# Can I print my own checks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150 "2003-07-04T00:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/21 "2003-07-05T18:31:15Z")
Well, as I said, I have been printing my own checks for over 15 years now, with a crude dotmatrix printer at first, and I have _never_ had any check rejected by any bank. The fact that one check number was read incorrectly because my signature crossed it shows the machine was in fact reading optically my printed characters and they were not input by hand or there was any other magnetic sleeve. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/22 "2003-07-05T20:52:53Z")
**sailor** , out of curiosity why do you do this? I understand **Hombre** ’s interest as an artist. Do you have another reason? Also, would you be willing to email a template and fonts to those interested (such as myself)? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/23 "2003-07-05T21:36:15Z")
I think I started doing it the first time I ran out of checks. I realised I was paying the same people month after month so I preprinted checks with the payees, acount numbers (Mortgage, utilities, etc) and in the case of fixed monthly payments, like the mortgage I printed the amount too. It saved me a lot of writing and it looked neater. I could print all checks once a year and only fill the amount if needed. I have emailed you the WORD document and the font. Let me know if you have any problems. As I said, I also print a light blue background sometimes but that is a different thing, not part of that WORD document. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/24 "2003-07-05T22:13:43Z")
**sailor** , it looks great, and thanks. Nice auto-numbering as well. I use Quicken to print most checks on preprinted “check stock”; I’m surprised they don’t have an option to print full checks on blank paper. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/25 "2003-07-05T22:24:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bill H. \* > \*\*I use Quicken to print most checks on preprinted “check stock”; I’m surprised they don’t have an option to print full checks on blank paper. \*\* And where do you buy that check stock from? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/26 "2003-07-05T22:29:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Swede Hollow \* > \*\*There is new regulation going through saying that an optical image of a check is as good as the physical check in a legal sense. That means that most banks will eventually be scanning the checks and then trashing them (the law says they CAN, but if it saves them money all banks probably WILL). The electronic image of the check is what will be transmitted to the Federal Reserve, issuing bank, etc. The law is expected to go through without any hitches and will have an effective date of about a year after the law passes. It is known as POPS or Check Truncation Act. See [here](http://www.bankersonline.com/technology/gurus_tech102102a.html) for a brief summary and a link to the FRB discussing it in more detail. Also, [this](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c108:2:./temp/~c108o8Mutw::) is the U.S. Senate’s info on the bill. \*\* Slight correction: the image of the check will not be transmitted. Only the account details, read from the MICR, will be transmitted. The retailer will keep the image of the check which can be used for dispute resolution. The retailer may also provide access to the images to the authorizing company, e.g. TeleCheck, again for dispute resolution. However, there is no reason to transmit the check images themselves as they provide no additional useful information in the normal case, and they would add several Kb to every message. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/27 "2003-07-05T23:26:33Z")
**amarone** wrote > [@](#): > > And where do you buy that check stock from? Well, let me be clear about the “check stock”. It’s really just 8.5"x11" sheets of blank checks. In my particular case, I use ones that use a full page per check, which is perforated into thirds. I keep the lower third and staple it to the bill that was paid. The top third is the actual check, and the middle third has the basic info that the check contains, who it’s too, from, amount, date, etc. The top 2/3’s gets folded in half along the one-third perforation and mailed. The recipient can keep the middle third for accounting records if they want. You can get it lots of places. Googling on “blank checks” brings up tons. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/28 "2003-07-06T02:33:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bill H. \* > \*\ ***amarone** wrote > > Well, let me be clear about the “check stock”. It’s really just 8.5"x11" sheets of blank checks. In my particular case, I use ones that use a full page per check, which is perforated into thirds. I keep the lower third and staple it to the bill that was paid. The top third is the actual check, and the middle third has the basic info that the check contains, who it’s too, from, amount, date, etc. The top 2/3’s gets folded in half along the one-third perforation and mailed. The recipient can keep the middle third for accounting records if they want. > > You can get it lots of places. Googling on “blank checks” brings up tons. \*\* OK, so I didn’t get the answer I was expecting. My point was going to be that Intuit sells “check stock”, so they hardly have an incentive to provide the function to print on plain paper. