Printing a check from your computer doesn't require any special hardware — just a printer, check stock (or plain paper where your bank allows it), and software to lay out the fields correctly.
Your main options, roughly from quickest to most reliable
- A Word or Excel template — fine for one check in a pinch, but no automatic MICR line or amount-in-words.
- Your accounting software's built-in check printing, if you already use one like QuickBooks.
- Dedicated check printing software — the middle ground: far cheaper and simpler than a full accounting suite, but with the MICR encoding, amount-in-words, and check register handled for you.
What every method needs to get right
- Printing at 100% scale, never "fit to page," so every field lands in the correct position.
- A correctly formatted and positioned MICR line, if your bank requires machine-readable checks.
- An accurate amount-in-words line that matches the numeric amount exactly.
- A test print on plain paper before committing to your actual check stock.
Check Writer 123 is built to cover all of this out of the box — design your check once, then print it from your browser on any printer you own.