Artistic Checks and Check Coupon Deals: What to Know First

What Artistic Checks Is

Artistic Checks (artisticchecks.com) is a consumer personal check brand that sells illustrated and artistically designed personal checkbooks. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it built its catalog around the idea that personal checks should reflect the buyer's individual taste rather than defaulting to plain bank blue.

The brand organizes its check designs into named categories: Masterpiece Checks featuring illustrated designs from licensed artists including Cheri Blum and Connie Haley, Scenic Checks featuring nature and landscape photography, Classic Checks with simple color and pattern backgrounds, Animal Checks with wildlife and pet illustrations, Floral Checks, Pattern Checks, Cultural Checks, and Americana Checks. The catalog at any given time includes around 200 to 300 individual designs across these categories.

Artistic Checks sells personal checks only. It does not sell business checks in the formats used for payroll, accounts payable, or QuickBooks printing. Its accessories include coordinating checkbook covers and address labels that match specific check designs. Both top tear and side tear check formats are available across most design categories. Check orders come in boxes of 80 checks in either single (one-part) or duplicate checks (with carbonless copy) format.

Who Owns Artistic Checks

Artistic Checks is owned by Deluxe Corporation, the same parent company that owns Checks Unlimited and Designer Checks. All three brands operate as distinct consumer-facing websites with their own design catalogs and brand identities, but they share the same underlying corporate ownership, printing infrastructure, and pricing model.

This ownership structure matters for buyers comparing prices across brands. A box of basic checks from Artistic Checks and a box from Checks Unlimited at similar quantities often arrives at nearly identical checkout totals because the same corporate pricing model is applied across brands. Buyers who discover one brand's introductory price and then comparison-shop other Deluxe-owned brands may find similar or identical pricing structures rather than meaningful alternatives.

Deluxe Corporation is publicly traded and operates as a major check printing company in the United States alongside its newer financial technology services. Its check printing division produces checks for multiple consumer brands, bank resellers, and business check buyers, using the same manufacturing infrastructure to serve all channels at different price points depending on the channel margin.

Artistic Checks Design Categories

Understanding the design categories at Artistic Checks helps buyers determine whether the brand's catalog serves their specific need or whether a simpler, lower-cost option with color and background variety achieves the same goal.

Masterpiece Checks

The Masterpiece category features illustrated designs from licensed artists and is positioned as the brand's premium tier. Designs include floral compositions, nature-inspired illustrations, and abstract artistic work by named artists. Masterpiece Checks carry a licensed design component that affects the product price: you pay for the check plus a margin associated with the licensed artwork. Not all coupon codes apply to Masterpiece designs, and the terms of specific promotional offers often exclude the Masterpiece tier.

Scenic Checks

Scenic Checks use landscape and nature photography as check backgrounds. These are similar in concept to the national parks and wildlife check categories offered by many other check manufacturers. Photography-based scenic checks appeal to buyers who want a real-world visual connection on their checkbook rather than an illustrated or abstract design.

Classic Checks

Classic Checks use simple color backgrounds and patterns, including blue, vellum, and textured styles. The "Basic Blue Checks" in Artistic Checks' best-seller list are its version of the standard blue safety check described in our blue safety checks guide. Classic checks are the most coupon-friendly tier because most promotional codes apply to them without restrictions.

Animal, Floral, and Pattern Checks

These categories offer themed illustrated checks in subject areas like pets, gardens, and geometric designs. They are in the same licensed or semi-licensed design tier as Masterpiece Checks and may carry similar coupon code restrictions.

How Check Coupon Codes Actually Work

Check coupon codes for brands like Artistic Checks, Checks Unlimited, and Designer Checks are widely available through coupon aggregator sites, mailed promotional inserts, and the brands' own promotional email lists. Understanding what these codes actually discount is essential before calculating whether they represent a good deal.

A check coupon code typically reduces the listed price of the checks themselves by the advertised percentage. A "40% off" code on a box of checks listed at $23.49 would reduce that price to approximately $14.09 per box. This is the core saving.

