ST9530 Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide Source Technologies 2910 Whitehall Park Drive Charlotte, NC 28273 www.sourcetech.com techsupport@sourcetech.
This manual serves as a reference for Source Technologies Secure MICR Printers. The user manual that ships with your printer contains details on printer setup and operations and should be read first. 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 use Source Technologies’ programmed printers with their custom MICR applications.
Table of Contents 1 Printer Installation ...........................................................1 2 MICR Overview ................................................................2 The Check Processing System.....................................2 MICR Printing Today.....................................................2 3 MICR Check Design.........................................................4 General Features of Check Design...............................4 Position and Dimension Gauge ................
8 Audit Trail Report ............................................................36 Report Details ...............................................................36 Audit Trail Menu............................................................36 Audit Trail Command Set..............................................37 Figure 8.1: Audit Trail Command Example ...................41 Figure 8.2: Audit Trail Check Sample ...........................42 Figure 8.3 Audit Trail Report......................................
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.
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 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) Note: These standards are being re-numbered as new versions are published: ANSI X9.7 will become ANSI X9.100-110 ANSI X9.13 will become ANSI X9.
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.
Duplexing Use caution if printing on both sides of the paper (duplexing) when printing checks. MICR toner on the back of a check can cause read failures in the MICR Line. Order your check stock with any necessary information preprinted on the back. If duplex is necessary, we suggest a more aggressive test plan be developed to ensure print quality consistently conforms to the ANSI/ABA specifications. MICR Clear Band The MICR clear band is an area at the bottom of the check where the MICR line prints.
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 C) 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 alteration difficult.
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 th magnetic toner should not extend downward into the MICR clear band which is 5/8 of an inch above the bottom of the check.
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.
Figure 3.1: Sample Check A. Serial Number: Must be in the upper right corner and match the serial number in the MICR line (see D for further explanation). B. Fractional Routing Transit Number: Should be in the upper right corner and must match the routing transit number in the MICR line with the exception of the state prefix number (ex. 66 = NC, 67 = SC, 64 = GA, etc.) and the preceding zeros. C. Bank Name, State, City: The bank logo is optional.
4. Quality Issues A high quality MICR document can be read by bank reader/sorter equipment many times with no readability issues and does not result in damage to bank equipment. This quality is the result of a well designed printer, an originally manufactured MICR toner cartridge and high quality check stock. Printer Features Your Secure MICR Printer is equipped with some features to ensure high quality MICR documents. Paper Type We recommend paper trays with check stock be set to “bond” paper type.
MICR Check Stock Check stock has a large impact on the resulting quality and security of your MICR document. Here are a few features that should be considered when selecting a check stock. Please see Chapter 4 for more information on check stock security features. Quality Quality MICR check printing with your ST Secure MICR Printer requires check stock that matches the printer’s requirements. Source Technologies can supply paper specifically made for our printers.
5. Security Issues Printing negotiable documents from blank paper on desktop MICR laser printers makes security a top priority for any company embarking on a desktop check printing project. Good security programs integrate hardware, software, your employees and your financial institution into a secure check production system. Recent changes relative to the responsibilities of banks and their customers have a bearing on the ultimate liability for fraudulent documents.
Security Note Check fraud in the United States is a continuing problem. We have attempted to identify security features that can be incorporated into the base check stock. However, these may not prove 100% fraud preventative. Over time, technology will continue to develop new and improved measures to address check fraud. The following internal and external security measures will help minimize your risk of check fraud. 1.
7. Use “Positive Pay” check services from your financial institution that match check number and dollar amounts to known information. Financial institutions should encourage full participation of corporate clients. 8. Move methods of fraud detection to the item’s point of entry into the clearing system. For example, low cost readers can detect low magnetic strength in the MICR line which is a good indication of attempts to copy an original. 9.
6. MICR Features Source Technologies’ Secure MICR Printers are designed to allow both general office document printing and secure MICR document printing. You may print a variety of conventional jobs with regular Lexmark toner using all of the printer features available such as MarkNet and MarkVision network attachment interfaces and network printer utilities. These printers come standard with HP PCL5, PCL6 and PostScript Level 2 emulations and others.
