Print yields with MICR toner caartridges

Print Yields of MICR toner cartridges

Industry standard is stated as "5% toner coverage" but that doesn't mean anything to most people.
Actual number of checks that can be printed with any MICR cartridge is based on a number of variables:

MICR toner

Not all MICR toner is alike. Some require higher printer darkness settings which uses much more toner for each check printed. Our CheckToner™ MICR is the darkest available so less toner is required and that increases the number of checks you can print. Most of our MICR prints the best bank readable checks at darkness settings #2 through #4 on the 1 to 10 darkness setting scale. Some of our MICR cartridges can print good checks at setting #1 because our MICR toner is so much darker and denser than other MICR toners.

Format

Intuit is the largest publisher of check printing software under the names Quicken and QuickBooks. Intuit softwares are primarily designed to use letter-sized sheets that can print 3 checks per page or voucher checks with 2 stubs. Photos below on left are examples of both. Both of these are considered as having printed 3 checks per page because there is text in all 3 sections of the paper. If you print only 1 check per page like the photo below on the right, then the yield estimates we show for our MICR cartridges will be that many pages.

3 checks per page voucher check & 2 stubs single check per page

Printer & cartridge condition

Condition of the printer and cartridge parts has a major affect on the number of checks that can be printed with a MICR cartridge. New printers with new cartridges produce the best yields. Older printers with used or recycled cartridge parts have the lowest yields. We typically offer both new (Max-Fill™) and used recycled (Single or Double filled) CheckToner™ MICR cartridges.

In particular, the drum condition has a large bearing on how much toner will be used. Every laser printer has a shiny green or blue metal roller called the drum. Some printers have the drum built into the machine while others have the drum built into the cartridge or a photoconductor tray that can be replaced. As a drum wears, prints become lighter gray vs. solid black. This is why a worn drum may reduce the yield or render the MICR cartridge useless even when there is MICR toner inside the cartridge.

Printer usage

People sometimes forget to remove MICR cartridges from printers when printing other documents that can be printed with regular toner. Or, some prefer to use a MICR cartridge to print everything. Our print yields are based on printing ONLY checks. However, some users of our Max-Fill™ CheckToner™ cartridges have said they prefer our cartridges to print everything because they've determined that 1 of our Max-Fill™ produces a lower overall cost than buying 6 or more regular toner cartridges.

Check paper

ABA (American Bankers Asssociation) standards for check paper is 24 pound thickness which is thicker than normal copy paper. Check paper may have background color or pre-printed patterns and a coating. The type of ink or coating used can affect how MICR toner looks and adheres to the paper. If you are not sure about the check paper you have, tell us where you purchased it or send us a few sample sheets for a free analysis. If you don't already have check paper, we offer our ChecksForms™ as shown below. .

ChecksForms™ are printed on 8.5"x11" (standard letter size) ABA specification 24 lb. paper with perforations and tamperproof ink. Print wallet, business-size, voucher checks or bank drafts. Designed for use with all ChecksNet™, webFREE™, ChexNow!, VersaCheck, Quicken, Money, Peachtree and most other check and draft-making softwares.

ChecksForms are available in these styles:

Business-Size* Wallet-Size Deposit Slips

Business and wallet-size come in packs of 200 sheets (600 single checks or bank drafts). Sold as 3 packs per box.
Deposit Slips packed 100 sheets (300 deposit slips). Printed with all the blue lines and wording.

*Business-size forms can be used to print voucher checks (check at top, center or botttom)