ISO 10196:2003

Overview

ISO 10196:2003 - Document imaging applications - provides practical recommendations for creating original printed documents so they reproduce reliably when microfilmed or scanned. It focuses on document design and media characteristics that affect image quality and legibility (including subsequent OCR/ICR), with guidance mainly based on Latin-alphabet texts but applicable as general principles to other scripts. The standard excludes technical drawings (see ISO 5457, ISO 6428) and special scanning applications such as cheque or barcode imaging.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Paper sizes and handling
  • Prefer common trimmed sizes (A4/A3) per ISO 216 to suit autofeed systems and rotary cameras.
• Paper quality and colour
  • Use paper with grammage greater than 60 g/m²; avoid very heavy stock (>150 g/m²) for autofeed.
  • High opacity to minimize show-through (method in Annex A); avoid fluorescent agents.
  • Prefer white paper with reflectance ≥ 75% (ISO 2470); coloured paper acceptable only if scanner reads it as white.
  • Translucent paper is not recommended; if used, keep diffuse reflection density < 0.25 (ISO 5-3 / ISO 5-4).
• Printing and inks
  • Use dense black ink; coloured inks may be acceptable if they scan as black (test with ISO 12653 target).
  • Avoid high-gloss inks and inks that smudge, penetrate or spread; ensure good ink adhesion.
• Typeface, size and legibility
  • Avoid ornate, condensed or ambiguous fonts; standard sans-serif fonts (e.g., Arial/Swiss) are recommended.
  • Minimum character metrics: lower-case “e” height ≥ 1.4 mm for scanning and ≥ 1.8 mm for micrographics.
  • Stroke width ≥ 0.18 mm (preferably ≥ 0.25 mm); line-width-to-height ratios and other optical-class considerations are in Annex B–D.
  • Line spacing at least 1.5 × uppercase height.
• Layout and presentation
  • Portrait orientation recommended; margins typically 25 mm at binding edge and 10 mm on other edges.
  • Avoid reversed text (light on dark), background tints, excessive graphics, very fine rasters (>65) and continuous-tone photographs unless grayscale-capable scanners are used.
• Scanning-specific notes
  • Photographs and fine halftone rasters can cause moiré; use grayscale-capable scanners and test targets for colour accuracy.
  • Barcodes and specialized indexing are out of scope but may be useful for automation.

Applications and users

ISO 10196 is practical for:

• Records managers, archivists and libraries planning digitization or microfilming projects
• Document designers, forms designers and print service providers
• Scanning service bureaus and IT teams implementing OCR/ICR workflows
• Legal, HR, finance and government departments seeking long-term, reproducible records

Benefits include improved scan quality, higher OCR accuracy, fewer rescans and better compatibility with micrographic preservation.

Related standards

• ISO 216 (paper sizes), ISO 2470 (reflectance/brightness)
• ISO 5‑3, ISO 5‑4 (density/optical measures)
• ISO 12653 (test target for scanners)
• ISO 5457, ISO 6428 (technical drawings - excluded from ISO 10196 scope)

Keywords: ISO 10196, document imaging, document creation guidelines, scanning best practices, microfilming, OCR-ready documents, paper quality, font size, opacity.