Archive for the ‘MICR Toner Cartridges’ Category
What are the official regulations for printing payroll checks?
I have been getting some conflicting information lately regarding the printing of payroll and corporate checks from my computer.
On one hand, my company’s IT guy states that I absolutely MUST use a Troy brand MICR toner cartridge. He says, and I quote, “if it’s not in a Troy box then you can’t use it because Troy is the only brand certified for HP printers for check printing.” He claims that, because of the economic crisis, banks are cracking down on such things and that our company can get fined for using a non-Troy toner, even though the toner we use is an MICR toner. He further states that banks are starting to crack down on using printers that are not officially certified for check-printing, and that in the near future we’ll have to buy a new printer for the checks.
On the other hand, my toner vendor sold my company a “Troy-compatible” MICR toner. It’s made by a generic brand, but they guarantee their toner and state that it is an MICR toner and that it’s illegal for a bank to discriminate against their toner, citing the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 (which doesn’t quite seem to cover this issue, from what I read, as it’s about price discrimination relating to wholesalers selling to retailers).
From my perspective, both parties are trying to sell me their own products, and it seems that both sides are either not completely truthful or are just misinformed.
So I am turning to you, a neutral party, for information. Do I have to use a Troy toner cartridge with my HP LaserJet, and will I eventually need a new printer? Are we in jeopardy of being fined for printing our company checks with a generic-brand MICR and our HP printer?
Does anyone have some valid information, and even better a website or other official written regulations/guidelines for check-printing?
Thanks for your help, it’s appreciated! 
As for paper – we use blank check paper (8 1/2 x 11, with three sections separated by perforations. The middle part is for the actual check, and the top and bottom are check stubs) for printing out payroll and vendor checks.
I would very much appreciate it if, when you respond, you include your source(s) — website or book information, or if you have other credentials, such as working in a bank, to mention as much. Thanks.
Does the MICR line on checks have to be printed with magnetic toner?
I’ve seen many software products at the store for printing your own checks. Some even come with blank check stock, to suggest you could just install the software and print checks to your heart’s content.
While all the packages will print the OCR characters, it is only in smaller letters on the package that they suggest that you use magentic ink or magnetic toner to print your checks.
A friend who has been using regular toner to print his checks for several years, says he’s never had a problem, and never had a check returned. He claims that these days banks use optical character recognition to read the MICR line, and it’s no longer necessary to deal with magnetic toner.
What’s the real story?
Anyone know of printers that use MICR toner?
Nothing too expensive. Where can I find them? What are the brands?