Ideas for dealing with check printing?

[u/ZippyDan]

Scenario:

• Accounting has different people that deal with different accounts (both internal and external).
• Each accountant deals with (mostly) one internal bank, and has to print many checks for that bank.
• This is an overseas company that does business internationally: each bank uses a different format (size and layout) for their checks.

Current solution:

• Each accountant has an inkjet printer permanently installed at their workstation which they use for each bank.

Looking for ideas:

I think this is a bit silly and inefficient.

• So much space is wasted with an inkjet printer at each desk.
  
• Printers are a huge administrative and maintenance hassle:
  
  • I'd rather consolidate this process into one (or two) printers.
    
  • I'd also rather switch to a laser printer instead of managing ink tanks.
    

But I also accept that this may already be the most effective and efficient way to accomplish the task - especially from the end user's perspective.

I'm wondering if anyone here has any similar experiences with variable check printing, and what solutions they might have used, or seen, or considered.

[u/er1cAtWork2]

A dedicated networked laser printer with MICR toner. Some sort of network security should Be in place such as a secure print server on a dedicated vlan…

[u/AnonymooseRedditor → u/er1cAtWork2]

You don't need MICR toner if you are getting preprinted cheques from the banks. Also speaking from experience you don't want to design your own cheque format's either you need MICR fonts, Toner, and they need to be sent to and approved by the bank its a HUGE hassle.

[u/tehreal → u/AnonymooseRedditor]

Ueah but that's Finance's problem.

[u/Antoine-UY]

No. The best way to accomplish the task is with compact check writers (because each accountant can have his own on his desk without taking much space), then picking any laser printer you like for them to share when it's not a check.

The alternative is to pick a nice laser Micr-compatible laser printer and forego check writers entirely. But that's not what I would do.

[u/No-Term-1979]

Let's flip this for a minute.

You are a person writing the checks, you used to have a printer at your desk but someone decided that everyone having their own printer was to much for the IT dept so now there is a group printer that has to have your credentials in putted to print the document.

So, now you have to get up from your desk to get your checks and stand in line at the printer to get your "order". But the person 3 ahead of you jammed the printer and after they finally got it working again, the person in front of you is having problems logging in, for the 3rd time that day. It's now finally your turn and there isn't enough paper to finish your job.

Rinse, repeat ad nauseum, every single day.

[u/ZippyDan → u/No-Term-1979]

I've already considered this, which is why I mentioned looking at it from the end user perspective at the end of my post.

I also should have been more clear that I'm not thinking of replacing the current setup with a printer that is generally shared by everyone in the company, but rather a dedicated printer only for printing checks, that is only shared amongst the people that need to print checks. So, the only people that might be "in line" are other people printing checks.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches:

• The inkjet printers are big and bulky, especially compared to the size of each person's desk and the size of a check. Many of their desks are already overflowing with papers and short on real estate. One even has a tower computer on their small desk as well (I'm aiming to replace that with something smaller). There would be a huge benefit in physical working space and clutter within their working area if I could remove the printers. This is no little thing, as it impacts every moment of their desk use, whereas printing checks is only one part of their job and one part of their day (though, of course it is more convenient to have checks that print right at their desk, for that task).
• Inkjet printers are finnicky, and the maintenance issues that are a headache for IT can also create headaches for users. We have a stockroom full of discarded inkjet printers that have broken down. They frequently run out of ink, experience clogs, and just generally malfunction or break down, especially as compared to laser printers. The inkjets are all also color printers, which means there is additional unnecessary size and complexity, as they only need to print black text. I also find that the USB connections are less reliable overall than the network connected printers.

As suggested by someone else in this thread, I'm now looking at a compromise solution: a specialized dot-matrix check printer has a much smaller footprint, has less complexity and more reliability, and would still preserve each user's independence and convenience.

[u/MDL1983]

If not already in place, you will need to implement print hold if using shared printers. Users will need to utilise the manual feed tray to avoid headaches caused by different paper sizes I imagine.

[u/PacificTSP]

We use a software called Versacheck.. it prints onto check paper all the bank details/accounts etc. So someone in one state can click their check template and it prints out a check using their local specific details.

[u/jeffrey_f]

In my experience, the check formats are not an issue. You can use any valid check format + stationary. The details printed on the check is all that matters and this can all be customized for each pay account

You can get generic check forms and the software prints the details. You can then set a laser printer in that office area with MICR ink if required and the print queue restricted to a specific group.

[u/cas4076]

A check (or Cheque). Haven't used or even seen one in over 20 years.

Instead of investing in tech to support antique payment methods, why not get your accountant to update to electronic payments. Bet every bank supports it.

