Conference 7.286::dcu

609.0. "Check printing issues" by ESBLAB::KINZELMAN (Two Terms, 1 in office, 1 in jail) Wed Sep 23 1992 16:00

This note is in response to the folks who wondered why there was so much
variability in check prices. Mr Moderator, move elsewhere if there's a
better place for it. I did a quick check and couldn't find the note talking
about check prices.

The following table shows that the Harland checks have not increased
very much over the years. What has happened is that tax began
being added to the check cost in 1992. Furthermore, the number they quote
you over the phone is not necessarily the cost to you because the person
would have to know where you live and the postage cost. For instance, if
you are in NH, there is no tax, but in MA there is.

              Digital Em#loyees' Federal Credit Union
              Custom Check Package Price 1989 - 1992

Year          Total Member Price *     Tax        Delivery
1992		$12.19                 $.54        $.82
1991 	         11.23                  .00	    .80
1990             10.65                  .00	    .70
1989             10.15                  .00         .64

*Total Member Price includes the tax and delivery. These prices
are approximate member prices and illustrate that over the past
four years with all factors (tax implementation, increased
delivery costs) taken into account, the overall member impact
has been a 20% increase, or 5% per year.

DCU also looked into another brand of checks (I don't recall the brand),
but those checks can only be ordered directly by the member. They do not
deal directly with institutions. Also, the magnetic ink is frequently
poor and the readers can't read them. When asked about the problem, the
company says they will replace the checks if the customer complains. However,
the customer has no way of knowing if the readers had problems with
checks. The special handing required of poorly printed checks can be quite
expensive and the customer/member never sees these costs. Also, the first
order from these kinds of firms is often rather inexpensive, but
re-orders are comparible to the normal Harland price.