. You can use the OMR sheet design software to design double-sided or duplex OMR sheets for printing and processing.

Addmen OMR Software comes with a smart feature that automatically calibrates misaligned sheets. You need not spend a lot of time manually rectifying rotated/skewed sheets, thus saving a lot of time and effort, and yielding accurate results all the time. Addmen OMR Software also supports the processing of OMR sheets based on old test patterns and which were earlier processed using OMR machine based scanners.

Instructions for OMR Sheet Printing

OMR sheets designed using Addmen OMR software are convenient in terms of handling and facilitate economical printing. No extra printing costs are involved as you can print your own OMR sheets using a regular laser/inkjet office printer.

Use the Corel Draw file exported by the OMR software, to add your organization Name and Logo before printing the sheets. You may even edit any other information, but ensure that you don’t disturb the index points or OMR circles. Use PDF files for viewing only and for printing if you don’t have Corel Draw installed on your PC.

Paper used for OMR Sheet Printing

Addmen OMR sheet scanning software processes the scanned images of the OMR sheets, so the reading/evaluation process is not affected by their paper thickness. You can use the regular A4 size papers (70 GSM in thickness), for OMR sheet printing.

Thick paper is mostly preferred only when you anticipate chances of damage to the sheets, or if the sheets will need to be transported longer distances and if they will need to be stored for a longer period.

• Use only white paper for printing the sheets
• Irrespective of whether you use thick sheets or regular sheets, the OMR software will yield accurate evaluation results.
• For printing 4 sheets together using an offset printer, use 18″x23″ sized paper

General Precautions for OMR Printing

• NEVER alter the size of the sheet format.
• Refrain from modifying the location of circles/boxes as exported by the software.
• DO NOT increase the line thickness of the answer bubbles. Keep it thin to avoid interference during the reading process. With thick outlines, the software is likely to misread all the bubble edges as responses.
• NEVER remove or change the locations of the index points. They need to remain intact for the software to properly calibrate the sheets and start processing them.
• Ensure that the index points are printed properly. Otherwise, they may not be scanned properly and will result in constant reading errors.
• Always print the sheet contents at the centre of page, so that there is sufficient white space around the four index points in all four corners of the sheet.
• DO NOT print anything else too close to the Index points.
• If your sheet has a tearing margin, ensure that it’s placed adequately far from the index points.
• DO NOT USE misprinted sheets. Discard them during the printing process.
• AVOID increasing the font size of the text labels inside the bubbles, and never use bold fonts.

Instructions for OMR Sheet Scanning