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I have someone who is asking if a script could be created that could be printed to from check printing software (Quicken-esque) and create checks with MICR encoding. I told them it wasn't possible, but I guess I should have chequed first.

I looked but didn't see anything out there (besides software). It looks like micr printing has very strict standards, and sounds like it's unlikely php can handle it.

Any thoughts?

I happened across a free micr font that might work. http://www.sandeen.net/GnuMICR/ can be installed on computers then renders micr font which can be printed.

I guess positioning is rather important too... perhaps this could be accomplished with javascript/jquery?

stormdrain
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    hehe... 'check' -> 'cheque' and 'chequed' -> 'checked'.... hehehe.... I see what you did there. – Spudley Apr 27 '11 at 14:27

2 Answers2

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PHP can render output in a variety of formats. PDF seems the best choice here.

MICR fonts are available and usable within PHP generated PDF docs.

The biggest challenge looks like the physical act of printing, which needs very specialised kit.

trickwallett
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The "M" in MICR stands for "Magnetic".

This is important: they use specialised printing equipment to print it.

You'll be able to get fonts that look like MICR, but unless you print it in magnetic ink, then it won't actually be MICR.

However, unless you're actually planning to start a bank and generate your own cheque stationary, it's unlikely that you're going to need this.

Most (virtually all?) cheque printing (or 'check printing' if you're American) is done using pre-printed cheque stationary provided by the bank. They provide the cheques; your software only needs to print the payee, the amount, the date and a signature graphic.

You shouldn't need to print the MICR text; this should already be on the pre-printed stationary.

Spudley
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  • They already print checks so the ink is no issue. They need to print for many different accounts, so it isn't practical to have pre-printed checks for each account thus the need for micr printing. Thanks! – stormdrain Apr 27 '11 at 14:34