What coupon codes generally do not discount:

• Per-box handling fees (typically $3.45 per box at Artistic Checks, added at checkout)
• Per-order handling fees on business check orders (can be $12.50 or more)
• Shipping charges, unless the code specifically includes free shipping
• Pre-selected add-on programs like SentryShield Pro fraud protection
• Custom font fees, monogram fees, or design upgrade fees chosen during personalization
• Accessories like checkbook covers or address labels added to the order

A buyer who sees "40% off" and calculates the saving on the listed check price will find the actual checkout total higher than expected once non-discountable fees are applied. On a one-box order with standard shipping and a handling fee, the effective discount on the total checkout cost is meaningfully lower than the advertised percentage on the check price alone.

Coupon codes also carry conditions that limit their usefulness. Most codes can only be used once per account or are restricted to one code per order. They typically cannot be combined with other promotional codes, meaning no coupon stacking is possible. Some codes are valid only on personal check orders and exclude business check formats. Some exclude specific design tiers like Masterpiece. And most require a minimum quantity of two or four boxes to unlock the full discount percentage, reducing the savings on smaller orders.

First-Time vs Reorder Pricing: The Critical Difference

The most significant pricing fact about Artistic Checks, Checks Unlimited, and similar Deluxe Corporation brands is the structural gap between first-time customer pricing and standard reorder pricing. This is the aspect of the coupon-model business that most buyers only understand after their first reorder arrives.

First time customer offers at Artistic Checks can bring the price of a box of 80 single checks to as low as $8.40 using a first-order code. This introductory pricing is designed to acquire new customers by making the first purchase as accessible as possible.

Standard reorder pricing for returning customers is significantly higher. A box of 80 single personal checks at standard Artistic Checks pricing is approximately $23.49 per box before the per-box handling fee is applied. With the $3.45 per-box handling fee, one box costs approximately $26.94 plus shipping. Reorder-specific codes can reduce this, but the best reorder discounts typically require a four-box discount quantity to unlock the deepest tier.

The structural reason for this gap is the customer acquisition economics of a direct-mail check business. The first order is priced to convert. Subsequent orders are priced to generate profit on the relationship the first order established. This model is common across all Deluxe Corporation check brands. Buyers who plan to check reorder from these brands repeatedly should factor the reorder price, not the introductory price, into their long-term cost calculation.

How Handling Fees Affect the True Cost

Artistic Checks' per-box handling fee of $3.45 appears at checkout on top of the listed check price. On a single box of 80 checks priced at $23.49, the $3.45 fee represents a 14.7% addition to the product price before shipping. On a four-box order with volume pricing, the per-box handling fee is applied four times, adding $13.80 to the order total.

The handling fee was historically a source of customer frustration at Deluxe Corporation brands because it appeared only at checkout after the buyer had selected a design and entered personal information. The company now states it folds handling fees into listed prices for personal check orders, though buyers should verify the current policy when reviewing their specific order's checkout total.

Coupon codes that advertise a percentage off the check price do not reduce the handling fee. A 40% off code on $23.49 brings the check price to $14.09. The $3.45 handling fee remains, bringing the pre-shipping subtotal to $17.54 for 80 checks, or approximately 22 cents per check. At this per-check cost, the effective discount savings from the code are real but the total per-check cost is still meaningful.

For buyers comparing per-check costs across manufacturers, always add handling fees and minimum shipping to the per-box cost calculation. See our full cheap checks online guide for a per-check cost comparison methodology that accounts for all order fees.

SentryShield and Pre-Selected Add-Ons

SentryShield Pro, Deluxe Corporation's check fraud and identity protection subscription, is pre-selected by default in the Artistic Checks checkout cart. The service costs approximately $15.94 per year and provides check replacement coverage and identity theft restoration services. Customers who do not want it must actively remove it from the cart during the checkout process.

As explained in our Checks Unlimited guide, SentryShield is a financial recovery service, not a check paper security feature. The ABA-compliant security paper that all Deluxe-brand checks are printed on provides the physical fraud deterrence through chemically reactive paper, microprinting, heat-sensitive ink, void pantographs, watermarks, and UV fluorescent fibers. SentryShield adds coverage for what happens if fraud occurs despite those features, not additional paper security.

Buyers who want the check itself without the subscription service need to uncheck the SentryShield option during checkout. Not doing so adds approximately $15.94 to the annual cost of ordering checks from any Deluxe Corporation brand.

