MICR check printing

[AlphaMan]

Hello all............

Wanted to run this question by you all...........We have an application in the company that prints checks on a very old line printer. We'd like to go to printing these on a laser printer with the least expense possible. Is it possible to do this without purchasing a software product? I know I can do an overlay for the basic check itself, but the MICR portion I know would require special fonts, but I don't know if that is all it would require.

If anyone has any experience with this please let me know. Thanks!

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

you could start here

http://www.code400.com/MICR.php

jamie

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Jamief,

Thanks for the reply. I will see what I can do with these.

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

One more thing we actually had to have our bank validate the micr....
they have strict rules as for spacing,font size and the color of the friggen
toner...If i remember correctly there is some special toner....

we used a forms package and downloaded a micr font from the web for $49.00.

let us know what happens

jamie

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Jamie,

When you say you used a forms package, did you use that to do the overlay for the check itself and then download the MICR font to do that part? I might be able to do the check itself in Microsoft Word and upload it via Navigator, and then just get the needed fonts. Thanks for the advice.

Bill

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

bill - you have to be very careful with the checks because of audits......We have
jet forms here...so we downloaded the fount then that fount was available to
us in the jet forms module as we created the check overlay.

jamie

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Jamie,

Is "Jet Forms" a forms software package? When you created the check overlay were you able to put all the things on the overlay such as the background watermark, etc. ? In other words you were able to do the entire printing of the checks without buying any pre-printed forms whatsoever, right?

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

Yes that is correct....

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Jamie,

OK. Having "been there and done that", do you think it is possible to do this type of a project without a forms package involved? Were there specific features of the forms package that allowed you to do specific things on the check overlay that you wouldn't have been able to do without the forms package?

I'm going to be doing this project for my company and I'm trying to define the parameters of the project, i.e. do we need a different printer, do we absolutely need a forms package, etc. Thanks.

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

Well It was pretty simple with the package.....just need to load the micr font on the PC I was building the form on and the server where the forms tool resides.

Then it was all down hill from there.

In this thread is the steps required to load the micr font to a printer...
once loaded you would just choose that font within your printfile

http://www.code400.com/afpproject.php

and print the check....now I would assume your gonna require signature(s)
these would also be stored on a printer...most often they are on removable
drives...else you will have to create an image and do an overlay on the signature.

Guessing again depending on the check amount it may require two signatures...

My favorite iseries forms package is MarkMagic...its cheap and runs on the iseries.

http://www.cybra.com/p_magic.htm

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Jamie,

Thanks for the info. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Hey Jamie,

I'm jumping into this project with both feet right now.........a question came up that you might know an answer to..............I know that a MICR-type laser printer cartridge would be required to print the MICR stuff at the bottom of the check. So would the MICR catridge just be in the printer for the entire check run or is it one of those deals where you run the forms through once to put the MICR info on them and then run the same forms through again with a regular cartridge in the printer to print the rest of the data? Let me know. Thanks a bunch!

[jamief]

Re: MICR check printing

It will be in the printer.....only run the checks one time.
the printer will know which font to print by you telling it
in the print file.

jamie

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

So basically the MICR-capable print cartridge can be used as a "regular" cartridge as well then? From what I am hearing from our folks here we will probably just have an printer that is exclusively used for printing checks anyway.

[AlphaMan]

Re: MICR check printing

Let me ask another question if I may. I have created an AFP overlay for our new checks and have uploaded the MICR fonts to our system and I have one of them printing for the routing number on the check. My question is, how do I get the special characters to print that are part of the routing number? I know the font comes with the characters 1-9 and those special characters, but how do I get them on the form?