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Why is MICR Toner special?

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micr toner

Everyday banks impose a clearing time on checks and have you ever wondered why it takes some time to get checks processed? It takes time to process checks because checks need to go through a machine that banks call a reader-sorter. Exactly what its name implies, a reader-sorter machine sorts out checks based on the information printed on the bottom of the check itself, which includes information like your account number, the check number and the routing number. All of the information is formatted using a special font and has to be in a correct order and position on the check. However, the reader-sorter would only work if the correct ink is used in printing out the check. The correct ink is called an MICR. MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. You would assume that the word Ink assumes it is liquid, but most office laser printers use MICR Toner.

What is a MICR Toner?

What is a MICR toner? The MICR toner is a special kind of toner that was specifically made to make the automation of check processing possible. There is a precise formula used for creating MICR toners, and the standard for producing them is mandated and regulated by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Basically, what makes the MICR toner a unique type of toner is that it contains iron oxide. The letters on MICR stand for “magnetic ink character recognition” and it is the iron oxide content that gives the MICR toner its magnetic properties. The magnetic properties of this toner are what allow the reader-sorter to be able to read and process a check. A correctly formulated MICR toner is supposed to emit the right signal to the reader-sorter to make the reading possible.

Precision Printing with MICR Toners

MICR toners need to be produced in just the right ratio in order to make using them for printing checks effective. ANSI requires MICR toners to emit the exact signal strength so the toner can be read by the reader-sorter machine.

But beyond the quality of the toner itself, the American Bankers Association (ABA) has set standards on fonts printed on checks. The fonts used on MICR lines, which is the line of personal information located on the bottom of each check, were specifically designed to make them machine-readable. In Israel, South America and the Mediterranean countries, the standard font is called the CMC-7. In the United States and the rest of the world, the MICR font used is the E-13B.

Precision is extremely necessary to make check printing with MICR toners work. The ABA imposes a strict fixed width for each MICR font character, which is 1/8th of an inch. Also, these characters have to be printed on the exact spot on the check where they are supposed to be. If these two conditions are not followed, then the reader-sorter machine would not be able to read and process the check. When the check is processed manually there is a bank fee that is accrued.

Another beautiful thing with MICR toners is that they provide a degree of security when it comes to printing checks. Checks need to be printed using a MICR Toner Cartridge; one cannot use any ordinary ink or toner. Some banks catch fraudulent checks, those printed with ordinary inks or toner.

Other Uses of the MICR Toner

Since precision and security are benchmarks of the MICR toner, many other industries have adopted the use of this special toner for their own printing needs. Airlines use MICR toners for printing their tickets. The same goes for events and concerts – their tickets are made with MICR toner as well. Most documents that require security and precision have come to rely on MICR toners to provide them these.

What is the best brand of MICR Toner?

For many years there have been several brands of MICR Toner used. Recently one company has risen above the rest with over 85% of all printers being used today is HP. HP has been expanding and upgrading it’s printers at a tremendous rate. HP MICR is by far the most widely used MICR Toner in the world.

To see our complete line of MICR Toner click here.

Why MICR Toner

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magnetic inkMICR=Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. The MICR Toner that is used in this process makes use of both special printer inks and characters. This type of toner is very popular to banks as they use MICR to print special characters on their client’s personal and business checks .

Why is MICR toner important?

The MICR toner is transferred to a certain document. When this document is processed through a special machine, the toner becomes magnetized. From there the magnetic information will be translated to characters.

All printer brands with this type of toner – like HP MICR toner – are essential in order to make check processing faster. They enable machines to read data from MICR lines. These MICR lines usually appear on the bottom portion of the check. In short, these special toners are contributory to the existence of an automated check processing.

How does MICR toner work?

This can actually be described through the different processes that take place in reader-sorter machines.

The MICR toner contains magnetic components that are made of iron oxide additives. These additives are eager partners to the toner in that it allows reader-sorters to read these checks.

Once the check goes through the sorter or the reader machine, it will be read through the aid of a magnetic read head. The read head creates contact with the MICR line thus creating a flux pattern which is an electromagnetic field.

The flux pattern on the other hand is responsible for producing current that runs through the magnetic read head. The current will then read the special characters produced by the MICR toner. Character recognition depends upon two factors: flux pattern’s strength; and the MICR line’s passage timing as it goes through the read head.

The process of reading MICR lines is called the waveform theory. This is called as such because when magnetized characters emit signals as printed with the use of an MICR toner, waves are created on the MICR line. These waves have positive and negative peaks that should have a equal depth or height.

Different brands have their own special type of MICR toner. There is a special MICR toner for HP which is distinct from what Canon MICR printers want. To get a discount on your next MICR Toner Cartridge visit us at Laser Cartridge Plus

Printing checks is easy with HP MICR

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HP MICRJust a couple of years ago the idea of printing your own checks was absurd and unheard of. However, today it is the norm and with it comes a whole host of questions regarding at home or in office check printing and the MICR toner used.

 

 

HP MICR Toner or Ink?

Before you get up from your desk and run to the office supply store and buy a new printer and some MICR Toner to start printing your checks, be mindful that regular toner and ink that comes with the machine will not work and could cost you money. And, while this is possible it really is not a good idea. The HP MICR Toner is special in that it allows the bank readers and sorters to read the documents quickly and process them easily. Often the ordinary consumer will ask if it is required to use MICR Toner to print their checks and the answer is definitely yes!

