TROY IRD Printing Solutions

IRD printing was introduced to the check printing industry as a result of the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, also known as Check 21. 

ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has worked to create specifications for an Image Replacement Document.  The specifications are documented in the X9.100-140-2004 standard.  According to the act, if the document meets the act’s requirements, then it is the legal equivalent of the original paper check. 

IRDs are paper reproductions that contain both a front and back image of the original check and are printed by either a financial institution or check clearing house.  With all of the functionality of a check each IRD contains a MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) line containing all of the information from the original check.

Expectations are that a fully image enabled clearing process will one day be the industry standard.  However, industry experts anticipate that a fully image enabled clearing process is still several years away.  IRD printing has been created as a way to help streamline the check clearing process and allow banks to transition to check image exchange during the interim period.

TROY provides all of the components necessary for IRD Printing including:

•  MICR Toner
•  IRD Paper Stock
•  Printer and Font

MICR Toner

Since the IRD / Substitute Check acts as a replacement for the original check, MICR Toner is needed to produce an IRD which can be read through a bank reader-sorter machine.  MICR toner has a unique magnetic property which helps to produce the signal needed for a reader sorter to interpret the printed MICR line data.

IRD Paper Stock

Two primary types of IRD documents have been specified through ANSI, these are Forward IRDs and Return IRDs.  A Forward IRD must be 3.667” x 8.5”, where as a Return IRD must be 4.292” x 8.5”, allowing .625” for the qualified MICR band.  A qualified MICR strip on a Return IRD is the removable strip that contains the return information.  All paper must be a minimum of 24 lb. 

TROY provides paper options which allow for 3up IRD printing.  The 3up Paper provides the option of printing 3 IRDs on the same piece of paper.  Once the 3up IRD printing is complete this solution requires the bursting of your IRDs to create individuals IRDs at the specified size. 

Printer and Font

An IRD reproduces both the front and back of the check, processed in the same fashion as the original check, the IRD also includes financial institution information.  It is important that the MICR line is precisely located in the field specified by the ANSI standard.  In order to provide accurate IRD printing you must have the following features on your printer:

• Automated duplex (2 sided) printing
• Precise place of the MICR line on the IRD
• Accurate E13B MICR font reproduction including font size, character placement, character signal strength and character density

TROY partners with All My Papers to provide a software solution that will allow for accurate printing of your X9.37 documents to an official IRD. For more information about the software visit the All My Papers Website.

• reduced clearing costs by printing IRDs close to the regional clearing centers
• reduced clearing costs by printing IRDs earlier in the day
• elimination of manual process to handle return items

For more information about these benefits as well as how you can utilize an effective IRD printing process contact TROY at 800-332-6427. TROY IRD Printers will allow for high quality IRD printing.