Printing Canadian cheques on a Mac

Yes — you can print Canadian cheques laid out to CPA Standard 006 right from your Mac, on blank stock or your own pre-printed cheques, on any laser or inkjet. No couriered chequebooks, no reorder fees, no waiting on the mail. The bottom line: a cheque is more likely to clear cleanly when the MICR line at the bottom is encoded to Payments Canada's CPA Standard 006 — though your bank's policies still apply — and getting that right is exactly what a dedicated app does for you.

That's the whole job. CheckYourself runs natively on macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon), builds the CPA 006 layout for you, and prints a cheque your bank can image and process like any other — a few minutes of one-time setup, then seconds per cheque after that.

How CheckYourself does it

You're not designing a cheque from scratch or fighting a spec sheet. You enter your account details once, the app lays out a Canadian cheque to CPA Standard 006, and you print:

• Canadian (CPA 006) layouts. Pick a Canadian account and CheckYourself positions the fields and the MICR band the Canadian way — not the US (ANSI X9.100-20) way, which places things differently. Four layouts fit 8.5×11 letter paper: 3-per-page, or a single cheque with two stubs (top, middle, or bottom).
• The MICR line, built for you. Enter your transit (branch), institution, and account numbers and the app encodes the E-13B line in CPA order — ⑈chequeNum⑈ ⑆transit⑉institution⑆ account⑈, cheque number up to 12 digits — and keeps the bottom band clear so a scanner reads it cleanly.
• USD cheques on a Canadian account. Drawing in US dollars? CheckYourself appends transaction code 45 automatically, per CPA 006. You don't have to remember it. (Payments Canada guidance also calls for "US Funds" or "US Dollars" to appear on the cheque face for a USD cheque drawn on a Canadian account.)
• Blank stock or pre-printed. Print on blank cheque stock (the app draws the whole cheque, MICR line included) or drop just your data onto cheques you already have.
• Real-time preview. A WYSIWYG preview shows exactly what will print before you commit a sheet, so there are no surprises.
• Alignment tools. Test cheques, calibration pages, and fine offset nudges let you dial in placement against a real cheque before your first real run.

Getting your numbers

You need three things off any existing cheque or your online banking: the 5-digit transit (branch) number, the 3-digit institution number, and your account number. Enter them once per account — you can keep as many accounts as you like, each with its own layout — and CheckYourself remembers them.

Dial in alignment, then print

1. Preview it. Confirm payee, amount, date, and the MICR line look right in the live preview.
2. Print a test on plain paper. Hold it against a real cheque and check the bottom band lines up. Plain paper is for testing only — print it VOID — so a clean test means your first real cheque lands right instead of in the recycling.
3. Load blank stock and go. Use proper blank cheque stock (heavier 28–32 lb security paper, roughly $15–$25 a ream, enough to last most people a year) on any laser or inkjet. Each cheque logs to a searchable register for painless reconciliation.

Free users get fully-formed cheques with a VOID watermark (ANNULÉ in Canadian French), so you can perfect alignment at zero cost before subscribing.

MICR toner: usually optional

The E-13B line prints fine with ordinary laser or inkjet toner for most users. MICR (magnetic) toner is a cheap hedge if your branch specifically asks for it — the app prints to it the same way — but it isn't required to deposit at most banks. If you're unsure, ask your bank.

Bank acceptance

CheckYourself's Canadian output complies with CPA Standard 006 — the right layout and a spec E-13B MICR line — so the cheque is built to the standard your bank expects. Individual bank policies vary, so deposit one test cheque before your first big run, then run the rest with confidence. (Not legal or banking advice.)

When a built-in tool fits instead

If your accounting software already prints cheques onto pre-printed stock and you're happy ordering that stock, you may not need a standalone app — use what you have. CheckYourself earns its place when you want to print on blank stock (it draws the whole cheque, MICR line included), run multiple accounts each with their own layout, and avoid reorder lock-in.

Cost and getting started

CheckYourself is about $3.99/month (or $39.99/year) on the Mac App Store — a fraction of a chequebook reorder, with no lead time and no lock-in. The free tier prints real cheques with a VOID watermark, so you can set everything up and confirm alignment before you pay a cent.

Get CheckYourself on the Mac App Store and print your first Canadian cheque today.