MICR toner and ink: what it is, and when you need it

What MICR is

The bottom line of a check is not a normal font with a clever name. The shapes are a standard called E-13B. Sorting machines detect the magnetic signal in the ink or toner as well as the shape. That is why a screenshot of the right characters is not the same thing as a line a sorter will accept. Both the shape and the material are part of the idea.

OwnChecks is responsible for the shape and the position. It prints the line from the routing number, account number, and check number you entered, using the original E-13B font. It is not responsible for the cartridge in your printer. Ordinary office toner is not sold as MICR toner. If the line must be magnetic, use MICR toner or MICR ink made for that purpose.

This site does not tell you which cartridge to buy, and it does not sell one. Brands and printers change. A laser printer is the usual match for MICR toner. An inkjet “MICR ink” product is a different supply. Read the cartridge’s own description rather than assuming any black toner is close enough.

When you need it

You need it if you print checks on blank check stock and the MICR line is coming out of your printer. That is the whole point of blank stock: the paper does not already carry your account line. The software draws the characters. The toner is what makes those characters more than a picture.

You do not need it if you use pre-printed checks. The bank line was printed by the company that made the stock, with their process. Your printer only fills the date, payee, amount, and memo. Putting MICR toner in the printer for that job does not hurt in any way this page claims to measure, but it is not what makes the pre-printed line magnetic. Do not reprint a second MICR line on top of the one that is already there.

You also do not need it for a VOID alignment test if the only question is “are the boxes in the right place?” You do need it before you ask a bank to judge a live-looking sample, because a sample in ordinary toner does not test the magnetic read. Tell them how it was printed.

What a test can and cannot show

Print a free test page to check alignment. Look for a level line in the clear band, characters that are not clipped, and an amount that sits in the amount box. Reprint after you move a field. Scale must stay at 100 percent.

Print a free test page to check alignment. Confirm acceptance with your bank before you rely on a check. A test page does not prove bank acceptance. OwnChecks is not affiliated with any bank, and it does not move money. A teller looking at a page is not the same test as a reader-sorter. Ask the bank what they want to see.

The trial watermark is useful here. A VOID / TRIAL page can be handed across a desk as a sample without being a payable check. Take the watermark off only when you mean to issue a check. OwnChecks is not affiliated with any bank.

Where the software fits

If you already have stock and toner, the remaining piece is a Windows program that will place E-13B and the rest of the check, then remember what you printed. That is OwnChecks, $50 for the first computer. The MICR software page is the product description. This page is the supply description.

Skip both the toner and the blank stock if you would rather buy pre-printed checks and only fill them in. The same license does that. Later versions are included for as long as we sell it. The toner is still something you replace on your own schedule. Nothing in the license delivers a cartridge.