ST ST9512 User Manual

ST9512

Secure MICR Printer

User’s Guide

Written and produced by Source Technologies December 2006

Source Technologies

2910 Whitehall Park Drive

Charlotte, NC 28273

www.sourcetech.com

techsupport@sourcetech.com

800-922-8501

This manual serves as a reference for Source Technologies Secure MICR Printer. This manual should be used as a reference for learning more about MICR technology, and developing MICR printing applications. This guide was produced to assist IS Technicians and Engineers in the integration of Source Technologies’ programmed printers with their custom MICR applications. The guide also contains information on MICR related error messages that post to the operator panel.

Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information contained in this booklet is complete and accurate. Changes, typos, and technical inaccuracies will be corrected in subsequent publications. This publication is subject to change without notice. The information and descriptions contained in this manual cannot be copied, disseminated, or distributed without the express written consent of Source Technologies, Inc. No liability, expressed or implied, will be assumed by Source Technologies, Inc. or its dealers or affiliates for any damage resulting from use of this information. Additional copies of this publication can be received through the Marketing Department of Source Technologies.

All trade names or products used in this manual are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Table of Contents

1. Printer Installation....................................................................5

2. MICR Overview.........................................................................6

The Check Processing System.............................................6

MICR Printing Today.............................................................6

3. MICR Check Design .................................................................8

General Features of Check Design.......................................8

Position and Dimension Gauge.............................................8

Design Elements in Detail.....................................................8

Data Elements .....................................................................9

Figure 3.1 Sample Check .....................................................12

4. Quality Issues...........................................................................13

Printer Features....................................................................13

MICR Toner ..........................................................................13

MICR Check Stock................................................................13

5. Security Issues.........................................................................15

Check Stock Security Features.............................................15

Security Note ........................................................................15

6. MICR Features..........................................................................18

Secure MICR .......................................................................18

MICR Fonts...........................................................................18

Secure Fonts.........................................................................18

MicroPrint..............................................................................18

Resource Storage.................................................................19

MICR Toner Cartridge...........................................................19

7. MICR Commands .....................................................................20

Fonts and Secured Resources..............................................20

PJL MICRJOB.......................................................................20

PJL Unlock Sequence...........................................................20

PJL Re-Lock Sequence ........................................................20

PJL Re-Lock Sequence with New Password Value..............21

PCL Font Call Commands ....................................................22

PJL Info MICR Command .....................................................22

Error Messages.....................................................................24

8. MICR Commands Examples....................................................28

PJL Unlock Sequence...........................................................28

PCL Initial Setup ...................................................................28

PCL Macro Call.....................................................................28

PCL Font Calls, Position Commands, & Variable.................28

PJL Re-lock Sequence .........................................................29

Figure 8.1 Sample Accounts Payable Check........................29

PJL & PCL Commands.........................................................30

Appendix

Appendix A: E-13B MICR Font Mapping..........................................31

Appendix B: Secure Numeric Font Mapping....................................32

Appendix C: ICR Secure Numeric Font Mapping.............................34

Appendix D: CMC7 MICR Font Mapping......................................... 35

1. Printer Installation

For complete information on how to unpack and setup your printer, see your printer’s user’s guide. Please read the following if you are going to install the printer driver shipped with your printer.

1. Locate the CD that was shipped with your printer. Note: If you do not have a CD-ROM drive on the host PC, locate another

computer with a CD-ROM drive, start the CD-ROM utility, and then follow the instructions on the screen to create printer driver diskettes.

2. Follow the instructions in the CD booklet to start the printer setup utility appropriate for your operating system, i.e. Windows 95, NT, etc. The setup utility will install printer driver and utilities to manage Source Technologies printer(s) attached to your PC or Network.

3. The Source Technologies printer, in most cases, assumes the printer driver is set to the internal DEFAULT values. The following Default values should not be changed for best overall printer performance and data stream requirements of the ST Secure MICR printer.

• Print Resolution under the Graphic Tab should be set to the Default value of 600 DPI.

• Print Quality and Picture Grade under the Graphic Tab should be set to the Default values of Use Printer Default.

A majority of other driver options can be set for your particular requirements. The most obvious of these would be a Paper Tray selection if your application uses the Print Driver Setting.

2. MICR Overview

MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. All MICR documents have a MICR line with numbers and symbols printed in a MICR font with magnetically chargeable toner. Each character of the MICR font has a unique waveform when sensed magnetically. Financial institutions and the Federal Reserve use the MICR line to identify and sort checks. The high-speed automated processing of checks and other financial documents depends on the accuracy and the integrity of the data printed in the MICR line. Your new Source Technologies Secure MICR Printer is specifically designed to produce high quality MICR documents.

