tmtmMICR (pronounced mick'er) characters are the unusual numbers and characters printed on the bottom of all checks which identify the bank, the bank account number, and the check number. MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. The MICR characters are printed with ink that contains particles which can be magnetized. The bank 'reads' the information on the check by magnetizing the MICR character line and then passing the check through a high speed reader that translates the magnetic information into characters.
When you print all the MICR information at the same time that you print the check detail, i.e., amount, payee, etc., is called "MICR printing." The advantages to MICR printing are numerous. Foremost of all the advantages, you save the cost of pre-printing checks. If you issue many checks, these savings, alone, can be quite significant. When you have multiple checking accounts, you don't have to stock a separate check form for each account. Moreover, you don't have to switch check forms in your printer when you need to switch printing between your different checking accounts. MICR check printing software allows you to easily select the account from which you issue a check. Most importantly for security, you don't have to worry about blank checks lying around which may be inviting fraud.
Generally you don't have to go out and buy new equipment in order to get started with MICR printing. Any laser printer with MICR toner capability will print MICR checks that will be acceptable to your bank. There are several printers available which are able to use MICR toner, including but not limited to laser technology printers from HP, IBM, Canon, Okidata, Ricoh, QMS, Kyocera, Alps, Sharp, and C.Itoh(TEC). You will need to order MICR toner in a cartridge acceptable to your laser printer and blank check forms that meet all of the American Banker's Association (ABA) standards for MICR check printing. Call Anderson Resource Group for all of your MICR check printing supplies. We will provide you with the latest MICR toner cartridges available for your laser printer and blank DocuCheck® security check forms that meet all of the ABA standards for MICR check printing and provide multiple layers of security features to help you keep them secure as possible from forgery.