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/29 "2003-07-13T18:09:38Z")
Citbank now lets customers see the check images online so I went to see one of my clerared checks which I have posted [here](http://sailor.teemingmillions.com/images/check713aa.jpg). I notice several things. One is that they have added the amount in the special characters of the bottom line. I could have printed than myself too and it might not be a bad idea to do in the future as it prevent tampering. You can see the bottom line contains the bank’s routing number, account number, check number and check amount. The special symbols identify what each number represents. Then you can see the scan has the same characters again lower down. It may be the check was put in some sleeve or something. I have no idea. Also there is some printing on the left, outside the check, and I have no idea about this either. You can see I printed the check on some paper taken from a pad which was a light blue with the symbol for recycling on it because it was made from recycled paper. It made qute a suitable background. ---
**Author:** ![filmteknik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@filmteknik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmteknik)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/30 "2003-07-14T04:28:20Z")
The depository bank (or sometimes, the recipient if it’s a large business) will encode the amount. In this case the routing or account number were unreadable (probably because it was not magnetic ink) so they sleaved it and re-encoded the whole thing on the sleave. ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/31 "2003-07-14T12:56:46Z")
**sailor** email me your Word file. ---
**Author:** ![biddee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@biddee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biddee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/32 "2003-07-14T13:34:19Z")
I work for a printing company and we routinely design and print blank cheques for companies…it’s a nice way to have personalized cheque backgrounds etc. ---
**Author:** ![jfroesch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfroesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfroesch)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/33 "2015-10-30T08:28:25Z")
Sailor, would you please send me the WORD document and the Font that you use as well? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/34 "2015-10-30T09:28:03Z")
> [@jfroesch](#): > > Sailor, would you please send me the WORD document and the Font that you use as well? > Thanks! Welcome to the forums, **jfroesch**. I doubt **sailor** will see your request. This thread was last posted to in 2003 and **sailor** was last active on these forums in February, 2014. Chances are someone else may be able to help you out, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/35 "2015-10-30T14:18:11Z")
I suspect the reason sailor’s scanned check showed a second line of special characters was because his printed check didn’t use magnetic ink. I honestly don’t know if that’s even an issue nowadays, it seems like everything is optical. My first impulse would be to simply call my bank and ask them if they have any help or suggestions or rules about self printed checks. Plenty of websites/youtubes for “print your own checks.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/36 "2015-10-30T15:06:25Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board\_of\_Inland\_Revenue\_v\_Haddock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Inland_Revenue_v_Haddock) By the way, how long do you expect to go on using cheques? Electronic transfer is taking over all over. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/37 "2015-10-30T22:06:07Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board\_of\_Inland\_Revenue\_v\_Haddock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Inland_Revenue_v_Haddock) > > By the way, how long do you expect to go on using cheques? Electronic transfer is taking over all over. Not all over. I still have a regular need for checks (50+ per year). ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/38 "2015-10-30T22:20:44Z")
FWIW, when I was a lad I worked in a store across the street from a “gated community” of rich folks and one guy used to come in and buy stuff and hand write checks on whatever scrap paper was handy. They were drawn on a local bank and he was well known to them and local merchants (and he maintained a 7 figure balance in his checking account) so there was never a problem cashing them. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/39 "2015-10-30T23:00:08Z")
These days, someone writes me a check, I take a picture of both sides with my phone and then throw the check away. My bank accepts it instantly. Doesn’t seem very secure but apparently most banks allow this now. As long as the numbers on the bottom are recognizable by the computer at the bank, basically anything will work. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150/40 "2015-11-01T04:55:28Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board\_of\_Inland\_Revenue\_v\_Haddock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Inland_Revenue_v_Haddock) > > By the way, how long do you expect to go on using cheques? Electronic transfer is taking over all over. I have a client that still prints their own cheques. They could use electronic transfer, but they find that cheques often take weeks, sometimes months, before they are presented, which they regard as a /good thing/ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-print-my-own-checks/186150.md?page=3)