Print & Cheques Now Inc., a Calgary-based cheque printer holding CPA Self-Accredited Printer #1010 status, has released a plain-language guide to Standard 006, the Payments Canada specification governing cheques drawn on Canadian bank accounts. The guide is aimed at accountants, controllers, business owners, and administrative staff who order or approve business cheques, clarifying the technical requirements that affect automated processing.
The guide details the importance of the MICR line and the clear band. Standard 006 mandates a 5/8-inch band at the bottom of each cheque reserved exclusively for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding. Within that band, the lower 3/16 inch must remain blank, the encoding line occupies the next 1/4 inch, and the 3/16 inch above it must also be free of any printing. Logos, signatures, borders, or other elements encroaching on this area can interfere with MICR processing or cause the cheque to fail testing.
MICR encoding uses the E-13B font, comprising digits zero through nine and four symbols: Transit Number, On-Us, Amount, and Dash. These characters must be printed with magnetic ink and produce a signal within tolerances set by Standard 006. The guide emphasizes that a cheque may look correct to the human eye but still fail testing if the magnetic signal is inadequate or inconsistent. Payments Canada recommends that organizations printing their own cheques submit pre-production samples to a financial institution for testing.
Beyond MICR, the guide outlines security features incorporated into Print & Cheques Now cheques, including holograms, thermochromic (heat-sensitive) ink, and microprinting visible under magnification. These features are separate from MICR requirements but must be positioned to avoid interfering with imaging or the MICR band.
For businesses considering in-house cheque printing, the guide warns that managing the process requires control over the MICR font, magnetic signal, character placement, and clear-band dimensions. Changes to printer, toner, paper, or other components 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 the order. Businesses can review business cheque options or order cheques matched to their financial institution.
Jon Gilchrist, Owner of Print & Cheques Now, explained the motivation: "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."
This guide arrives as many businesses continue to rely on cheques for payments, and it serves as a practical resource to minimize disruptions caused by non-compliant cheques.
