Production Readiness Policy

1. Purpose

A check is a physical document that must be readable by machines and acceptable to a financial institution. This policy sets out what a customer must do before using a design for production printing.

Production means printing a check intended to be issued, negotiated, or deposited.

2. Readiness Is the Customer's Determination

The software provides readiness checks, warnings, and calibration tools. These are aids. The decision that a design is ready for production is the customer's, and the customer is responsible for the outcome.

3. Required Steps Before Production

1. Verify bank information. Confirm the routing number, account number, and any on-us field content with your financial institution, using documentation the institution provides.
2. Compare against a live sample. Compare the assembled MICR line against a check issued by, or approved by, your institution for the same account.
3. Resolve every warning. Clear MICR spacing, clear-band, legal zone, and element placement warnings, or confirm deliberately with your institution that they are acceptable.
4. Select the correct stock. Confirm the stock format, sheet size, checks per sheet, and stub arrangement match the physical stock you will load.
5. Calibrate the printer. Run the calibration test print and apply any offset needed so that content lands where it should.
6. Print at actual size. Print at 100 percent with fit-to-page, scaling, and margin adjustment disabled.
7. Validate a test check. Print a test check on the real stock and measure MICR position and character quality against the specification.
8. Confirm with your bank where required. Some institutions require approval of a printed sample before accepting customer-printed checks. Obtain that approval where it applies.

4. Hardware and Consumables

Correct magnetic reading depends on equipment we do not supply or control. Where your institution requires magnetic readability, use MICR toner or magnetic ink with a laser printer capable of accurate registration.

Inkjet output, non-magnetic toner, worn cartridges, and printers with inconsistent paper handling can cause rejected or manually processed items.

5. Check Stock

Use check stock appropriate for the format you selected. Consider stock with security features such as microprint, watermarks, chemical protection, and a padlock icon where your risk profile warrants it.

Blank stock must be treated as a controlled item and stored securely.

6. Legal Zones and Element Placement

The designer enforces protected regions, including the MICR clear band, so that required elements are not obstructed. Do not attempt to place content into a protected region.

Required elements, including payee, date, numeric amount, written amount, signature area, and drawer information, must be present, legible, and positioned conventionally.

7. Re-Validation Triggers

Repeat the readiness steps whenever any of the following changes:

• Bank account, routing number, or on-us field content.
• Check stock, sheet size, or stock format.
• Printer, printer driver, or paper tray.
• Design layout, MICR placement, or template version.
• Browser or operating system, where print output behavior may differ.

8. Test and Void Handling

Test prints should be clearly marked or voided and destroyed securely. Do not leave test output where it can be mistaken for a live check.

9. Check Numbering

Maintain a numbering sequence that does not duplicate previously issued checks. The software tracks check number usage and warns on reuse, but customers using more than one printing method must reconcile numbering across all of them.

10. Approval Controls

Where an account uses approval workflows, the customer is responsible for configuring who may authorize a check run and for ensuring separation of duties appropriate to its size and risk.

11. No Guarantee of Acceptance

Completing these steps improves the likelihood that a check is read and accepted. It is not a guarantee. Financial institutions apply their own standards, and acceptance is their decision.

12. Changes to This Policy

This policy may be revised as the product and industry practice evolve. The Last Revised date and version number will be updated when it changes.

13. Contact

Questions about production readiness may be directed to:

Diversified Check Studio
A product of Diversified SaaS, Inc.
Diversified SaaS, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversified Universal LLC.
6212 US Highway 6, Suite 184
Portage, IN 46368-5057
Email: CustomerService@DiversifiedCheckStudio.com
Phone: 1 (833) 990-7297
WhatsApp: 1 (833) 990-7297