Print your own Checks: EI3B font, Blank Checks and More

Have a free checking account? Don't trust that it's totally 'free.' Like your mother always told you, nothing is free in this world, and that includes your check book. Ordering checks typically costs $30 to $40 per pack, and it's one of the banks' most lucrative ways of making money. Today's technology, however, allows you to do this service yourself, right in the comfort of your own home or office. Simply purchase the equipment, from check printing software, to the blank checks to the EI3B font, and you'll be on your way to printing your own checks in no time. Care should be taken, however, to ensure security. Read on to find out how to safely print your own checks and begin saving more money.

Contrary to popular belief, printing checks involves more than just running paper through a printer. Printing your own checks is not like printing your own thesis paper. There are serious security precautions to take, or you'll soon be financing every con artist who gets wind of your security flaws.

Start by getting the proper check printing software. Thanks to recent advances in technology, you can get a great program these days without forking over a fortune. You can use your own printer, but make sure that it can handle the special ink required, which we'll go into more detail below. You can get check printers specifically designed for MICR-enabled check printing, and these feature additional security features for safety.

Next, stock up on ink designed to print in an EI3B font. EI3B are those funny characters printing on the bottom of each check that essentially prove the identity of the check. Without that label, it's harder to prove it's a secure check and therefore easier to forge. E-13B is a primary variation of MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) font that is used in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the U.K., Japan and elsewhere. The other primary variation of MICR font is known as CMC-7, and is used in countries such as France, Spain, Israel, and many countries in South America.

Next, you'll want blank checks, made from paper specifically designed to be used in check printers. This makes it so your checks can't be easily changed. The paper can be purchased in hundreds of sheets, but don't worry. If you don't write many checks, the paper will last for years. Blank checks can be a bit expensive at first, but not exorbitant as you won't need to restock often.

If you use an online money management program, you might want to purchase check paper that can be used with Quicken and other programs. It certainly makes it easier for bookkeeping, as the EI3B font can be magnetically read and processed in an automatic fashion so it doesn't have to be manually recorded. This also improves the security of the check, as it's much harder to duplicate.