HP MICR
Companies that print checks with MICR printers have often had difficult decisions to make when it comes to choosing toner cartridges. Do you want to purchase new or remanufactured cartridges? New or Original Equipment Manufacturer, OEM, toner cartridges are produced by the same company that manufactured the printer. Companies such as Lexmark and HP MICR use this method and up to 10% of the cartridge can be made from recycled products.
When checks travel through a clearing system, they pass through machines called readers and sorters. These machines send a magnetic charge to the check which can read the information encoded in the MICR line. This process occurs incredibly quickly as checks pass through the machines at speeds up to 70 mph! MICR check printing is so much more advanced than traditional methods that the Federal Reserve requires all bank checks be printed with MICR toner to facilitate faster processing. Any document that is printed with regular toner will be rejected from the system and will have to be manually cleared. As a result the company who printed the check will be charged a fee per item rejected. This consequence is the reason why it is important that companies print with the correct check paper and MICR toner.