3. MICR Check Design
General Features of Check Design
To be a legal and negotiable document, the necessary elements required on a check are the date, amount, payee, drawee institution, and payer’s signature.
Other elements included in a good check design are: the amount in words, account title, check serial number, fractional routing number and MICR line.
A good check design contains security features and is formatted to be easily read by both machines and the human eye. If the format is complicated, the depositor, bank employee or reader/sorter machine may make an error in reading the data.
Position and Dimension Gauge
A MICR position and dimension gauge (Source Technologies’ part number
Design Elements in Detail
Paper
The ideal paper for check production is 24 lb. laser bond. Our MICR lab has tested paper stock from most major manufacturers and has compiled a list of products that produce superior results. Contact your sales representative for this information. For a fee, Source Technologies will test your paper for proper MICR adherence and check reader/sorter performance. There are also many security features available to aid in the overall security of your MICR documents. See Chapter 5: Security Issues for more information on check stock specifications and security features.
Size
The size of check documents must be:
•Between 6.00 inches and 8.75 inches in length
•Between 2.75 inches and 3.66 inches in height
We recommend standard 8.5" X 11" letter size stock or 8.5" X 14" legal size stock for proper feeding through your ST Secure MICR Printer. The number of checks per page is determined by your application. Custom size stock other than letter or legal can be done with proper planning and application programming within the paper size specifications for the base printer.
MICR Clear Band
The MICR clear band is an area at the bottom of the check where the MICR line prints. No other magnetic printing should appear in this area on both the front and back of the document. The clear band is an area 0.625 (5/8) inches high from the bottom of the check running the entire length of the check. Exact MICR line placement in this area is very important. See Figure 3.1: page 12 for more information on MICR line placement.
ST Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide | 8 | 2006, Source Technologies |
March 2006 |
| All Rights Reserved |
