# Font for printing checks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449 "2001-05-25T04:00:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/1 "2001-05-25T04:00:14Z")
For many years I have been printing my own checks with an old printer. As you know the checks have the account number printed witha special font at the bottom. I designed the font myself using bitmaps. Anyway, the printer is about to be retired and the program I was using was an old DOS program so it is time to try to transfer over to Windows. Questions: can I find this font somewhere? Anyone have any experience printing checks? I know there are finacial programs which do this but that is not what I want, I just want to print the checks. Alternatively, if I have the bitmaps can I make a font for windows? more questions later ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/2 "2001-05-25T04:36:35Z")
The font’s called MICR. MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/3 "2001-05-25T06:20:02Z")
I know the ink is supposed to be magnetic but I have always used regular ink and it has worked. i think they use optical readers now. Anyway, where can I get the font? I did a Net search and saw a few places that sell it. Come on! I’m not going to pay for that! I have the bitmaps. Can I turn them into a font? Or can I get the font for free? ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/4 "2001-05-25T06:31:37Z")
**Sailor** sed: _“I know the ink is supposed to be magnetic but I have always used regular ink and it has worked.”_ I may be wrong about this, but I thing laser printer toner is magnetic. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/5 "2001-05-25T07:07:05Z")
If it’s free fonts you want, be aware you may be limiting yourself to demo versions, rather than full versions, of the fonts. I found one such demo version [here](http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,72263,00.html). With demos, any number of characters may be missing from the set; in this case two numbers are not included. **The full set is $134.50.** Sheesh. Even by Adobe font pricing standards, that’s high. Makes [this one](http://www.imagespro.com/programs/696/) seem like a steal at $20, don’t it? 🙂 As for turning bitmaps into fonts, you probably could do it, but I suspect you’d need Macromedia Fontographer for that. Going that route won’t save you time, and it certainly won’t save you any money. I think your best option is to cough up $20 for the font. Just FYI: The top of this page has some Q&As on check printing. [http://www.micro-micr.com/faq.htm](http://www.micro-micr.com/faq.htm) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/6 "2001-05-25T07:37:55Z")
stuyguy, I used to print with matrix printer and now with inkjet. Never used a laser. But even with laser I believe you need a special cartridge of toner. AudreyK, any price is too much. I mean I am already doing it in DOS. I can’t see me paying anything for that font. I mean, all I need is the numerals and 3 signs. There’s no way i am paying _anything_ for that. Maybe someone will help. This font is not part of Windows? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/7 "2001-05-25T07:51:22Z")
[This might be what you want](http://www.high-logic.com/fcp.html): > [@](#): > > The Font Creator Program puts font creation within the grasp of the average PC user, would-be typographers and graphic designers. With this application you can create and edit TrueType font files. You can use the modified fonts in Windows 3.11 and higher. Features include the ability to convert (scanned) bitmaps (.bmp files) to TrueType outlines, thus enabling you to create your own signature, logo and handwriting. It’s shareware. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/8 "2001-05-25T08:24:30Z")
Dijon, thanks, I am going to look into that. I might have to learn a bit about windows fonts as I do not know anything. I do not have the fonts even in bitmaps but in binary code in the DOS printer driver. Making bitmaps from that should be pretty straightforward. Then I’ll try to convert into a windows font file. I’ll try that and see how I do. thanks ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/9 "2001-05-25T08:43:09Z")
Hope it works. It gives you a 30 day free trial, then you have to register or kill it. I’d get your font made and then dump it. Veeeyolah! (or is it “Wah-lah”?) Free font. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/10 "2001-05-25T09:04:12Z")
This is going to be more labor intensive than I thought. \ I only have to convert 13 characters. I believe when I designed them ages ago for my matrix printer I designed them on a 5x8 matrix. When I got the first inkjet I multiplied by 3 so now I have a 24x16 (I guess I added a column for some reason, maybe spacing). Now each character is composed of 48 bytes: 3 bytes per column (24 bits) x 16 columns… to make the bitmaos by hand using MS paint would be a chore (although that is how I did it in reverse the first time) Anyone have any ideas of how to convert easily those bytes to bitmaps? I am thinking I may do it easier if I just scan then anew or download the images from the net… ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/11 "2001-05-25T17:54:15Z")
Someone emailed me the font so I now have all the numerals but it does not seem to include the delimiters used for the bank and account numbers… It is also different from what I had in that mine was fixed pitch and these are variable width. Now I have a vague notion that in MS Word 97 you can define some characters by using bitmaps… I am going to look into that too… Anyone know anything about this? Can someone tell me an easy way to convert a whole bunch of bytes into a bitmap? This is an example of what I have. They are decimal values, each group of 3 make a column, Characters are 24 bit tall by 15 bit wide. 15, 255, 0, 15, 255, 0, 15, 255, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 254, 7, 240, 254, 7, 240, 254, 7, 240, 254, 7, 240, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 you can see the last 5 columns are blank, just used for spacing. Is there an easy way to generate a bitmap from these values? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/12 "2001-05-26T05:14:01Z")
Well, this was more work than I thought but I finally have the complete font and have managed to print a check. It was way too much effort… I need to get a life… Now on to the next problem but I’ll start another thread for that ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/font-for-printing-checks/66449/13 "2001-05-26T05:21:51Z")
Glad to hear things worked out.