Differences Between Non-Secure Laser Printers And MICR Check Printers

Not all the best check printers come with the same benefits. Laser printers are what you will find in many banks today use for printing checks. But there are many things that these printers do not offer when they are compared to MICR printers.

Security at the Check Printer Level

Laser check printers do not provide any security, while, on the other hand, secure check printers with guaranteed MICR toner minimize chances for check fraud at the printer level.

Exposed Check Fraud Risks Without MICR Security

Various security measures are put in place when secure MICR printers are used in place of the laser check printers. Already printed checks give way for fraud, while secure MICR solutions that give on-demand check printing help to safeguard banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions from dangerous situations like:

  • Check Stock Pilfering: This is a case when pre-printed checks are stolen. MICR printers make sure to remove the need for a pre-printed check, the storage that they require and the potential expenses in the event of a theft.
  • Check Alteration: The non-secure laser check printers do not always use secure MICR toner or the built-in features that often show when alteration shave been made and cannot be seen by the naked eye.
  • Check Duplication: While the MICR check printers provide a Copy Set to One setting eliminating the ability to print more than one copy of a check, laser check printers that are without this feature leave open a risk for check fraud.
  • Counterfeit Checks: Without a high-quality print security feature like the secure numeric font that gives embedded micro texts and numbers into every check, pre-printed checks that are produced with laser printers do not protect financial institutions from check counterfeiting attempts.
  • General Ledger Mismatch: When there is no automated solution, manual issuance reconciliation often ends up in errors, making internal fraud perpetrators misappropriate funds by changing G/L account entries.

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