Printing MICR Checks

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR, is a character recognition technology used primarily by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of checks. It consists of the routing number and account number at the bottom of a check.

The MICR characters are printed using the E-13B font with magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide. As a bank machine decodes the MICR text, it first magnetizes the characters in the plane of the paper. Then the characters are passed over a MICR read head, a device similar to the playback head of a tape recorder. As each character passes over the head it produces a unique waveform that can be easily identified by the system.

To print your own MICR checks you must use:

• a laser printer, 600 dpi or greater recommended
• an E-13B font (installed on your workstation)
• a suitable check template with the MICR field
• a BANK account with the ID, Transit and Account numbers filled in (EFT info)
• blank 90 grams per square meter (48M) check paper

The Hardware

The hardware, printer, magnetic ink toner cartridge and blank check paper is not provided by Q.W. Page. For hardware, search on the Internet using the term micr printers.

The E-13B Font

An open source font is provided with the NV2 installation. The E-13B font is located in the folder nv2.dat (the nv2.dat folder is located in the NewViews installation directory). See How to install a font in Windows below.

The Bank Codes

All NV2 bank accounts have the EFT information tab. Rows 5, 6 and 7, the Bank ID, Transit and Account number must be filled in. See "Setting up a Bank for EFT" for more.

The Print Templates

Two sample check templates, containing the MICR field are provided. The MICR field can be added to any check template. See Document Templates for details on adding fields to print templates.

The MICR template field

The MICR print template field is MICR. It should be placed at the bottom of the check portion. The MICR field is a combination of the CheckNumber, BankTransit, BankId and BankAccount fields. You must use an E-13B font to print this field. If Excel does not list an E13-B or MICR font in the font list, you must install the font. The GnuMICR.ttf font is shipped with NewViews 2, but you have to install it via Windows. How to install a font in Windows see below

In the above screen shot, the MICR field has been placed on the merged cell that spans from C15 to I15. This sample has some numbers entered to test the size and placement of the E-13B font. Note: after testing the size and location of the MICR field, be sure to remove any test numbers from the MICR cell.

In the above example, the open source GnuMICR.ttf font is used.

Canadian Payments Association - Standard 006

Specifications for MICR-Encoded Payments Items

The location of the MICR font must be in the clear band area of the check.

• The MICR clear band area is 5/8 inch (15.9 mm) measured vertically from the bottom of the check.
• You must have at least a 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) left margin.
• You must have at least a 2 1/8 inch (54 mm) right margin. This is where the bank will print the amount of the check once the check is processed.

How to install a font in Windows

To install a font, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type the following command, and then click OK:
   
   %windir%\fonts
   
   
3. On the File menu, click Install New Font.
4. In the Drives box, click the drive that contains the font that you want to add.
5. In the Folders box, click the folder that contains the font that you want to add, and click OK.
6. In the List of fonts box, click the font that you want to add. To select more than one font at a time, press and hold the CTRL key while you select each font.
7. Click to select the Copy Fonts To Fonts Folder check box. The new font is saved in the WindowsFonts folder.
8. Click OK.