What Is a Laser Check? A Practical Guide for Business Owners

This guide answers what is a laser check in plain terms, then covers the part most buying guides skip: what your software actually prints, why banks reject checks that look perfectly fine, and how to get the alignment right the first time.

Quick Answer

A laser check is pre-formatted business check paper designed to be printed by a laser printer. Your accounting software fills in the date, payee, amount and memo, while the bank details and security features are already printed on the sheet. Laser checks and computer checks are the same product under two names.

• Laser check and computer check mean the same thing. One name describes the printer, the other describes the software.
• Your software does not print the bank routing line. That line is pre-printed on the stock, which is why format and bank details must be correct at the point of order.
• Four formats exist. The check sits at the top, middle or bottom of the sheet, or three checks print on one page. Your software setting decides which.
• You only need special MICR toner if you buy blank stock. Pre-printed laser checks need ordinary toner.
• Most bank rejections are printer problems, not design problems. Faint toner and misfed sheets cause more rejections than anything else.

Use this table to match a format to how you pay:

Ready to order? Browse computer checks for pre-printed laser stock, or blank checks if you print the bank details yourself.

What is a laser check and how is it different from other business checks?

A laser check is a sheet of business check paper, usually 8.5 by 11 inches, with the check portion already laid out and your bank details already printed. You load it into a laser printer and your accounting software prints the payment details into the blank fields.

The difference between check types comes down to who fills in the payment details:

• Laser checks, also called computer checks. Your software prints the payment details. The sheet is flat and feeds through a standard printer tray.
• Manual checks. You write the payment details by hand. They come bound in a book or binder with a carbon copy or stub for your records.
• Continuous checks. An older format with perforated edge strips for tractor-fed dot matrix printers. Rarely used now.

The word laser describes the printer the stock is cut and coated for. It does not mean anything is engraved or burned onto the paper. If a supplier offers you computer checks and you were looking for laser checks, you are looking at the same shelf.

How do laser checks work when you print them?

Your accounting software holds a template that matches the check format you chose. When you approve a payment and print, the software places each piece of information into the matching field on the sheet. The sheet already carries everything that stays the same from check to check.

Here is the split, which matters more than most people expect:

Why can your software not print the routing line?

The line of characters along the bottom of a check is the MICR line, short for magnetic ink character recognition. Bank sorting equipment reads it magnetically, not optically, so it has to be printed in ink or toner containing iron oxide, using a specific character set, positioned within a tight tolerance.

Standard accounting software does not print that line, and a standard laser printer cannot produce it even if the software tried, because ordinary toner is not magnetic. This is the single most useful thing to understand about laser checks. It explains why the stock has to be ordered with your bank details already on it, and why getting the account details right at the point of order matters so much.

If you want to print the bank details yourself, that is a different product and a different setup, covered in the blank check stock guide.

Which laser check format do you need?

Format is decided by your accounting software, not by preference. Open your check printing setup, see which style is selected, then order the stock that matches. Ordering first and adjusting the software later usually ends in wasted stock.

This table maps each format to the software setting it usually corresponds to:

When should you use the check on top format?

The check sits at the top of the sheet with two stubs beneath it. This is the most common business format and matches voucher style in most accounting packages. Available as computer checks on top.

When is check in middle the right choice?

The check sits between two stubs. Payroll teams favor it because one stub detaches for the employee and the other stays on file. Available as computer checks in middle.

What is the check on bottom format for?

The check sits at the bottom with a long remittance area above it. Useful when you pay several invoices at once and need room to list them. Available as computer checks on bottom.

What does a voucher check look like?

A voucher check is a single check with a detachable voucher, or stub, carrying the payment detail. On the sheet it looks like a check occupying roughly the top third, with the voucher area filling the rest and a perforation between them. Voucher is a layout description, not a separate product, and in most accounting software the voucher setting maps to the check on top format.

The voucher exists so the payee can see what the payment covers. On a payroll run it carries the earnings and deduction breakdown. On a vendor payment it lists the invoices being settled.

Who should use three checks per page?

Three separate checks print on one sheet with no stubs. It is the most economical format per check and suits businesses issuing many payments where the software already holds the audit trail. Available as three on a page computer checks.

If you are not sure which style your software is set to, the check position guide walks through identifying it, and the QuickBooks check compatibility guide covers the software side.

Should you buy pre-printed laser checks or blank check stock?

Pre-printed laser checks arrive with your bank details already on them. Blank check stock arrives with security paper and no bank details, and you print everything including the MICR line. The choice changes what equipment you need.

One limitation catches QuickBooks Online users in particular. QuickBooks Online does not print checks onto blank check stock on its own, so a blank stock setup needs separate check printing software sitting between your accounting system and the printer. That is an extra tool to buy, learn and maintain, and it is the main reason most QuickBooks Online businesses stay on pre-printed stock.

There is also a distinction in the payroll print settings worth knowing. Printing a plain paper pay stub is not the same as printing a check. A stub on plain paper accompanies a handwritten check. Only voucher check stock produces a payable check from the software.

For most businesses, pre-printed stock is the practical answer. Blank stock earns its extra setup only when you are printing for several bank accounts or entities and the flexibility saves more than the equipment costs.

If blank stock fits your setup, see blank checks on top, blank checks on middle, blank checks on bottom and blank checks three per page.

Do you need special toner or paper for laser checks?

For pre-printed laser checks, no. Ordinary laser toner is all you need, because the only magnetic element on the check was printed before it reached you. For blank check stock, yes, you need MICR toner so bank scanners can read the line you print.

