Personalized Printed Cheques in Canada

Printing your own cheque gives you the power to customize the cheque so that you stand out from the crowd. In addition, avoid running out of cheques unexpectedly as you would with bank-issued checks.

The major challenge to printing checks, however, is the tedious process and the number of requirements that need to be in place before you can generate the checks. Though tedious, it is always extremely rewarding to have your own customized cheques, including your company’s logo.

Should you decide to print personalized cheques, read below for a brief guide, including a few tiny details you need to know to successfully accomplish the process.

However, the easiest way to get a personalized business cheque is through a cheque printing company rather than financial institutions.

Should you decide to order cheques in Canada, contact our customer service.

Requirements for Printing your Own Cheques.

Before you can print your own cheques, there are certain requirements you will need to put in place. The major ones include, but are not limited to the following:

• A printer

• Cheque stock paper

• Software for formatting the cheques

• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition font

• Magnetic Ink

Here is a deeper look at each of the requirements for coming up with your own printed cheques.

Software for Printing Cheques

You will need to have some special graphic design skills to design your own cheques. This is because you don’t want generic formats that will not make the cheques stand out in any way. For you to deploy the graphic design skills and have the cheque formatted just in the right way, you will need software to do the bulk of the work.

There is software for these kinds of tasks, and the good news is that they are not very expensive, especially if you will be printing large volumes of cheques.

The odds are that you may already have the kinds of software you need to print your own cheques. If you have any experience with money management software such as Quickbooks and Quickens, then you may not need to invest in additional software, unless you want something with features that are unavailable in these platforms.

With these programs, you will not only be able to create and fill out the necessary parts of the cheque, but also, they will help you track all the payments you make by registering a record in your ledger every time you print a cheque.

Cheque Stock Paper

Cheque stock paper is the special paper you need to print your cheque after designing it in the software programs listed above. Most of the cheque stock papers can be used with the majority of printers, and check printing software.

The papers are specifically designed for printing cheques, and they usually include certain security features like securing warnings, watermarks, and microprinting, among others. It is possible to find some of these papers already pre-perforated, which makes them easy to cut once printed.

Like the software, these papers are also easily available, and you can find them at most office supply stores, or from online vendors. Due to the security features, they come with, they are relatively expensive compared to the regular papers, but the peace of mind they bring you completely justifies the cost.

A Printer

It is possible to create printed cheques with most common printers. However, it is wise to always go for cheque printers that come with additional security features, which will further boost the security of each cheque. Some of the desired features in an ideal printer include the ability to watermark the check, and the ability to use thermochromic ink.

However, if you can’t find printers with such features, you are free to use your regular home printer. Alternatively, you can leverage the services of a printing company that already has these kinds of machines to print your cheques. 

Remember, the preferred printer must be compatible with the magnetic ink that will be used in printing the MICR code.

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

The magnetic Ink Character Recognition font is what you will use in typing your bank information, as well as both the routing number and the account number at the bottom of your cheque.

The MICR line is vital in the character reading technology used for processing the cheques. These characters can also be read by humans, and once the cheques are processed, the information is then converted to digital data, which will then be used in facilitating the processing of the cheque.

Magnetic Ink

You can’t use ordinary ink to print your cheques. As mentioned above, you will need to have a magnetic ink character recognition font, and this can only be written using magnetic ink. It is the MIRC technology that is used by special computers to decode the MICR line in your cheque to facilitate further processing.

Counter checks

If all you needed was just a single personalized check, then you don’t have to go through the hassle of printing your own cheques, since you can go to your bank and ask for a counter check.

Depending on your bank and the agreement you have with them, you can always get a small number of cheques with your account information. This normally comes for a small fee. Simply inquire from your bank, and you will have all the necessary information.

The above is a simple and brief explanation of how you can go about printing your own cheques. There are plenty of benefits that will come your way if you decide to print your own cheques, and not rely on the ones issued by banks.

Some of the notable benefits include handling increased security, increased savings, efficient and seamless handling of accounts, effective branding method, and savings on time, among other perks. With all the disadvantages associated with pre-printed cheques, every business owner should think about printing their own cheques. Hopefully, the above guide will offer you some insights into how to go about it.