Summary of the content on the page No. 1
ST9530
Secure MICR Printer
User’s Guide
Source Technologies
2910 Whitehall Park Drive
Charlotte, NC 28273
www.sourcetech.com
techsupport@sourcetech.com
800-922-8501
Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide i © Source Technologies
September 2005 All Rights Reserved
Summary of the content on the page No. 2
This manual serves as a reference for Source Technologies Secure MICR Printers. The user manual that ships with your printer contains details on printer setup and operations and should be read first. This manual should be used as a reference for learning more about MICR technology, and developing MICR printing applications. This guide was produced to assist IS Technicians and Engineers in the use Source Technologies’ programmed printers with their custom MICR applications. The guide
Summary of the content on the page No. 3
Table of Contents 1 Printer Installation...........................................................1 2 MICR Overview ................................................................2 The Check Processing System.....................................2 MICR Printing Today.....................................................2 3 MICR Check Design.........................................................4 General Features of Check Design...............................4 Position and Dime
Summary of the content on the page No. 4
8 Audit Trail Report ............................................................36 Report Details ...............................................................36 Audit Trail Menu............................................................36 Audit Trail Command Set..............................................37 Figure 8.1: Audit Trail Command Example ...................41 Figure 8.2: Audit Trail Check Sample ...........................42 Figure 8.3 Audit Trail Report............
Summary of the content on the page No. 5
1. Printer Installation For complete information on how to unpack and setup your printer, see your printer’s user’s guide. Please read the following if you are going to install the printer driver shipped with your printer. 1. Locate the CD that was shipped with your printer. Note: If you do not have a CD-ROM drive on the host PC, locate another computer with a CD-ROM drive, start the CD-ROM utility, and then follow the instructions on the screen to create printer driver diskettes.
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
2. MICR Overview MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. All MICR documents have a MICR line with numbers and symbols printed in a MICR font with magnetically chargeable toner. Each character of the MICR font has a unique waveform when sensed magnetically. Financial institutions and the Federal Reserve use the MICR line to identify and sort checks. The high-speed automated processing of checks and other financial documents depends on the accuracy and the integrity of the d
Summary of the content on the page No. 7
The key standards that address check documents are as follows: ANSI X9.7 Specifications for Bank Check Background and Convenience Amount Field ANSI X9.13 Specifications for Placement and Location of MICR Printing ANSI X9.18 Paper Specifications for Checks ANSI X9.27 Print and Test Specifications for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Note: These standards are being re-numbered as new versions are published: ANSI X9.7 will become ANSI X9.100-110 ANSI X9.13 will become
Summary of the content on the page No. 8
3. MICR Check Design General Features of Check Design To be a legal and negotiable document, the necessary elements required on a check are the date, amount, payee, drawee institution, and payer’s signature. Other elements included in a good check design are: the amount in words, account title, check serial number, fractional routing number and MICR line. A good check design contains security features and is formatted to be easily read by both machines and the human eye. If the f
Summary of the content on the page No. 9
Duplexing Use caution if printing on both sides of the paper (duplexing) when printing checks. MICR toner on the back of a check can cause read failures in the MICR Line. Order your check stock with any necessary information preprinted on the back. If duplex is necessary, we suggest a more aggressive test plan be developed to ensure print quality consistently conforms to the ANSI/ABA specifications. MICR Clear Band The MICR clear band is an area at the bottom of the check where the M
Summary of the content on the page No. 10
courier font, or if available OCR-B, are also acceptable fonts to print the convenience amount. Note: The Source Technologies’ Secure Numeric Font (see Appendix C) should not be used in the convenience amount since it is not a machine readable font. Amount In Words The amount in words (sometimes called the legal amount) is normally located either above or below and to the left of the convenience amount. The area for the amount in words should be entirely filled to make alteration dif
Summary of the content on the page No. 11
