How to Print Checks Online?

If you have decided to go with online check printing and want to get started, it will be helpful to consider the different ways to do it and then decide the best alternative.

Do It Yourself

The first thing that will strike your mind is to do everything on your own — right from stocking the essential inventory to getting it printed and sent to clients. As easy as it sounds, you should know everything about it before indulging in the task.

• Creating checks: This initial part requires you to have some graphic designing skills to create and format checks that are acceptable. You need to take care of the following things:
• Design a layout according to your bank’s standards and enter your account details carefully. The routing number is required to be placed on the bottom left of the check, and your account number should be placed to its right
• Your bank’s logo should also be present on all your checks in the upper-right area.
• Add your name and address at the top of the check towards the left corner.
• You need to keep track of the check numbers as you can’t print any number you want. Look at your old checks or contact your bank to know the number of your last used check. Accordingly, start with a number for your to-be-printed checks. The check numbers are supposed to be placed after your account number, that is, towards its right.
• Other components of a check that you need to add are your bank’s fractional number, the dateline, the amount box, the payee field, the memo line, and the signature field. Each of these components is to be placed according to the standard cheque format of your bank.
• You can either fill up all the details, such as payee and amount, or print these cheques and reprint them with details, whenever needed.

If you do not have the necessary graphic designing skills and tools, there is always an option to use a check printing platform or software like PostGrid to help you. It is suitable for both small and large volumes as the ease and accuracy provided are unmatchable with all manual steps. Our online check printing software can help you quickly draft your checks as per your bank’s standards.

• Paper stock: Check paper stock is needed to print your checks. You can not buy regular paper and print your checks on it. Paper stock with various security features is required in order to safeguard your checks against copying and alteration. The check paper is compatible with most check printing software and printers. It contains watermarks, microprinting, and security warnings to ensure that your checks are fraud-proof. For easy cutting, some paper stocks are also available in the pre-perforated form. You can get this type of paper at online retail stores or office supply shops. It can be a little expensive as compared to normal paper, but the safety features are a must to consider while buying paper stocks for online check printing.
• MICR font: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition font is used to print characters that are read by the computers easily. It facilitates the check scanning process, and the font also helps secure the check from fraud processing. Your bank and account details are required to be entered only in the MICR font for check printing. Other fonts are not acceptable. Another benefit of this font is that it is also easily understandable by humans. When a check is processed, all the data printed in this font are captured and stored as digital data — useful in completing a transaction. You will have to purchase and install the MICR font on your system to use it.
• Magnetic ink: The magnetic ink works in a similar way as the MICR font. It enables the computer to read the bank details and the MICR code lines even when there are other markings or inks covering the details partially. Nowadays, there are many banks that accept other inks. However, there are still a lot of places that only accept checks printed in magnetic ink. It is therefore advisable to use magnetic ink to print your checks.
• Printer: You can use any printer you want to get your checks printed. Laserjet, inkjet, and offset printers can be used to print checks conveniently; although, there are special check printers that offer added security features like watermarks. The only essentiality is to have a printer that supports magnetic ink printings.

Outsource Online Check Printing

Let us have a quick comparison of the old ‘do it yourself method that we discussed in the last point and the new method of outsourcing your online check printing tasks.

• Stocking materials: In the old way, you will always be in need of stocking check paper, pre-printed stock, and ink. Whereas, if you outsource the job, there will be absolutely no need to stock any inventory to print checks online.
• Administrative costs: You need to pay for electricity, a device, and a printer to do the printing yourself. Moreover, if the volume of your checks is high, it is possible that you may need to hire an office admin to do these tasks. By outsourcing the work, you can save a lot on administrative costs. You can also save your employees’ time and channelize their efforts towards other productive directions. Overall, it costs much less to outsource check printing rather than doing it in-house. For volume printings, you can even get attractive discounts and save further on costs.
• Automation: You can outsource your check printing processes to a platform like PostGrid — which can help you automate everything with the least manual effort. On the opposite side, there is no automation scope in the old method of printing checks yourself.