Coupon-Model vs Direct Pricing: Coupon vs Direct Comparison

The coupon-model pricing approach used by Artistic Checks, Checks Unlimited, and Designer Checks works as follows: a high standard price is set, introductory and promotional codes are offered to reduce that price to competitive levels, and the effective pricing that most buyers pay across their ordering lifetime sits somewhere between the introductory offer and the standard full price depending on how actively they seek and apply available codes.

Direct manufacturer pricing works differently. The manufacturer sets its price at or near manufacturing cost without a built-in margin designed to be cut by coupon codes. There are no introductory tiers, no reorder pricing tiers, and no promotional codes required to access the real price. The price you see is what you pay, and it reflects the actual cost to produce and ship the product.

Checkomatic operates on the direct manufacturer model. The price shown for a personal checkbook or business check order is not a pre-coupon inflated price. There are no promotional codes required to access the base price. There are no per-order handling fees added at checkout. There are no pre-selected add-on subscriptions requiring active opt-out.

For a buyer who orders checks twice a year and always has the right coupon code applied, the effective cost at an Artistic Checks-type brand can be competitive with direct manufacturer pricing. For a buyer who reorders without a current code, or who orders more frequently, or who does not catch the pre-selected add-ons, the actual cost over time at a coupon-model brand (because of the bank markup-equivalent reseller margin) tends to run higher than the introductory or discounted price suggests.

Are Artistic Personalized Checks Secure?

Yes. Artistic Checks from any CPSA-certified manufacturer are produced on ABA-compliant security stock. The illustrated designs, nature photography, or licensed artwork on artistic checks is printed on top of security paper that already contains chemically reactive paper, genuine watermarks, microprinting, heat-sensitive thermochromic ink, void pantographs, and UV-reactive fluorescent fibers. The artwork does not reduce these security features in any way.

Artistic Checks, as a Deluxe Corporation brand, is CPSA-certified. The CPSA padlock icon confirms membership in the Check Payment Systems Association and adherence to ABA security standards. Standard personal checks from Artistic Checks carry the baseline ABA security paper features. The brand also offers a high-security parchment and high-security blue check tier that adds holographic foil for buyers who want additional protection above the baseline.

A check with an illustrated butterfly or a mountain landscape on its background processes at the bank identically to a plain blue check on the same security paper. The design is irrelevant to the MICR line, the routing number, the account number, and every functional banking field. For a full explanation of check security paper features, see our check stock paper guide.

Broader Artistic Check Category Beyond the Brand

When people search for "artistic checks" they often mean something broader than the specific Artistic Checks brand: any personal check with a visual design beyond a plain color background. This broader category includes illustrated checks, scenic photography checks, nature theme checks, and any check where the visual design is a meaningful part of the product rather than a default background.

Artistic or visually distinctive personal checks are available from multiple manufacturers beyond Artistic Checks the brand. Bradford Exchange Checks, CheckAdvantage, Checks in the Mail and Carousel Checks, and Carousel Checks all sell illustrated and themed personal check designs. The pricing models, coupon structures, and security standards vary across these manufacturers.

For buyers who want a visually distinctive check without licensed illustrated designs, a strong alternative is a check with an artistic color background or texture combined with a personal or business logo. The marble, prismatic, diamond, and safety pattern backgrounds available on Checkomatic's personal checks create visually distinctive checkbooks without licensed artwork premiums or coupon code dependencies.

Checkomatic's Personalized Check Options

Checkomatic's personalization approach is different from a design catalog model. Rather than offering hundreds of illustrated themes organized into named collections, Checkomatic offers a combination of background variety, color selection, and free logo printing that produces a genuinely personalized check without licensed artwork costs or promotional code mechanics.

Personal check personalization at Checkomatic includes:

• Multiple background styles: Safety pattern, marble, prismatic, and diamond texture backgrounds in each available color
• Multiple color options: Blue, burgundy, and green across all personal check formats
• Free black and white logo printing: Included on every order with no setup fee
• Color logo printing: Available for a small additional fee, not a setup fee
• Name and address customization: Exact formatting as entered, including optional phone number
• Starting check number: Sequential from where the previous checkbook ended
• Single or duplicate format: Available on all personal check formats

The combination of a marble blue or prismatic burgundy background with a business or personal logo creates a check that is visually distinctive and genuinely personalized, without the licensed design premium that contributes to the higher baseline pricing of illustrated check brands.

