SKU:

Canon-126-MICR

Printer Brand:

Canon

OEM Number:

3483B001

Ink Color:

Black

Page Yield:

2,100 Pages

Printer Type:

Laser Cartridge

Condition:

New Compatible

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does printing checks need a different kind of toner?

Look at the bottom of any business check: that line of numbers — bank routing, account, check number — is the MICR line, and it is not read by eye. It is read magnetically by sorting and scanning equipment, which only works if the characters were printed with magnetic toner. Ordinary toner prints a line that looks identical to you and is silent to the machine. MICR toner — Magnetic Ink Character Recognition — exists for that one job, and this cartridge is the MICR version built on the Canon 126 cartridge line, part number 3483B001.

Why does one MICR cartridge cost $112.42 when the standard cartridge is $26.61?

Because it is a specialty product in every sense. The toner inside is a magnetic formulation, produced for a narrow purpose and in far smaller quantities than a mainstream office cartridge — no bulk office market to spread the cost across. The standard Canon 126 (126BK) at $26.61 is one of the highest-volume cartridges we sell; this MICR cartridge serves the small minority of 126 printers that print checks, and its price reflects that small, specialized run.

Do we need MICR for anything besides checks?

No — and it is worth being blunt about that. For invoices, letters, reports and every ordinary document, MICR toner buys you nothing over the standard cartridge; the magnetic property only matters where a document's MICR line must be read by bank equipment. Some offices load MICR for check runs and the standard cartridge for everything else, swapping between them. If your printer never prints a check, this listing is not for you, and the $26.61 standard 126BK is the right buy.

Can we print the whole check with this cartridge, or only the number line?

In practice, offices use MICR toner for the check run as a whole — the payee, amount and memo print in the same pass as the MICR line, and there is no requirement to separate them. What matters is that the characters along the bottom are laid down in magnetic toner. Check stock, layout and your own bank's check-printing guidance are separate questions your office should settle on its side; this cartridge's part is supplying the magnetic toner those checks call for.

Is this a Canon-made cartridge or a compatible?

A compatible cartridge — built on the Canon 126 platform (3483B001) and filled with MICR magnetic toner — covered like our other compatibles by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, set out on our shipping and returns page. If the cartridge fails mechanically or in output quality within that window, the remedy is replacement or refund.

How do we keep a specialty cartridge like this ready between check runs?

The same way as any toner, with one addition: label it. MICR and standard cartridges for the same printer are easy to confuse on a shelf, and a check run printed on the standard cartridge — or a month of letters printed on the MICR — wastes exactly what this cartridge costs extra to provide. Store it sealed, flat, cool and dry, marked clearly as the check cartridge, and swap deliberately when the check stock goes in.

About This Canon 3483B001 MICR Toner Cartridge

A single MICR cartridge on the Canon 126 platform (part number 3483B001), filled with magnetic toner for printing checks whose bottom line of numbers must be machine-readable — $112.42, against $26.61 for the standard 126BK, because that is what a small-run specialty formulation costs. For everything that is not a check, the standard cartridge in the Canon toner range is the sensible buy; for check runs, this is the cartridge made for the purpose.