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Chapter 2 Handling Paper
2-2
Laser printing is a process involving laser light, electrostatic dis-
charge, toner, and heat. In addition, as the paper passes through
the printer it undergoes considerable sliding, bending, and twist-
ing motions. A high-quality printing paper matching the print-
er’s requirements withstands all these stresses, enabling the
printer to turn out clean, crisp printed copies consistently.
Remember that all paper is not the same. Some of the factors
to consider when selecting paper for the printer are as follows:
Condition of the Paper
Avoid using paper that is bent at the edges, curled, dirty, torn,
embossed, or contaminated with lint, clay, or paper shreds.
Use of paper in these conditions can lead to illegible printing,
misfeeding, and paper jams, and can shorten the life of the
printer. In particular, avoid using paper with a surface coat-
ing or other surface treatment. The paper should have as
smooth and even a surface as possible.
Composition
Do not use paper that has been coated or surface-treated and
contains plastic or carbon. The heat of fusing can cause such
paper to give off harmful fumes.
Bond paper should contain at least 80 % pulp. Not more than 20 %
of the total paper content should consist of cotton or other fibers.
Paper Size
Cassettes and an MP tray are available for the paper sizes
listed in the table below. The dimensional tolerances are ±0.7
mm (±0.0276 inches) for the length and width. The angle at
the corners must be 90° ±0.2°.
Paper with other sizes (custom sizes) can also be fed from the
MP tray. The minimum size paper for manual feed is 88 × 148
mm (3-1/2 × 5-13/16 inches), fed lengthwise. The maximum
size is 297 × 450 mm (11-11/16 × 17-3/4 inches).
Smoothness
The paper should have a smooth, uncoated surface. Paper with
a rough or sandy surface can cause voids in the printed output.
Paper that is too smooth, however, can cause multiple feeding
and fogging problems. (Fogging is a gray background effect.)
Basis Weight
Basis weight is the weight of a standard quantity of paper. In
the traditional system, the standard quantity is a ream con-
sisting of 500 sheets measuring 17 × 22 inches each. In the
metric system the standard quantity is 1 square meter.
Paper that is too light or too heavy can cause misfeeding,
jams, and premature wear of the printer. Uneven paper
weight can cause multiple feeds, print defects, poor toner fus-
ing, blurring, and other print quality problems. The proper
weight is 60 to 105 g/m
2
for the paper cassette, and 60 to 200
g/m
2
for the MP tray.
Thickness (Caliper)
Thick paper is referred to as high-caliper paper and thin pa-
per as low-caliper paper. The paper used with the printer
should be neither extremely thick nor extremely thin. If you
are having problems with paper jams, multiple feeds, and
faint printing, the paper you are using may be too thin. If you
are having problems with paper jams and blurred printing,
the paper may be too thick. The proper thickness is 0.086 to
0.110 mm (3.4 to 4.3 mils).
1.3 Selecting the Right Paper
MP tray Size
Monarch 3-7/8 × 7-1/2 inches
Business 4-1/8 × 9-1/2 inches
Commercial 9 3-7/8 × 8-7/8 inches
Commercial 6-3/4 3-5/8 × 6-1/2 inches
International DL 11 × 22 cm
International C5 16.2 × 22.9 cm
ISO A6 105 × 148 mm
JIS B6 128 × 182 mm
International B5 17.6 × 25 cm
Executive 7-1/4 × 10-1/2 inches
International C4 229 × 324 mm
Oficio II 8-1/2 × 13 inches
Hagaki 100 × 148 mm
Oufuku Hagaki 148 × 200 mm
Youkei 2 114 × 162 mm
Youkei 4 105 × 235 mm
8K 273 × 394 mm
16K 197 × 273 mm
Table 2-2
Cassette or MP tray Size
Ledger 11 × 17 inches
Legal 8-1/2 × 14 inches
Letter 8-1/2 × 11 inches
Statement 5-1/2 × 8-1/2 inches
Folio 210 × 330 mm
ISO A3 297 × 420 mm
ISO A4 210 × 297 mm
ISO A5 148 × 210 mm
JIS B4 257 × 364 mm
JIS B5 182 × 257 mm
Table 2-3