so that if the MICR data account number is destroyed, the drawee institution can refer to the account title in order to trace the account number. Memo Line This line is located in the lower left quadrant of the check, and is not required. Data printed here does not contain any legal significance. Printing in this area with th magnetic toner should not extend downward into the MICR clear band which is 5/8 of an inch above the bottom of the check. Check Serial Number The check seria
Summary of the content on the page No. 12
On-Us Field Positions 32 to 14 The On-us field contains the makers’ account number. The structure and content of this field is left to the drawee bank. On personal checks this field also contains the check serial numbers. The On-Us field may not consist of more than 19 characters. An On-Us (;) symbol must appear immediately to the right of the account number. Blank Field Position 13 Position 13 is always left blank. Amount Field Positions 1 to 12 The amount field is the right mos
Summary of the content on the page No. 13
Figure 3.1: Sample Check A. Serial Number: Must be in the upper right corner and match the serial number in the MICR line (see D for further explanation). B. Fractional Routing Transit Number: Should be in the upper right corner and must match the routing transit number in the MICR line with the exception of the state prefix number (ex. 66 = NC, 67 = SC, 64 = GA, etc.) and the preceding zeros. C. Bank Name, State, City: The bank logo is optional. Name of bank, city and state where
Summary of the content on the page No. 14
4. Quality Issues A high quality MICR document can be read by bank reader/sorter equipment many times with no readability issues and does not result in damage to bank equipment. This quality is the result of a well designed printer, an originally manufactured MICR toner cartridge and high quality check stock. Printer Features Your Secure MICR Printer is equipped with some features to ensure high quality MICR documents. Paper Type We recommend paper trays with check stock be se
Summary of the content on the page No. 15
MICR Check Stock Check stock has a large impact on the resulting quality and security of your MICR document. Here are a few features that should be considered when selecting a check stock. Please see Chapter 4 for more information on check stock security features. Quality Quality MICR check printing with your ST Secure MICR Printer requires check stock that matches the printer’s requirements. Source Technologies can supply paper specifically made for our printers. If you wish t
Summary of the content on the page No. 16
5. Security Issues Printing negotiable documents from blank paper on desktop MICR laser printers makes security a top priority for any company embarking on a desktop check printing project. Good security programs integrate hardware, software, your employees and your financial institution into a secure check production system. Recent changes relative to the responsibilities of banks and their customers have a bearing on the ultimate liability for fraudulent documents. Customers must ha
Summary of the content on the page No. 17
Security Note Check fraud in the United States is a continuing problem. We have attempted to identify security features that can be incorporated into the base check stock. However, these may not prove 100% fraud preventative. Over time, technology will continue to develop new and improved measures to address check fraud. The following internal and external security measures will help minimize your risk of check fraud. 1. Financial institutions should train tellers to look at the ch
Summary of the content on the page No. 18
7. Use “Positive Pay” check services from your financial institution that match check number and dollar amounts to known information. Financial institutions should encourage full participation of corporate clients. 8. Move methods of fraud detection to the item’s point of entry into the clearing system. For example, low cost readers can detect low magnetic strength in the MICR line which is a good indication of attempts to copy an original. 9. Always verify the home address and place
Summary of the content on the page No. 19
6. MICR Features Source Technologies’ Secure MICR Printers are designed to allow both general office document printing and secure MICR document printing. You may print a variety of conventional jobs with regular Lexmark toner using all of the printer features available such as MarkNet and MarkVision network attachment interfaces and network printer utilities. These printers come standard with HP PCL5, PCL6 and PostScript Level 2 emulations and others. Source Technologies has designed
Summary of the content on the page No. 20
MicroPrint Your Secure MICR Printer also contains the MicroPrint font. MicroPrint is text less than .010” tall. It can easily be read with a magnifying glass but appears to be a solid line to an unaided eye. This font provides protection against reproduction by most scanners and copiers because they cannot successfully print the tiny letters. Most check printers use this font in the signature area of their preprinted checks. We recommend using this font to help deter check fra
