MICR printing guidelines

The numbers that print on the bottom of blank check stock cheques are known as MICR ("My-ker"). This series of numbers must be accurately aligned per the bank's specifications. To make sure your cheques are aligned for printing, and to prevent your bank from rejecting your cheques, follow these guidelines.

Prepare for printing

  • Purchase cheque stock, envelopes, and MICR ink cartridges from the Intacct Cheques & Supplies center.

    This is the only supplier with whom we guarantee cheque printing compatibility.

  • Put cheque stock in the cassette feed tray, not the manual feed tray.

Printer specifications

  • Use a dedicated, high-quality laser printer with a reliable sheet feed system.

    Lower-cost, top-feed laser printers sometimes do not feed properly, causing misalignment of MICR values.

  • Don't use dot matrix printers.

    Inkjet printers may or may not work.

  • Use a MICR toner cartridge.

    You can't use standard ink cartridges for printing cheques.

PDF viewer and print settings

  • Use Adobe Acrobat when you preview the PDF of cheques to print.

    If you're using a Mac, this means disabling the Mac OS PDF reader and using Adobe Acrobat instead.

  • Verify that the Adobe Acrobat 5 or 4 print settings (File > Print) are as follows:

    • Select Print as image.
    • Clear the following settings:
      • Fit to page (Acrobat 4 only)
      • Shrink oversized pages to paper size
      • Expand small pages to paper size
      • Auto-rotate and center pages (Acrobat 5 only)

Verify alignment

  • Get the Magnetic Ink (MICR) Printing Specifications from your bank.

    These specifications spell out exactly how your bank needs you to set up the line of MICR coding that appears at the bottom of your cheques. Each bank has their own specification, and they sometimes refer to them as Cheque Printing Specifications or MICR Specifications.

  • Do you have a MICR gauge? Slide your sample cheque beneath a MICR gauge to verify that your MICR coding is properly aligned.

    If the alignment is off, make adjustments in Sage Intacct. MICR gauges are available at most office supply stores and through our certified supplier: www.formsforintacct.com.

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