Print & Cheques Now Inc., a Calgary-based cheque printer holding CPA Self-Accredited Printer #1010 status, has published a guide explaining the technical specifications that govern business cheques in Canada. The guide, aimed at accountants, controllers, and business owners, clarifies the requirements of Payments Canada's Standard 006, which sets the rules for cheque layout, MICR encoding, and security features.
Standard 006 reserves a 5/8-inch band at the bottom of a cheque for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding. Within this band, 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. Any logos, signatures, or other printed elements that intrude into this area can interfere with automated processing, potentially causing a cheque to fail testing.
The MICR line itself must be printed with magnetic ink that produces a signal within the tolerances set by Standard 006. Even if a cheque appears correct to the naked eye, it may have an inadequate magnetic signal if the characters are incorrectly sized, spaced, or positioned. Payments Canada recommends that organizations printing their own cheques submit pre-production samples to their financial institution for testing.
Print & Cheques Now cheques include three confirmed security features: holograms, thermochromic (heat-sensitive) ink, and microprinting visible under magnification. These features are regulated by Standard 006 to ensure they do not interfere with imaging or the MICR band.
For businesses that print cheques in-house, maintaining compliance requires careful control over the MICR font, magnetic signal, character placement, and clear-band dimensions. Changes to printers, toner, or paper can all affect whether a cheque meets Standard 006. Print & Cheques Now tests its production under the self-accreditation program and backs every order with a Bank Acceptance Guarantee, promising a reprint or refund if a Canadian financial institution rejects the cheque.
Jon Gilchrist, Owner of Print & Cheques Now, explained the motivation behind the guide: "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."
Print & Cheques Now offers a range of business cheque options and can order cheques matched to a customer's financial institution. The company has served more than 46,000 customers since 2006 and its cheques are accepted by major banks and credit unions across Canada.
