Printing your own checks allows you to customize the checks and avoid running out unexpectedly. It also can be cheaper than buying your checks from the bank. But common banks produce checks using magnetic ink so it makes printing your checks more trouble than it’s worth. Here we’ll talk about some details you need to print a check using technology from your home.
First of all to print your checks, you’ll need:
- Software for formatting and printing checks.
- Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) font to print MICR number on the check.
- Check stock paper
- A printer.
- A special ink (Magnetic ink) for printing MICR on the check.
- API
Software for printing check
Checks have to be formatted just the right way in order to do that it requires special graphic design skills. But an online check printing software does this work for you, and therefore the software is comparatively inexpensive—especially if you’ll spread the value out over a high volume of checks. You may even already have what you need. Popular money management software programs make it easy to create a payment, fill out all the parts of a check then print it. What’s more, those programs assist you to track payments by creating a record in your ledger once you print the check.
Check stock paper
Check stock paper is a special type of paper that is compatible with most of the check printing software and printer available in the market. It’s specifically intended for printing checks, and sometimes has additional security measures like micro printing, security warnings, and watermarks. Some check stock also comes pre-perforated for ease in cutting. You can find check stock paper at office supply stores or online retailers; it’s costlier than regular paper thanks to the safety features, but the peace of mind they offer can be worth the price.
A printer
Almost every printer in the market like inkjet, LaserJet and offset printer can print checks. Some check printers have special features that boost the security of your checks, like watermarks and even thermochromatic ink—but you can use any basic home-office printer, too. The only requirement is that the printer is compatible with the ink wont to print the MICR code. You may contact any online check printing company to print the MICR code for you by just paying few bucks. Then you can print the payee name, date, account number, and any memos on the pre-printed checks from your own printer. It’s an easy way to deal with special MICR ink.
MICR
You’ll type your bank information, including the routing number and your account number, in MICR font at bottom of a check. This MICR code, or MICR line, is key to the character-reading technology used by the special computers that process checks.3 A bonus is that these characters can also be easily read by humans. Once processed, the bank information is then converted to digital data and utilized in facilitating the transaction.
Magnetic Ink
Magnetic ink works in tandem with MICR technology, allowing a computer to read the MICR line albeit it’s partially obscured by other ink or markings.
Nowadays it’s not necessary to use magnetic ink to print your checks. Mobile check deposit, for example, snaps a picture of a check to make a deposit, eliminating the need for magnetic ink. Most banks now also use check scanning devices within the branch that support optical instead of magnetic readings.
API
With the help of check API, you can create new check fulfillment orders, as well as request the status of fulfillment orders. Some key features of the check API, It can print bulk checks at one time, mail a check with only a few lines of code, request a formatted check returned as a PDF, attach additional documents to be mailed with a check. The good things about this are you don’t need to know coding to use API and it can save a bunch of time.