Are guide marks (cut marks) permitted to be printed in the 5/8″ (1.59 cm) MICR band?
(Note: Guide marks, also referred to as cut marks, are very small marks that would be used at the corners of cheques to identify the position for cutting the forms horizontally and vertically. If the cut is not exact, the guide marks could potentially appear in the in the MICR band.) Yes, printing guide marks is permitted in the 5/8″ (1.59 cm) MICR band provided that they: 1) are not printed in magnetic ink; 2) appear in the corners no higher than .12″ (0.3 cm) from the bottom edge of the cheque and; 3) do not extend more than than .32″ (.81 cm) from the left and right edges of the cheque. To ensure your guide marks do not encroach too far into the MICR band, we recommend you make your horizontal marks no more than .25″ (.635 cm) in length and the vertical marks no larger than .0575″ (.15 cm) in height. If your marks are larger, the cheque may not pass testing. Standard 006 will be updated to reflect these clarifications in relation to guide marks.
