Chapter 7 OCR Forms — Internal Revenue Bulletin 1997-50

Form 1040EZ The Form 1040EZ is designed in OCR/ICR format. The IRS has the capability to machine read this form by Designed in optical character recognition/image character recognition (OCR/ICR) equipment. Form 1040EZ data may OCR/ICR Format also be filed electronically or on a 1040PC format return.

An acceptable substitute OCR/ICR Form 1040EZ must generally be an exact replica of the official OCR/ICR reproduction proof with respect to layout, content, and required OCR/ICR characteristics.

Paper The special paper requirements which must be met for the development of a substitute (privately printed) Requirements OCR/ICR Form 1040EZ include the following: for OCR/ICR Form 1040EZ

Property	Requirements
Color and quality of paper	Paper must be white, OCR/ICR grade bond, with no fluorescent additives or water marks, and with zero rag content.
Reflectivity of paper	Must be 80% or greater.
Opacity	The paper opacity ratio must be 80% or more.
Paper Weight	Specified paper weight is 20 lb. OCR/ICR bond (.0035”).
Dirt	Must not exceed 10 parts per million.
Finish (smoothness)	Must be between 90 and 160 units (Sheffield).
Porosity	Paper should have a Gurley reading between 15 and 95.
Gloss	Paper with shiny or lustrous appearance (glossy) should be avoided.
Size	Form trim size must be 80 3 110.

Specific Ink The specific ink requirements which must be met for this form include the following: Requirements

Property Print Color	Requirements The face of the form prints in black and green, the back prints in black only (70 % screen).
Ink	Green ink used must be highly reflective OCR/ICR type, such as Flint J-27975, or an exact match. Black ink used must be nonre- flective.
Face Registration	Black to green must be .020 (plus or minus) both horizontally and vertically.

December 15, 1997 40 1997–50 I.R.B.