Color and Background Options at Checkomatic

Checkomatic's personal checkbook range offers the following personalization dimensions:

Colors

Blue checks, burgundy checks, and green checks are the three standard personal check colors. Blue is the most conventional and universally familiar. Burgundy has a traditional, slightly formal character. Green creates a fresh, distinctive look that works especially well for buyers whose identity or business connects to nature, agriculture, or sustainability. All three carry the same ABA security paper baseline and the same free logo printing inclusion.

Background Styles

Safety pattern backgrounds use a basket weave or wavy line design in a tone-on-tone effect. Marble backgrounds use a swirled stone-like pattern that creates a richer, more premium visual. Prismatic backgrounds use a graduated geometric pattern for a contemporary look. Diamond texture backgrounds use a repeating lattice pattern for a more structured, formal appearance.

Each background style is available across the standard color options, giving buyers a range of combinations. A burgundy marble check, for example, creates a visually striking check that is professional without being generic. A blue prismatic check with a business logo creates a branded professional document. For more on these background options, see our detailed custom checks guide.

Free Logo Printing vs Design Catalog Pricing

The key advantage Checkomatic's personalization model has over the illustrated design catalog model is that the logo is yours, not licensed, and it is included free on every order.

At Artistic Checks, the illustrated designs in the Masterpiece and themed categories carry licensing costs embedded in the product price. When you order a Cheri Blum artist design check, a portion of the price reflects the licensed use of that artwork. This is one of the reasons Masterpiece Checks and similar licensed design tiers are excluded from the deepest coupon code discounts: the manufacturer's margin on licensed designs is thinner than on plain or classic check styles.

At Checkomatic, your custom checks with logo (business or personal mark) are printed free on every order. There is no licensing cost because it is your artwork. The free logo printing applies equally to the base product price without restriction. No coupon code is needed to unlock it. No promotional tier determines whether it is available. Every Checkomatic order, regardless of quantity, format, or check style, includes free black and white logo printing.

For buyers who want a visually distinctive personal or business check that carries their own mark rather than a licensed illustration, Checkomatic's model produces that result at a lower effective cost than a licensed design catalog after handling fees, coupon mechanics, and reorder pricing are accounted for.

How to Order Personalized Checks From Checkomatic

Ordering from Checkomatic starts with selecting your check format and then choosing your color and background style during the product selection flow. Have your routing number, account number, and starting check number ready from the MICR line of an existing check before you start. A full walkthrough of this information is in our how to order checks online guide.

For logo checks, upload your logo file during checkout. Vector files (AI, EPS) produce the sharpest results. High-resolution PNG files at 300 DPI or above are the best raster alternative. The logo appears in the upper portion of the check face on the selected color and background combination. Black and white printing is included free. Color printing adds a small per-order fee.

Review the digital proof before approving production. The proof shows your color background, background style, logo placement, name and address, and MICR line. Verify the routing number and account number digit by digit before approving. Standard orders ship in 3 to 5 business days from proof approval. Rush delivery is available at checkout.

Why Choose Checkomatic

Checkomatic has manufactured personal and business checks through in-house manufacturing in Monroe, NY since 1997. That Monroe NY facility ships every order direct. Every order ships on ABA-compliant security stock with all six standard fraud deterrent features included at no additional charge.

No Coupon Code Required

The price shown for any Checkomatic check order is the direct manufacturer price. There are no first-time vs reorder price tiers, no per-order handling fees added at checkout, and no promotional codes required to access the base price. What you see is what you pay every time you order, your first order and your tenth.

Free Logo Printing on Every Order

Every Checkomatic personal and business check order includes free black and white logo printing with no setup fee. Color logo printing is available for a small additional per-order fee. No coupon code is needed and no design tier restricts access to logo printing.

Full Business and Personal Check Range

Unlike Artistic Checks, which sells personal checks only, Checkomatic covers the full range of check types a business or household requires. Personal checks in all formats including top stub, deskset, and secretary deskbook are at personal checks. Business computer checks in check-on-top, check-in-middle, check-on-bottom, and 3-on-a-page formats are at business checks. Manual business checks for accounts payable and payroll are at manual business checks. QuickBooks-compatible checks are at QuickBooks checks. Blank check stock is at blank checks.

