Print & Cheques Now Inc., a Calgary-based cheque printer, 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 aimed at accountants, controllers, business owners, and administrative staff who order or approve business cheques, and it explains how MICR encoding, cheque layout, magnetic signal strength, and security elements can affect automated processing.
The guide addresses a common pitfall: a cheque may contain the correct account and transit numbers yet still fail testing if its MICR line is incorrectly printed or positioned. Standard 006 reserves a 5/8-inch band along the bottom of the cheque for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding. Within that band, only prescribed E-13B characters may appear. The lower 3/16 inch must remain clear, the encoding line occupies the next 1/4 inch, and the 3/16 inch above it must also be unobstructed. Logos, signatures, or borders that enter this area can interfere with MICR processing or cause the cheque to fail testing.
The MICR line must be printed with magnetic ink and produce a signal within tolerances set by Standard 006. Testing also evaluates character dimensions, spacing, placement, and the presence of extraneous magnetic ink. A cheque that looks correct to the human eye may still produce an inadequate or inconsistent magnetic signal. 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. Self-accredited printers attest that they produce cheques within Standard 006 tolerances and follow the program's testing requirements. In addition to meeting these specifications, Print & Cheques Now cheques include three confirmed security features: holograms, thermochromic (heat-sensitive) ink, and microprinting visible under magnification. These features are separate from MICR requirements, but their placement is regulated to avoid interfering with imaging or the MICR band.
Managing cheque printing in-house 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 backs every order with its Bank Acceptance Guarantee: if a Canadian financial institution rejects the cheque, the company will reprint or refund the order.
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 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 costly cheque rejections. Print & Cheques Now, founded in 2006, has served more than 46,000 customers across Canada and offers business cheque options compatible with major accounting software. Its cheques are accepted by RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank, ATB Financial, Desjardins, National Bank, and more than 200 credit unions.