MicroPrint Your Secure MICR Printer also contains the MicroPrint font. MicroPrint is text less than .010” tall. It can easily be read with a magnifying glass but appears to be a solid line to an unaided eye. This font provides protection against reproduction by most scanners and copiers because they cannot successfully print the tiny letters. Most check printers use this font in the signature area of their preprinted checks. We recommend using this font to help deter check fraud.
Resource Storage Check-related resources, such as form overlays and signatures, are stored in your printer with unique identification numbers. ID numbers must be less than 32767. Number 5001 is reserved for the Audit Trail overlay. Your Secure MICR Printer has two areas where you may store these resources: FLASH and RAM Memory. Flash Memory is an optional feature. It is user managed and resources can be designated as “secure” or “unsecure.
The Security Lock option allows the user to activate and set a front panel combination for additional security. This feature prevents anyone from printing checks without the proper 8digit combination. See the MICR Mode Commands section of this chapter for more information. MICR Type designates the printer as a “normal” Source Technologies Secure MICR Printer or as a Secure MICR OptraForms Printer. The default is “normal.” Hex Transfer and Density Control are normally reserved for ST Technical Support.
NOTE: The &%STF command must be entered at the beginning of the print job before any other print data is received. &%STH Command The &%STH command does not set-up the printer for check printing activity as completely as the &%STF command mode. This alternate MICR mode command forces the user to manually program some commands through their host application. It is used when programmers cannot place &%STFPASSWORD$ at the beginning of their job.
Example: &%SMCP0010$ Prints 16 (Hex 10) MICR lines before disabling MICR mode. This command defines how many MICR lines may print in the current job. When the count decrements to zero, MICR mode is terminated. Set New Password Command &%STExxxxxxxx$ &%STE Lead in sequence xxxxxxxx New password, must be 8 characters either printable or non printable. Dollar ($) sign is an invalid password character. $ Command terminator. In order to set a new password the current password must first be sent.
Print MICR CMC7 Font &%SM7 ddd...ddd $ &%SM7ddd...ddd$ Lead in sequence Data to be printed in CMC7 font Command terminator Prints the specified data in the CMC7 MICR font which is used in Europe and South America. The font and its correct spacing begins at the current cursor position modified by the MICRpoint adjustment setting at the start of the command. After the terminator is sent, the printer will return to its default font, and the MICR count will be decremented by one.
Load Flash Resource &%STL xxxxx yyyyyy z dd...dd &%STLxxxxxyyyyyyzdd....dd Lead in sequence Resource number in decimal, must be 5 digits Byte count of resource file in Hex, must be 6 positions Format of the resource file S = Single byte binary format D = Double byte text format Flash resource file. e.g. forms overlay, signatures etc. Resource number values may be between 00001 to 32767.
Tray Unlock Command &%STTU# # $ &%STTU#$ Unlocks tray The tray to be unlocked (choose from 1, 2 or 3 only) Command terminator Tray Swapping Commands &%STTSON &%STTSOFF $ &%STTSON$ / &%STTSOFF$ Turns tray swapping on Turns tray swapping off Command terminator This command allows you to redefine the PCL values for Trays 2 and 3 to allow software and operational consistency with older printers in the system. Swapping ON causes any &l4H to be replaced with 5H and vice-versa.
DES and AES Decryption Data Encryption Standard (DES) and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) are both supported in the Source Technologies Secure MICR Printers. The minimum Code Level support for AES is 8.5j. Levels 8.5i. and lower only support DES. DES originated at IBM in 1977 and was adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense. The controlling standards for DES are ANSI X3.92 and X3.106 and in the Federal FIPS 46-3 standard.
bytes are 0 through 9, A through F. Alpha key characters can be upper or lower case. Command characters must be upper case. An example of a valid key command &%STSETDESKEY5f00FF7E3DA938eb$ The key value remains in the printer until another key command is received. Printer power cycles and printer reset commands do not affect the key value. The dollar sign ($) is the command terminator and is required.
Both commands require the MICR Password Command. The ON command blocks the copy function with MICR toner. The OFF command allows the copy function with MICR toner. The factory default is OFF Note – Postscript Language print jobs downloaded from a host will not print with MICR toner if the Postscript job contains a copy count command. Copy Defeat = ON will reset copy count to 0, and nothing prints.