The Check Processing System

As a MICR document travels through the check clearing system it is processed an average of almost seven times by high speed reader/sorter machines. Some checks are read up to 30 times or more by these machines. Reader/sorter machines charge the toner in the MICR line and then read the line with a magnetically sensitive reader.

The MICR line contains numbers and symbols to indicate the check serial number, the routing number of the drawee institution and the makers’ account number. The institution of first deposit encodes the check amount in the MICR line to be read by the reader/sorter equipment. Checks travel through reader/sorters at up to 20 miles-per-hour (2,400 documents per minute) with each MICR line read in three hundredths of a second.

MICR Printing Today

Congress established the Federal Reserve System (FRS) in 1913. Today most commercial banks in the United States belong to the FRS. Many other depository institutions provide banking and checking account services to the public. These other institutions, such as some credit unions, savings and loan associations and non-member banks, are not formally part of the FRS. However, they have access to the payment services it provides and are subject to many of the FRS regulations.

In 1958, because of the explosive growth of check usage, the American Bankers Association selected the E-13B MICR font and the MICR system as the technology for high-speed check processing. Today, check standards are determined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X9B of which Source Technologies is a voting member. The latest versions of the standards and technical guidelines are available from:

Hardcopy:

Softcopy: Global Engineering Documents X9 Electronic Bookstore Phone 800-854-7179 or 303-397-7956 www.X9.org - click ESS Fax 303-397-2740 www.ansi.org - click ESS global@ihs.com

http://global.ihs.com

http://webstore.ansi.org

The key standards that address check documents are as follows: ANSI X9.7 Specifications for Bank Check Background and Convenience Amount Field

ANSI X9.13 Specifications for Placement and Location of MICR Printing ANSI X9.18 Paper Specifications for Checks ANSI X9.27 Print and Test Specifications for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

3. MICR Check Design

General Features of Check Design

To be a legal and negotiable document, the necessary elements required on a check are the date, amount, payee, drawee institution, and payer’s signature.

Other elements included in a good check design are: the amount in words, account title, check serial number, fractional routing number and MICR line.

A good check design contains security features and is formatted to be easily read by both machines and the human eye. If the format is complicated, the depositor, bank employee or reader/sorter machine may make an error in reading the data.

Position and Dimension Gauge

A MICR position and dimension gauge (Source Technologies’ part number 205-1000MGE or 220-M1027-34) is an important tool for use in designing checks. During check design, check your output against this gauge to determine if the data elements are correctly positioned on your document.

Design Elements in Detail

Paper

The ideal paper for check production is 24 lb. laser bond. Our MICR lab has tested paper stock from most major manufacturers and has compiled a list of products that produce superior results. Contact your sales representative for this information. For a fee, Source Technologies will test your paper for proper MICR adherence and check reader/sorter performance. There are also many security features available to aid in the overall security of your MICR documents. See Chapter 5: Security Issues for more information on check stock specifications and security features.

Size

The size of check documents must be:

• Between 6.00 inches and 8.75 inches in length

• Between 2.75 inches and 3.66 inches in height

We recommend standard 8.5" X 11" letter size stock or 8.5" X 14" legal size stock for proper feeding through your ST Secure MICR Printer. The number of checks per page is determined by your application. Custom size stock other than letter or legal can be done with proper planning and application programming within the paper size specifications for the base printer.

MICR Clear Band

The MICR clear band is an area at the bottom of the check where the MICR line prints. No other magnetic printing should appear in this area on both the front and back of the document. The clear band is an area 0.625 (5/8) inches high from the bottom of the check running the entire length of the check. Exact MICR line placement in this area is very important. See Figure 3.1: page 12 for more information on MICR line placement.

Data Elements

Date

The date is a required data element for a check. It represents the day on or after the transfer of the check amount may take place. It is usually placed in the upper right portion of the check so it does not interfere with the convenience amount field. The common format is Month, Day and Year, however, the military format of Day, Month and Year is also acceptable.

Amount

The amount of the check is a required element for negotiation. The amount usually appears at least twice on the check. The amount printed in numbers is called the convenience amount. The amount printed in words is sometimes referred to as the legal amount, this is the amount that applies if there is a difference between the two amount fields. The amount may also be printed a third time on the check in a secure font, intended to make alteration of the amount field difficult. See Chapter 6 and Appendix B for information on Source Technologies’ Secure Numeric Font.