Print + Mail

After printing checks online, it is obvious that you need to make timely payments through those checks. Hence, most check printing vendors offer mailing options to get the checks printed and mailed on-demand altogether. PostGrid can help you print event-driven checks and mail them to your customers accurately, on time, delivered on the same day if demanded.

The print+mail option provided by PostGrid enables you to draft, print, fold, stuff, seal, and mail your checks easily—without any hassles regarding stocking, designing, printing, data entry, and mailing. The mailing option saves companies and individual persons from manually writing addresses, running to the post office, and tracking every check individually.

Companies and individuals can select from the above three options — based on the available time and resources, the volume of checks, and the manual efforts they are ready to put in.

Features of PostGrid’s Online Check Printing Services

Integration

PostGrid can integrate with your accounting software in just a few clicks. This step can help you import all the required details from your accounting system to our platform for drafting and printing checks quickly. Moreover, you don’t have to spend extra time entering the details on our platform to make payments. Luckily, the integration can help you avoid double entries and reconciliation. Our API can gather all the required bank and customer information to streamline your check printing process. All the payments made will be automatically reflected in your accounts, keeping them updated always. Additionally, you no longer need to make separate ledger accounts for every client. PostGrid can do this work for you and make separate payment accounts for each client — making it easier for you to keep track of all the check payments.

Security

PostGrid adheres to all data security and privacy laws strictly. Our platform and API are in-built to keep your data encrypted and safe from any breaches. All the transactions are completed with high levels of security and confidentiality. Moreover, we follow all the compliances of PIPEDA, SOC-2, DSS, and PCI. The checks printed through PostGrid provide bank-level security. There are various security features that are incorporated in your checks like

• MICR toner: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is a system used to provide special characters to a check that makes it less prone to fraudulent activities. It offers a high level of security and fast speed for the quick processing of checks by the bank’s network.
• Watermarks: Watermarks are added to your checks to make sure that they are not copied and altered in any way. Colored backgrounds are also used sometimes to provide additional security.
• Chemical Reactivity: There is a detection field on all checks that are normally white. If anyone attempts the check washing, this field will display a change in color, making it obvious that someone tried to tamper with the check. It is possible only with the help of chemical reactivity.

Customizations

You can turn ordinary checks into marketing collateral with our highly customizable templates. PostGrid has a lot of attractive templates in-built within the platform. You can easily select from the check templates available with us or build your own HTML templates with our template editor. You can also upload a copy of your check and order our platform to print similar checks along with some customizations. Variable data printing is a key feature of our check printing solutions as every check has to be personalized with different customer details. However, PostGrid has also taken good care of your marketing needs, along with personalization.

You can add company logos and marketing messages on your checks to re-engage customers and spread brand awareness. There are plenty of customization options available for you—promotional banners, images, texts, and color alternatives to draft and send branded checks. Besides, you can step ahead of everyone and send postcards or brochures along with your checks — to conduct advertising along with the completion of payments.

Multiple Accounts Set-Up

For businesses having multiple bank accounts — it can get very confusing to make payments for different things while switching between different bank accounts. Handling multiple accounts can get tricky. Thus, PostGrid offers the option to set up multiple bank accounts under one platform to smoothen your payment system. You can add all your bank accounts and print checks of any bank as per your needs. The set-up is quite simple. All you have to do is select the bank and add your details. Our platform can get you up and running within minutes, with checks from any bank ready to be drafted, printed, and sent. You can navigate through your accounts and transfer payment orders from one account to another easily and speedily. Just command whatever you need, and PostGrid can get it done.

Mailing and Tracking

Print checks online and mail them accurately with PostGrid. You can select from the multiple mailing options that our platform provides. Depending on your payments’ urgency, you can choose between express, priority, and first-class mailing alternatives. Moreover, PostGrid helps you track every check through the dashboard. You can simply log in using your credentials and access your dashboard whenever you want. The progress reports and statuses of all the sent checks are updated in real-time for you to track and view.

Authorization

Manage permission levels and authorize your staff to print checks online as per your decisions. You can be in control of every transaction by checking and approving payment requests uploaded by your accountant or staff members. There are options for you to select dates for those payments or even reject them if you want to. This way, you can be in a better position to control your cash flow and decide everything according to the current business situation.