Two toner points catch people out:

• MICR toner in a standard printer is not a reliable substitute for a MICR printer. The cartridge may fit, but alignment and fusing tolerances on check printers exist for a reason, and marginal output is what gets checks rejected.
• Never run a printed check back through the printer. Reheating a sheet that already carries fused toner can lift or flake the MICR characters, which turns a good check into a rejected one.

Laser check paper is not ordinary printer paper. It is heavier, cut to feed cleanly, and treated so that attempts to alter it show up. Buying plain paper and printing a check layout onto it produces something a bank may accept but that offers none of the tamper protection the stock is designed for.

Paper weight matters more than most buyers realize, both for how the sheet feeds and for how well it resists tampering. The check paper weight guide covers the trade-offs.

Do you need a dedicated laser check printer?

Not for pre-printed laser checks. Any reliable laser printer will do, because you are only printing ordinary text into blank fields. A dedicated printer becomes worth considering once you print on blank stock, or once check volume is high enough that you want alignment settings left untouched.

The practical argument for a second printer is not speed, it is stability. Alignment is saved per printer, so a shared office printer that other people reconfigure is a recurring source of misprints. A basic dedicated unit removes that problem, and it also keeps check stock out of a tray that anyone can load plain paper into.

Why do banks reject laser checks, and how do you prevent it?

When a bank returns a printed check, the cause is almost always the MICR line rather than the check design. Bank equipment reads that line magnetically, and anything that weakens or shifts the characters makes the check unreadable even when it looks fine to the eye.

One habit prevents most of this: before a large payment run, print one check and look at the bottom strip under good light. Characters should be solid black and evenly spaced. If they look grey or uneven, deal with the printer before you commit a batch.

How do you fix laser check alignment problems?

Alignment problems are the most common complaint about printing checks, and they are usually caused by something outside your accounting software. The software places fields correctly, then a print dialog or viewer shifts the whole page before it reaches the printer.

Work through these in order:

1. Turn off page scaling. Settings like fit to page or shrink to printable area resize the whole layout. Set scaling to 100 percent or actual size.
2. Set margins to none. Browsers and PDF viewers add default margins that push everything down and across.
3. Test on plain paper first. Print one check onto blank paper, hold it against a real check sheet up to the light, and see exactly how far off it sits.
4. Adjust vertically and horizontally, not by eye. Most software offers an alignment wizard that moves the layout in small increments. Change one axis at a time.
5. Use the same printer every time. Alignment settings are specific to a printer. Switching printers mid-run reintroduces the problem.
6. Save the settings and note them. Write down the final offsets so a software update or new computer does not cost you another hour.

The hold-it-to-the-light test is worth doing properly. It costs one sheet of plain paper and tells you more in ten seconds than guessing at offsets does in twenty minutes.

Can you handwrite on a laser check?

Yes. A check is valid when it carries the date, payee, amount and an authorized signature, and nothing requires those to be printed. Plenty of businesses keep a few laser check sheets in a drawer for the occasional payment that never made it into the accounting system.

Two things to keep in mind. Write in permanent ink rather than pencil or erasable pen, and record the check number in your software afterwards so the numbering does not drift out of sequence. If most of your payments are written by hand, manual business checks are the better format, because they come with stubs built for handwriting.

Laser checks compared with manual checks: which fits your business?

The honest answer depends on volume and on where your records live. Laser checks win when your accounting software is already the system of record. Manual checks win when payments are occasional and you want a physical trail without opening a computer.

Running both is a reasonable setup rather than a compromise. Many businesses print the regular run and keep a manual book for payments made away from the office. The computer checks vs manual checks comparison goes deeper on the volume threshold, and payroll business checks and multi purpose business checks cover the manual options.

What security features should a laser check have?

Check fraud usually relies on altering a genuine check rather than forging one from scratch, so the features that matter are the ones that make alteration obvious. Look for these when comparing stock:

• Chemically reactive paper. Stains or spots when common solvents are used to lift ink, which is the mechanism behind check washing.
• Microprinting. Text too small to reproduce cleanly on a copier, usually along the signature line.
• A visible security screen or warning band. Tells a teller which features to look for and signals that the check is not plain paper.
• Heat sensitive or watermark elements. Verified by touch or by tilting the sheet, neither of which survives photocopying.
• Padlock icon and feature list on the back. Indicates the stock meets recognized industry security criteria.

If fraud exposure is a concern, high security business checks carry a fuller set of these features than standard stock.

Which laser check ordering mistakes cost the most?

These are the errors that lead to a reorder rather than an adjustment:

• Ordering the format before checking the software setting. Confirm whether your setup is on voucher, standard or wallet style first.
• Copying bank details from an old check without verifying them. Mergers and branch changes alter routing numbers more often than people expect.
• Starting the check number at 1. Continue from your last used number so numbering stays sequential for reconciliation.
• Forgetting the signature line requirement. If your account needs two signatures, the stock should have room for both.
• Ordering a year of stock before test printing. Order a smaller first quantity, confirm alignment and bank acceptance, then reorder at volume.

That last point is the cheapest insurance available. A small first order that you actually run through your printer and deposit once tells you everything a large order cannot.

How to order laser checks with next day shipping

Once you know your format and have your current bank details to hand, ordering takes a few minutes. Checks Next Day prints same day and ships next day on computer and laser check orders.

• Pre-printed stock: computer checks
• Blank security stock: blank checks
• Higher security options: high security business checks
• Urgent reorders: rush computer checks
• Software compatibility questions: computer checks software

Not sure which format matches your setup? Contact us with the name of your accounting software and the style selected in your print settings, and we will confirm the right stock before you order.

About the Author

The Checks Next Day team has supplied printed business checks, deposit products and banking supplies to US businesses for years, working with customers on QuickBooks, Quicken and other accounting packages every day. This guide reflects the format, printing and compatibility questions our customers raise most often when ordering laser checks.