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Lining up date on Quickbooks check

  • May 20, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 36 views
AmyfromPA

I can’t get the date to line up on Quickbooks checks that I print on Smokeball. I tried what Smokeball recommends with not using fit to and changing percentages but it makes it worse. I have a Canon printer. Can anyone help me? I’ve reached out to Smokeball on this issue a week ago and nobody responds to me, other than to tell me what I already tried and didn’t work. 

Best answer by MSINDC

Chad, your suggestions seem to miss the point.  I think you are right to point out that check alignment issues like this are often a combination of how Smokeball generates the PDF, the particular PDF viewer, and the specific printer driver.  But the solution cannot be external to Smokeball.  Neither the printer nor the PDV view is responsible for how Smokeball generates the check image.  That is a Smokeball problem.

Question:  Why can’t Smokeball allow users to adjust the location of each of the check fields so that they can properly align with the check stock on each user’s own paper/printer/PDF etc.?

Smokeball seems to have a problem of assuming that everyone does everything the same way--Smokeball’s way--instead of providing for flexibility so that Smokeball can serve each user as the user needs.

We have the same problem as Amy, and we have been unable to find a workaround.  It is incredibly frustrating to constantly send out checks with text printed on top of text preprinted on the checks--and this happens even though we scrapped all of our old checkstock to buy checkstock that Smokeball said was compatible with Smokeball!

Micah

Amy

    4 replies

    C
    Smokeball Team
    • Chad HolawaySmokeball Team
    • Smokeball Team
    • May 29, 2026

    Hi Amy, thanks for posting about this and sorry to hear the standard steps haven't helped.

    Check alignment issues like this are often a combination of how Smokeball generates the PDF, your PDF viewer, and your printer driver all interacting together. Here are a few things worth trying that go beyond the scale/fit-to-page settings:

    1. **Update or repair Adobe Reader** — Smokeball generates checks as PDFs, and an outdated or corrupted Adobe Reader installation is a known cause of persistent alignment issues. Even if it looks up to date, running a repair install (Help > Repair Adobe Acrobat Reader) can sometimes resolve it.

    2. **Adjust the scale within your Canon printer driver directly** — Rather than adjusting the scale in your browser or in Smokeball, try opening your Canon printer's own Page Setup or Layout settings and adjusting the margins or scale from there. Canon printers handle scaling differently than other brands, so driver-level adjustments can give you more precise control than the browser-level settings.

    3. **Contact your Print Reseller or Canon support** — If the above doesn't resolve it, this is likely a printer driver issue specific to your Canon model and Windows version. The vendor you purchased your Canon printer through, or Canon's support team directly, can advise on driver settings or updates for form/check printing.

    Hope one of these gets you sorted!

    Chad

    O
    • oliviasmithContributor
    • Contributor
    • June 8, 2026

    3. **Contact your Print Reseller or Canon support** — If the above doesn't resolve it, this is likely a printer driver issue specific to your Canon model and Windows version. The vendor you purchased your Canon printer through, or Canon's support team directly, can advise on driver settings or updates for form/check printing.

    M
    • MSINDCRegular
    • Regular
    • Answer
    • June 8, 2026

    Chad, your suggestions seem to miss the point.  I think you are right to point out that check alignment issues like this are often a combination of how Smokeball generates the PDF, the particular PDF viewer, and the specific printer driver.  But the solution cannot be external to Smokeball.  Neither the printer nor the PDV view is responsible for how Smokeball generates the check image.  That is a Smokeball problem.

    Question:  Why can’t Smokeball allow users to adjust the location of each of the check fields so that they can properly align with the check stock on each user’s own paper/printer/PDF etc.?

    Smokeball seems to have a problem of assuming that everyone does everything the same way--Smokeball’s way--instead of providing for flexibility so that Smokeball can serve each user as the user needs.

    We have the same problem as Amy, and we have been unable to find a workaround.  It is incredibly frustrating to constantly send out checks with text printed on top of text preprinted on the checks--and this happens even though we scrapped all of our old checkstock to buy checkstock that Smokeball said was compatible with Smokeball!

    Micah

      AmyfromPA
      • AmyfromPAContributor
      • Author
      • Contributor
      • June 8, 2026

      Thank you, Micah. By the way, I have been in contact with Canon and the people I bought the printer from and they are unable to solve this issue. 

      It is disappointing to me that Smokeball is integrated with Quickbooks, but yet the checks aren’t compatible. That’s not fully integrated if you ask me. 

      Amy
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