Does the color of ink on the original document affect the legality of the original check?
Response: No. The only reference to ink color appears in Appendix D of the FRB’s Regulation CC. Appendix D currently requires depositary bank endorsements to be printed in dark purple or black ink, and requires all other endorsements to be printed in an ink color other than purple. However, the FRB believes that it is important for all endorsements to be printed in dark ink so that they can be easily read and imaged. The FRB also believes that all endorsements that a reconverting bank prints onto a substitute check at the time that the substitute check is created will be printed in a single ink color, likely black. The FRB, therefore, proposes to require all endorsements, including the depositary bank endorsement, to be printed in black ink. For additional information, refer to the FRB’s Web site at: www.federalreserve.gov/BoardDocs/Press/Bcreg/2003/20031222/attachment.pdf.
