Print & Cheques Now Inc., a Calgary-based cheque printer holding CPA Self-Accredited Printer #1010 status, has published a plain-language guide to Standard 006, the Payments Canada specification governing cheques drawn on Canadian accounts. The guide aims to help accountants, controllers, and business owners understand the technical requirements for cheque production, particularly MICR encoding and security features, to prevent processing failures.
Standard 006 reserves a 5/8-inch band at the bottom of a cheque for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding. Within this band, no other printing is allowed except the E-13B characters. The lower 3/16 inch must remain clear, the encoding line occupies the next 1/4 inch, and the 3/16 inch above must also be unobstructed. Logos, signatures, or borders intruding into this area can interfere with MICR processing, causing cheques to fail testing.
The MICR line must be printed with magnetic ink and produce a signal within tolerances set by Standard 006. Testing evaluates character dimensions, spacing, placement, and extraneous magnetic ink. A cheque that looks correct to the eye may still fail due to inadequate magnetic signal. Payments Canada recommends that organizations printing their own cheques submit pre-production samples to financial institutions for testing.
In addition to meeting Standard 006, Print & Cheques Now cheques include three confirmed security features: holograms, thermochromic ink, and microprinting visible under magnification. These features are separate from MICR requirements but must be placed to avoid interference with imaging and the MICR band.
Managing in-house cheque printing requires control over MICR font, magnetic signal, character placement, and clear-band dimensions. Changes in printer, toner, or paper can affect compliance. Print & Cheques Now tests its production under the self-accreditation program and offers a Bank Acceptance Guarantee: if a Canadian financial institution rejects a cheque, the company will reprint or refund.
Businesses can review business cheque options or order cheques matched to their financial institution.
Jon Gilchrist, Owner of Print & Cheques Now, said, "Most business owners never look at the standard behind a cheque until one gets rejected. The person ordering cheques is usually an accountant or office manager, not a compliance specialist, so we wrote this guide in plain language instead of leaving that standard buried in a technical document only a printer would read."