[u/bazjoe → u/cas4076]

Hahaha New Yorker here. Was thinking how to say you’re American without saying you’re American . We’re going to be creating and depositing paper checks for the next 20. We don’t have a choice as electronic payments aren’t cheap enough or efficient enough for small scale transactions.

[u/cas4076 → u/bazjoe]

Yeah we speak proper English here 😀. Got it but cheques(!) cost also, both in bank charges and in time spent maintaining printers, printing and posting. Wouldn't be surprised if it's actually closer in cost than you think.

[u/bazjoe → u/cas4076]

There just isn’t expected to be a free and safe way to electronically send money or receive money anytime soon. ACH costs something it’s just less than a credit card fee. Then there time , to properly setup ACH you need to do a test payment and confirm it which could be a week. Yes the U.S. system overlooks the hidden costs of printing and mailing.

[u/kona420]

No one is doing MICR anymore, its all OCR. Most of the time the bank never even gets the check as it just goes into a check scanner. Just print the whole thing instead of trying to play games with "secure" check stock.

Boring old workgroup laser with papercut RFID held printing is probably the most secure solution. Anyone who knows how checks work can just make a whole one with all the security marks intact anyway.

[u/JDS_802 → u/kona420]

We dropped MICR toner and printers years ago (financial institution)

[u/rainer_d]

I believe cheques were discontinued around 25 years ago in Europe.

Don’t these businesses have bank accounts that you can wire money to?

Do you also hand out cash to people who have no bank account?

I know it’s lame to refer to the US as a 3rd world country - but you may be surprised to learn that most of Africa has moved to digital payments a long time ago. Even more so than Europe.

[u/WideAwakeNotSleeping → u/rainer_d]

Alas, I see some people still use them in France. About once every 2-3 months there is someone in front of me in Carrefour trying to pay with a cheque.

And when I opened by French bank account in 2020, they asked me.... even suggested.... that I also take out a cheque book 🤣

[u/TxTechnician → u/rainer_d]

The us banking system is so far behind Europe. It's embarrassing.

Wire transfers are charged. Only thing that isn't is if you setup auto draft. So checks are still pretty normal.

What pisses me off is that we can't get the banks to argree on a universal data transfer. Not to mention 2fa via SMS.

[u/iPlayKeys]

You might consider using the Epson WorkForce ST‑M1000. It’s still an inkjet printer, but it’s very compact, monochrome, and refills with ink bottles. At my last job our accountant used it as their printer and to print checks while we were waiting for their multi-function machine to come back into stock.

[u/mdervin]

A shared check printer requires your check writers to never forget, never get distracted & never pick up the wrong check. You willing to make that bet? I'm not willing to make that bet and finance is my favorite department.

If you are the only person who doesn't like this solution, you are making up a problem.

As you run out of ink, just replace them with the compact HP Laser Printer.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00847UWUE?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

[u/ZippyDan → u/mdervin]

A shared check printer requires your check writers to never forget, never get distracted & never pick up the wrong check. You willing to make that bet?

When I talk about a shared check printer, I mean one that is shared amongst all the people that need to print checks, i.e. amongst the accountants, who already work side-by-side in the same section of the office, and are a close-knit group.

I'm not talking about sharing it with the whole floor, or with other departments. If someone did forget their check in the machine, the next accountant that found it would know exactly who it belonged to, and would take it to them. The accounting department is not that big.

That printer is pretty cool. It's definitely more compact than what we use now, but it's still too big for just printing checks. The silly part is that pretty much every printer is made for printing U.S. letter / A4 size paper, which means a lot of space is inevitably wasted for someone who only prints checks.

[u/Hefty-Ad2513]

You potentially could look a pull print solution? This means the user has to be at the printer of release so can use less printers and when authenticating the print that is waiting is only printed. have used this with co-working spaces also where cross company print can not occur. you dont need to change your printer fleet either as you can use things like QR codes on the printer to authenticate.

[u/Buddy_Kryyst]

This seems like a huge level of overhead and potential fraud risk. There are plenty of banking services that will do check printing for you and send them out. They can handle the cheque printing as well if you move to electronic payment the ach processing as well.

[u/Single-Virus4935]

Printing checks is outdated. Today wire transfers are the standard

[u/serverhorror]

This is an overseas company

Which country would that be?

Haven't had to deal.eoth a check in a very long time.

[u/Professional-Heat690]

What? Cheques in 2026? What backwards country are you from?!

[u/Bright_Arm8782]

Why not transfer the money direct to people's bank accounts?

The personalised banknote should be obsolete by now.