The banking industry has set up a standard for printing checks. This is to supply the customer fast and precise processing of all checks that go through the bank everyday. If you don’t use MICR Toner to print your checks then that check has to be entered manually and this will result in a bank charge. This charge can be as high as $30 per check. So, that is something you will definitely want to keep in mind.

Another common question is whether or not MICR toner exists for inkjet printers. The answer is no because inkjet printers use ink not toner. However, there is MICR ink that works well in inkjet printers so that is an option for you if you have an inkjet printer.

The most popular question is perhaps what MICR really stands for. The answer is magnetic ink character recognition. MICR alone will not change the characters that are required to be used also. The characters that are used are from a whole dissimilar font.

Another funny question that people seem to ask quite regularly is how MICR is pronounced. The answer is M, I, C, R because it is an acronym and not a word. Acronyms should be spelled out, like YMCA, rather than spoken as a word. Some people have heard the MICR acronym spoken as “micker” or “my-ker” but neither of these is correct. Although, the “my-ker” would be preferred by industry leaders should it be pronounced. The easiest thing to do is just spell it out!

Those are some of the most popular questions behind MICR toner however people do have many others. If this sounds like you then do not hesitate jumping on the web and seeing what you can find. Most probable you will realize there are actually a lot of answers out there that will help educate you on MICR.

Things you should think about before you start printing your own checks:

85% of all printers in use today are HP Printers. This speaks volumes on the printer option for you.

Starting with an HP Printer with HP MICR Toner Cartridge and a good check writing program will sure enough get you up and running.

Using HP MICR will save you about 50% over other brands.

Time and time again other brands often have MICR content flaws, where HP does not normally have these problems.

Most importantly do your homework! Before you start printing checks in quantity, go to your local bank that these checks would be processed and have them check that everything is acceptable. Remember that there is currently no way to print micr checks using a Color Laser Printer.

MICR Toner is moving into offices at a rapid rate!

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micr toner check“MICR” stands for magnetic ink character recognition and is pronounced “my-ker”

With all of the challenges faced with industries today, the MICR market is standing well out front. Despite declining check reserves around the world, millions of MICR documents go forward to be produced on centralized, distributed and laser printers, and vendors continue developing new MICR printing process hardware and solutions. In their recent study, “Digital MICR Printing,” INTERQUEST reviews the current state of affairs of MICR printing.

Although checks are still the leading form of non-cash payment in the US, the Federal Reserve documents a steady decline in market share to electronic payments. Between 2003 and 2006, checks dropped from 48% to 33% of all non-cash payments, and this scenario is playing out in most regions of the world. INTERQUEST estimates that, currently, about half of consumer and small business checks produced by large check suppliers are printed on conventional equipment, and about half are printed on digital systems. Declining check usage has surprisingly not taken a toll on check producers. INTERQUEST expects check volume in the US to decrease from 32 billion in 2007 to 21 billion in 2012, and that an increasing part of checks currently produced with lithography will migrate to digital platforms, mostly laser printers.

Laser Printers with MICR Toner

The majority of MICR printing is being held within of institutions using distributed laser printers. TROY Group and Source Technologies together account for more than 90% of the installed base of secure laser printers and distributed MICR printers in the US. sooner or later, electronic delivery is having an impact. Check 21 provided a boost to laser printers and distributed MICR prints as the volume of image replacement documents (IRDs) produced by banks and financial institutions grew very rapidly. As of mid-2009, however, nearly 90% of receiving institutions in the US were accepting check images, and IRD volume is declining. In the future, INTERQUEST expects to see faster laser printer units and more MICR MFPs on the market.

Recent surveys of major commercial and in-house transactional printing operations find that only about one-quarter of the respondents expect MICR volume to decline over the next few years. Yet many third-party providers are gaining volume from failing competitors, and in-house operations face outsourcing decisions as volumes level off. Consolidation in the market has been a boon for faster continuous-feed systems from vendors such as InfoPrint and Océ, while Xerox continues to dominate the cut-sheet segment. It is estimated that the overall volume of MICR printing produced on output equipment to decline from around 13 billion to 11 billion impressions by 2013.

One of the most interesting and exciting developments for the market has been the MICR enabled inkjet. Printing MICR ink with these devices present difficulties for users since the magnetic particles in the ink tend to clog the ink nozzles and are difficult to maintain in suspension. Kodak worked around the issue by offering an inline Nipson magnetographic unit with its VL and VX presses, but the Holy Grail has been an entirely inkjet solution. A solution was first achieved for desktop inkjet units, and solutions for production equipment have followed. Océ has added a fifth print head and an additional MICR ink tank to the JetStream family of fullcolor inkjet presses, and InfoPrint unveiled a MICR version of the InfoPrint 5000 at Print 09. Other vendors offering MICR-enabled inkjet production equipment include RISO and the French company, Impika.

Still with all that said HP still dominates the industry with it’s HP Laserjet printer using HP MICR Toner. HP printers are widely standard and make up about 85% of all laser printers on the market. When it comes to MICR Toner HP is the choice with its full line of HP MICR perfected and available most anywhere.