What is an MICR Printer?
MICR is an acronym for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. This is a type of toner that is used to print the specialized font at the bottom of checks and other negotiable types of documents.
MICR toner has a ferrous iron oxide that allows the bank check clearing system to decipher the information on the check. The iron oxide additive is normally about 50% to 60% of its contents in order to meet with ANSI standards. Since the electronic bank clearing system has the capability to notice if the standard guidelines are not being used, it is important to use a MICR printer and toner that meets with the MICR standards set forth by the ANSI. A bank may refuse a check or charge the payee an additional fee if there is poor MICR quality on the check.
The MICR line can be read quickly as the check passes through the check clearing system. The machines that are used to pass these checks through are called reader/sorters. As the checks travel through the machine, a magnetic charge is sent to the check which enables it to quickly read the information on the MICR line. Checks pass through a reader/sorter at speeds of 70 mph. In order to simplify and ease the processing of checks, the Federal Reserve and banks require that checks be printed with MICR toner. The reader/sorter will reject a check that is printed with regular toner, and this requires a manual process for the check to clear. As a consequence, the company which printed the check will be charged a fee for each item that is rejected. Therefore, it is important that all companies print checks with MICR toner.