&%STC1E$ replace 1E with nothing - simply removes all 1E characters from the data &%STC00$ turn character conversion off Special Alert and Custom Beep Command Using the Beep Command, the printer data stream can alert printer operators that important pages are currently being printed. The STBEEP1 command sounds its special beeps but does not stop the printer. STBEEP2 stops the printing process and waits for the operator to Press Go.
MICRpoint Feature Fine positioning of the MICR Line characters is accomplished using the MICRpoint feature. The feature only works with the SMD & SM7 MICR Print Commands using the printer’s resident MICR fonts. The exact location of the entire MICR Line can be moved left or right, up or down by the printer operator through the printer’s front panel. Only the MICR Line is moved. All other printed information is not affected.
then use the RIGHT key to enter a value. In this instructional case it’s 36. Using the key pad enter 36. Select the center key to save the value. The values are stored in internal FLASH memory in the printer and will remain the same until changed by the operator. Power ON/OFF cycles do not reset the values. Assuming we did our measurements correctly at the beginning, when test or production checks are now printed, the MICR Line should not be at the new location on the page.
7. IBM Host Programming Features and Examples Hex Transfer The Hex Transfer feature allows the user to send PCL escape sequence printer commands to the printer with simple text strings. You may send any valid command or string of commands with no limit on the length or complexity. Form macros, signatures, or simple commands may be passed through any platform to the printer since they are simple text. The printer will convert them back to ESC (escape) sequences when they arrive at the printer.
Hex Transfer Examples &&??&% This command enables Hex Transfer On &%1B 26 6C 34 48 $ Or &% 1B $& l 4H Sends the PCL Esc sequence: &l4H which is a paper source command identifying what tray the paper will be pulled from. &% 1B 45$ Or &% 1B $E This command is a printer reset PCL command which consist of the Esc character and printable E character and may be sent by simply putting the Esc character in Hex. Note - Hex Transfer can now be set ON or OFF via the MICR Menu.
Figure 7.1 MICR Mode Command Example The following example shows the MICR Mode commands and Hex Transfer commands in use. This datastream would print the check on the following page (assuming the check macro and the signature are loaded as flash resources).
The commands in Figure 7.1 in order of appearance: &%STFPASSWORD$ Password Command. &%SMCP0001$ MICR Definition Command with the count set to one. &%STP10001$ Unlock Flash Resource number 10001. &%STP20000$ Unlock Flash Resource number 20000. &%1B26...3358$ PCL sequence in hex which sets the page format and enables macro number 10001. &%1B$(s1p16v0s3b4148T PCL sequence which changes the font to Univers 16 point.
Escape Character Translation In many IBM host environments, the programmer cannot send an ESC character (ASCII hex 1B) to the printer from within the application. Your Secure MICR Printer allows you to define the ESC character as a printable character or a combination of two printable characters. You can select combinations of 1 or 2 characters which are translated to a Hex 1B when they are sent to the printer. The command &%STYxxyy$ is used to select the character or character combination.
Figure 7.
8. Audit Trail Reports The Audit Trail Report feature provides a report of the printer’s MICR printing activity. The printer must have flash memory to utilize this option. Details of each flagged check record sent to the printer are provided since the last audit report was purged from flash memory. Report Details A record (check) must be bounded by a start of record command and an end of record command. Within each record, fields to be included in the Audit Trail Report must be flagged.
The values in field four of the Audit Trail Report can be added together with the total provided at the end of the report. This feature is activated through the MICR menu. Select Audit Menu>Sum Field 4. The values in field 4 must follow certain guidelines to be included in the column summation. Dollar signs and commas must be properly located, no more than two numbers after a decimal point, and no alpha characters. For example: Valid Formats “$1,234,567.89” “4321234.56” “5,321” “$.
$ Command terminator Ends the Audit Record and the PJL job (ignored if there was no Start Audit Record Command). Audit Report Field One &%SQ1 d..d $ &%SQ1d..d$ Lead in sequence Data to be stored Command terminator This command identifies the data to be printed in the first column of the report. It is a maximum of 14 characters in length. If less than 14 characters are sent, the printer fills the field with spaces when the audit report is printed.
