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 that governs cheques drawn on accounts at Canadian financial institutions. The guide is designed for accountants, controllers, business owners, and administrative staff who order or approve business cheques, aiming to clarify how MICR encoding, cheque layout, magnetic signal strength, and security elements can affect automated processing.
Under Standard 006, a 5/8-inch band along the bottom of a cheque is reserved for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding. The lower 3/16 inch of this band must remain clear, with the encoding line occupying the next 1/4 inch, and the 3/16 inch above it also unobstructed. Any logos, signatures, borders, or other printed elements entering this area can interfere with MICR processing and cause the cheque to fail testing. The E-13B font, comprising digits zero through nine and four symbols (Transit Number, On-Us, Amount, and Dash), is used to encode the information needed for payment processing.
MICR printing requires magnetic ink and must produce a signal within the tolerances set by Standard 006. Testing evaluates character dimensions, spacing, placement, and the presence of extraneous magnetic ink. A cheque that appears correct to the human eye may still generate an inadequate magnetic signal, leading to rejection. Payments Canada recommends that organizations printing their own cheques submit pre-production samples to a financial institution for testing.
Print & Cheques Now holds the designation CPA Self-Accredited Printer #1010 through the Cheque Printer Self-Accreditation Program administered by Payments Canada. This designation attests that the company produces cheques within Standard 006 tolerances and follows the program's testing requirements. The company's cheques also 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 the MICR font, magnetic signal, character placement, and clear-band dimensions. Changes to the printer, toner, paper, or other components can affect whether the finished cheque meets Standard 006. 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 the order.
Jon Gilchrist, Owner of Print & Cheques Now, explained, "Most business owners never look at the standard behind a cheque until one gets rejected. The person ordering cheques for a company is usually an accountant or an 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." The guide is part of the company's effort to help businesses avoid disruptions caused by non-compliant cheques, which can delay payments and incur additional costs.
The guide is available for businesses reviewing business cheque options or ordering cheques matched to their financial institution. Since its founding in 2006, Print & Cheques Now has served over 46,000 customers across Canada, printing personal, manual business, and laser/computer cheques compatible with QuickBooks, Sage 50, Xero, and Simply Accounting. Its cheques are accepted by major Canadian banks and over 200 credit unions.