Convenience Amount

The convenience amount location is specified in ANSI X9.7. The basic location is illustrated in Figure 3.1. Since this amount can be machine scanned, its location and design should be kept within the specifications. The amount beginning with the dollar sign should be left justified within the scan area with numbers spaced normally to the right. The dollars and cents should be separated by a decimal point with the cents printed in the same size font as the rest of the field. Embedded commas should not be used. The convenience amount background should have good reflectance so it does not interfere with optical scanning (see ANSI X9.7).

The convenience amount should be printed in a simple, fixed pitch font. We recommend our ICR Secure Numeric Font (see Appendix C). It was designed to be easily read by image capture equipment and is also a fraud deterrent. A fixed pitch courier font, or if available, OCR-B, are also acceptable fonts to print the convenience amount.

Note: The Source Technologies’ Secure Numeric Font (see Appendix B) should not be used in the convenience amount since it is not a machine readable font.

Amount In Words

The amount in words (sometimes called the legal amount) is normally located either above or below and to the left of the convenience amount. The area for the amount in words should be entirely filled to make alterations difficult. The amount should start at the far left of the line with the words placed immediately adjacent to each other. The cents need not be written out. They may be expressed as a fraction (60/100), and should be placed immediately to the right of the dollar amount and followed by a line or other space filler to inhibit alteration.

Example: One hundred forty-four and 62/100---------------DOLLARS Given the available area on the document, you may need to use a smaller font

when printing larger value amounts.

Payee Area

The payee is a necessary element for a negotiable document. The payee area is generally to the left side of the document either above or below the amount in words. It is often preceded by the words “Pay to the Order Of.” The payee data should not enter the MICR clear band which extends 5/8 of an inch above the bottom of the check.

Signature Area

A signature is a required element for a negotiable document. The signature or signatures authorize the bank to honor the check; therefore, it must match the bank’s records. The signature area should be beneath the convenience amount area but the signatures should not enter the convenience amount area nor the MICR clear band. This is especially true if you print the signature with MICR toner.

Drawee Institution Name

The name of the institution where the maker’s account is located is referred to as the drawee institution. The bank’s name, city, and state are required.

Account Title

The account title is normally printed in the upper left corner of the check. It includes the name of the account holder and other information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and logos. The data in the title should be legible and sufficiently complete so that if the MICR data account number is destroyed, the drawee institution can refer to the account title in order to trace the account number.

Memo Line This line is located in the lower left quadrant of the check, and is not required. Data printed here does not contain any legal significance. Printing in this area with magnetic toner should not extend downward into the MICR clear band which is 5/8 of an inch above the bottom of the check.

Check Serial Number

The check serial number is generally printed in the upper right quadrant of the check. Although the check number is not required for the check to be negotiable, the account holder and financial institution use these numbers to reconcile statements and stop payments. The check serial number should also appear a second time in the MICR line, and these numbers should match. The number of digits in the check serial number is controlled by the financial institution and the MICR line format. Consult your banking institution for their requirements.

Fractional Routing Number

The fractional routing number should be printed in a fractional format in the upper right quadrant of the check. This number is assigned to identify the Federal Reserve District and drawee institution. Consult with your bank for the proper routing number and format for each of your accounts.

MICR Line

Accurate high-speed processing of your checks by financial institutions is enabled by the accuracy and integrity of the data in the MICR line. Refer to figure 3.1 for the location of the following MICR line fields. The MICR line is read from right to left with position one being the right most position proceeding to position sixty-five on the left. The MICR line must be printed at exactly eight characters per inch.

Auxiliary On-Us Field Positions 65 to 45 This field usually contains the check serial number for commercial size checks and possibly account control information. It is bounded by On-Us symbols. (;). It is not included on personal, small size checks.

External Processing Code (EPC) Field Position 44 This one digit field is position 44 of the MICR line. This field is usually left blank. The use of this field is reserved by the ABA and is controlled by the ASC X9B Standards Committee.

Routing Field Positions 43 to 33 The routing field is bounded by Transit Symbols (:) in positions 43 and 33. It contains fixed format information about the drawee institution. Consult with your bank for the specific data field to be placed here for each of your accounts.

On-Us Field Positions 32 to 14 The On-Us field contains the makers’ account number. The structure and content of this field is left to the drawee bank. On personal checks this field also contains the check serial numbers. The On-Us field may not consist of more than 19 characters. An On-Us (;) symbol must appear immediately to the right of the account number.

Blank Field Position 13 Position 13 is always left blank.

Amount Field Positions 1 to 12 The amount field is the right most field in the MICR line. It remains blank until it is printed by the bank of first deposit. When the check enters the banking system, the bank of first deposit encodes this field from data in the convenience amount field. It will be bounded by Amount Symbols (/).

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