Audit Report Field Five &%SQ5 d..d &%SQ5d..d$ Lead in sequence Data to be printed $ Command terminator This command identifies the data to be printed in the fifth column of the report. This field is a maximum of eight characters. Audit Report Field Six &%SQ6 d..d $ &%SQ6d..d$ Lead in string Data to be printed Command terminator This command identifies the data to be printed in the sixth column of the report. This field is a maximum of 19 characters. Audit Report Field Seven &SQ&7 d..d $ &%SQ7d..
For example, the command &%SPURGES$ sorts the records by the MICR line while the command &%SPURGESO$ sorts the records by the MICR line and prints an overlay with the data. Options can be forced on with these commands but they cannot be forced off. In other words, if the front panel overlay setting is on, it cannot be forced off by a datastream command. If the front panel overlay setting is off, however, a datastream command can activate this feature.
151 ETX (0x03) The printer will continue to report until it is powered off and back on. Figure 8.1 Audit Trail Commands Example The following example shows the Audit Trail, MICR Mode and Hex Transfer commands in use.
Figure 8.2 Audit Trail Check Sample The datastream in Figure 7.1 will print the following check (assuming the check macro and signature are loaded as flash resources).
The commands in Figure 8.1 in order of appearance. (Audit Report fields shown in bold) &&??&% Hex transfer enable. &%STFPASSWORD$ Password command. &%SMCP0001$ MICR definition command with the count set to one. &%SAR$ Activates Audit Report recording. &%STP10001$ Unlock flash resource number 10001. &%STP00200$ Unlock flash resource number 200. &%1B26...3358$ PCL sequence in hex which sets the page format and enables macro number 10001.
&%1B$(200X! &%1B(3@ PCL command to print font number 200. In this example font 200 is a signature previously loaded into flash memory. Here we call it and print it with an exclamation point (!). PCL command to return to the default font. &%1B$&f0S PCL command to push (store) the current cursor position. &%1B$*p296x3184Y PCL command to move the cursor to 296X, 3184Y. At 300 dpi, this is .97 inches across and 10.61 inches down. We are precisely positioning the MICR line. &%SMD...
Figure 8.
9. Error Messages Your Secure MICR Printer has a set of front panel error messages unique to MICR applications. These messages appear if there is a MICR related problem. The printer may also print an error message on the page near where the error occurred. In many cases you can receive more information about a displayed error by pressing Go to print the job which caused the error. Then inspect the printed page for a more detailed error message.
regular toner is present, the printer will stop all printing and display this message. Macro Definition Error Invalid decode mode specified Macro Definition Error Macro ID greater than 32767 limit. Macro Definition Error Macro size exceeds available space Non-hexadecimal Value Received Non-hexadecimal value received. Non Integer Value Received Non integer value received.
characters.
Appendix A: E13B MICR Font Mapping Command &%SMDddd..
Appendix B: CMC7 MICR Font Mapping Command Description &%SM7ddd..
Less Than < 3C Equal = 3D Greater Than > 3E The CMC7 Font in the example above is magnified for purposes of clarity.
Appendix C: Secure Numeric Font Mapping Command Description &%SMFddd...dd~ Alpha/Numeric Character Hex Value Dollar Sign $ 23 Left Bracket ( 28 Right Bracket ) 29 Asterisk * 2A Comma , 2C Dash - 2D Period .
Appendix C continued: Secure Numeric Font Mapping Description Alpha/Numeric Character Hex Value Two 2 32 Three 3 33 Four 4 34 Five 5 35 Six 6 36 Seven 7 37 Eight 8 38 Nine 9 39 Arrow > 3E Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide September 2005 Secure Font Character © Source Technologies A5 All Rights Reserved
Example: &%SMF($>>>15,575.00)~ NOTE: The secure fonts in the example are magnified for purposes of clarity.
Appendix D: ICR Secure Numeric Font Mapping Command Description &%SMIxxxxxx~ Alpha/Numeric Character Hex Value Zero 0 30 One 1 31 Two 2 32 Three 3 33 Four 4 34 Five 5 35 Six 6 36 Seven 7 37 Eight 8 38 Nine 9 39 Asterisk * 2A Comma , 2C Period .