Check Accessories in One Order

Check accessories can be added to any order: business deposit slips, double-window check envelopes, 7-ring check binders, and self-inking endorsement stamps. Every accessory ships from the same Monroe, NY manufacturer with the same direct pricing.

Digital Proof Before Production

Every order includes a digital proof step before any paper is printed. You verify your logo, background, color, name, address, routing number, and account number before approving. Standard turnaround is 3 to 5 business days from proof approval. Rush delivery is available at checkout.

Start your order at checkomatic.com. For a full comparison of check order pricing including per-check cost math, see our cheap checks guide. For everything about personalization options, see our custom checks guide.

The Short Version on Artistic Checks and Check Coupon Deals

Artistic Checks is a Deluxe Corporation brand that sells illustrated personal check designs. Its coupon codes reduce the listed check price by a percentage but do not apply to handling fees, shipping, or pre-selected add-ons like SentryShield. First-time customer pricing is significantly lower than standard reorder pricing, which means the effective long-term cost at Artistic Checks is considerably higher than the introductory offer implies.

Artistic Checks are secure: they are printed on ABA-compliant (ABA compliant) security paper with all six standard fraud deterrent features. The design has no effect on the check's security properties or banking compatibility.

For buyers who want personalized checks without coupon code mechanics, handling fees, or the introductory-to-reorder pricing gap, Checkomatic's direct manufacturer model delivers the same ABA-compliant product with free logo printing, multiple background styles, and consistent pricing on every order. No promotional code required. No pre-selected add-ons to opt out of. No per-order handling fee at checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Artistic Checks?

Artistic Checks (artisticchecks.com) is a consumer personal check brand founded in 1998 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is owned by Deluxe Corporation, the same parent company as Checks Unlimited and Designer Checks. The brand specializes in illustrated and nature-themed personal check designs organized into categories including Masterpiece Checks (licensed artist designs), Scenic Checks (landscape photography), Classic Checks (simple backgrounds), Animal Checks, Floral Checks, Pattern Checks, and Cultural Checks. It sells personal checks only, not business check formats used for payroll or accounts payable.

How do check coupon codes actually work?

Check coupon codes at brands like Artistic Checks apply a percentage discount to the listed check product price, not to the total order cost. Handling fees (typically $3.45 per box at Artistic Checks), shipping charges, and pre-selected add-ons like SentryShield Pro are not discounted by most coupon codes. First-time customer codes offer the deepest discounts, sometimes reducing a box to $8 to $10, but reorder pricing for returning customers is significantly higher at approximately $22 to $27 per box before fees. Most coupon codes also require a minimum quantity of two to four boxes to unlock the full advertised discount percentage.

Are artistic personalized checks secure?

Yes. Artistic checks from CPSA-certified manufacturers like Deluxe Corporation are printed on ABA-compliant security stock. The illustrated designs or photography are printed on top of security paper that contains chemically reactive paper, genuine watermarks, microprinting, heat-sensitive ink, void pantographs, and UV fluorescent fibers. These features are present regardless of the design on the check face. Artistic Checks also offers high-security tiers that add holographic foil above the baseline ABA security paper features.

What is the difference between first-time and reorder check pricing?

First-time customer pricing at brands like Artistic Checks can be as low as $8.40 for a box of 80 single checks using an introductory code. Standard reorder pricing for returning customers runs approximately $23.49 per box before the per-box handling fee, which is roughly 2.8 times the introductory price. The gap exists because the coupon-model business acquires customers at a low introductory price and earns profit on subsequent orders. Buyers who plan to reorder regularly should base their cost calculations on the standard reorder price, not the introductory offer.

Does Checkomatic offer personalized artistic check designs?

Checkomatic's personalization approach uses background variety and free logo printing rather than a licensed illustration catalog. Multiple background styles including marble checks style, prismatic, diamond texture, and safety pattern are available across blue, burgundy, and green color options. Free black and white logo printing is included on every order with no setup fee. Color logo printing adds a small per-order fee. This combination produces a visually distinctive, genuinely personalized check at direct manufacturer pricing, without licensed artwork premiums or coupon code requirements.