Appendix E: MICR Mode Command Summary Description Command Structure Function Password &%STFPASSWORD$ &%STHPASSWORD$ Must be sent to enable MICR Mode MICR Definition &%SMCPxxxx$ MICR Line Count command Set New Password &%STExxxxxxxx$ Sets new password, must be preceded by current password Activate/Set Front Panel Combination &%STSxxxxxxxxx$ Turns on and sets Front Panel Combination Lock, must be 8 integers Print MICR E13B Font &%SMDddd...
Tray Swapping Commands &%STTSON &%STTSOFF$ Turns tray swapping ON Turns tray swapping OFF Quit MICR MODE Command &%STQ$ Terminates MICR Mode Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide September 2005 © Source Technologies A9 All Rights Reserved
Appendix F: Audit Report Command Summary Description Start Audit Record Command &%SAR$ Structure Function Activates Audit Trail and begins PJL job Audit Report Field One &%SQ1.d$ Records first field on the Audit Report - does not print Print MICR E13B Font &%SMD..d$ Print and records MICR line Audit Report Field Three &%SQ3d..$Records third field on the Audit Report Print the Check Amount &%SQ4d..
Appendix G: PJL Based MICR Commands In addition to supporting the Text Based MICR Command Set described in Sections 6 and 7, this Secure MICR printer also supports the PJL based MICR Commands used on our slower speed models. The MICR code functions emulate the presence of FLASH memory for the 5 secured font resources. The FLASH Memory option is not required for the five fonts.
Sent after PCL, this sequence re-locks the resources with no change in the password value. The PJL syntax of LDELETEPASSWORD is not the password. The command sequence terminates with the UEL command (Universal Exit Language). This is optional but recommended. PJL Re-Lock Sequence With A New Password Value %-12345X@PJL DEFAULT LRESOURCE:”flash:” LRWLOCK=”xxxxxxxx”(0D)(0A) %-12345X This command requires the resources to be previously unlocked. The new password is represented by the value xxxxxxxx.
MICR FONT NOTE – The E-13B and CMC7 Fonts are 8 characters per inch. To position correctly at an exact 8 characters per inch, the printer must be set to an internal Unit of Measure of 600 DPI or greater or must have a horizontal motion index command at 8 CPI be issued after the font call. This is true even if the base printer is at 600 DPI. The default character positioning is at 300 DPI and 8 into 300 is 37.5 pixels. The printer will either round down to 37 or up to 38 pixels causing characters to creep.
CARTRIDGE STATUS = UNKNOWN = OK = LOW = EMPTY CARTRIDGE SERIAL# = XXXXXXXX TONER LEVEL = 0-9 = UNKNOWN CARTRIDGE COUNT = XXXX LOW THRESHOLD = XXXX EMPTY THRESHOLD = XXXX • • • • • • • • • • Printer State o “Ready” is the expected return Serial Number = Printer Serial Number Page Count = Printer Page Count Cartridge Type o “MICR” is the expected return. “Normal” could mean the command was sent to a non-MICR printer Cartridge Status o “OK, Low, and Empty” are the expected returns.
PJL Unlock Sequence The first two lines of the variable text example are PJL commands that unlock the MICR font resources and enter PCL language processing. The password used is PASSWORD, the initial ship default. These commands and all following commands are all case sensitive. is used to illustrate the ASCII Escape Character, ASCII 27, hex 1B. An actual data stream requires the Escape Character, not . PCL Initial Set-Up The next two commands set up some printer PCL variables.
FIGURE 8.
PJL and PCL commands used to print the sample check: %-12345X@PJL LDECLARE LRESOURCE:"flash:" LRWLOCK="PASSWORD" @PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PCL &l2a1h6d1e64F &u600D &f100y3X (s4099t0b10H *p300x600Y xxxxxxxxx xx/xx/xxxx $x,xxx.xx 3% $x,xxx.xx *p300x2775Y xxxxxxxxx xx/xx/xxxx $x,xxx.xx 3% $x,xxx.
%-12345X@PJL LDELETEPASSWORD LRESOURCE:"flash:" %-12345X Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide September 2005 © Source Technologies A18 All Rights Reserved
