Laser printer 'bends' paper

Question

My Brother 1210w 'bends' the paper that comes from it. It seems to deform the paper due to heat: printing more pages yields higher deformation.

Is this a common issue? Did I get the wrong printer? Is my printer defective?

Can this be mitigated/solved with a different paper?

You're not using paper designed for use with a laser printer; use the proper paper and you'll be fine. Normal paper cannot withstand the heat and as a result, the moisture in the paper causes condensation (you may also see some steam rise out of the printer as well) as well as causing the paper to curl. — AStopher, Jul 01 '16 at 10:13

misha256 · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-30T21:54:02.847

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Yes, it's a common problem. Especially in environments where the humidity is high. Humid paper = more curl.

The design and specification of the printer also matters. Printers whose fuser unit is designed to run hot will cause more curl. Also, if the printer is designed such that paper travels around tight rollers in a U-shape (especially at the point where the paper goes through the hot fuser) then you get more curl.

Small printers are more prone, but then my Brother HL-2250DN seems pretty good. However, I keep my room's humidity under control.

To sum up, this is a common issue, it's not (normally) a sign of a defective printer, and some printers are better than others in this respect. You can minimize the issue for yourself by getting your room's humidity under control or storing your paper supply in a dry place until you need to use it. If you have a hot water cupboard that's not a bad place to keep your paper.

More reading/tips if you're interested: http://word.tips.net/T003507_Reducing_the_Curl_in_Printed_Documents.html

The above article gives a few extra tips, like flipping the paper over (because paper tends to bend more in one direction than the other) and finding which way around produces less curl. You could try other kinds of paper, but do make sure such paper is laser-compatible.

edited Jun 30 '16 at 21:54

answered Jun 30 '16 at 19:22

misha256

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I think flipping the paper *over* rather than *around* would be a better description - it makes no difference which *end* of the sheet is the top of the printed page. As the link says, packs of laser printer paper are often labeled to tell you which side should be facing up in the printer tray. For boxes of paper and packs that open from the top rather than from one end, you usually should load the paper with the same side upwards as in the pack, when it is opened from the top. (People who prefer to open packages upside down will have to figure out their own alternative!) – alephzero Jun 30 '16 at 21:42
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What's a "hot water cupboard", and why would that be a good place to keep your paper? It kind of sounds like a really *bad* place, if you want a low-humidity environment. The Google search results are slightly helpful but insufficient. – user2357112 Jun 30 '16 at 21:48
@alephzero Good point, I've edited the answer – misha256 Jun 30 '16 at 21:54
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hot water cupboard = where the hot water heater is. – Xavier J Jun 30 '16 at 22:10
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@user2357112 https://wardrobeandstoragespecialists.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/hot-water-22.jpg. Where I live (New Zealand) humidity/dampness is a problem and, perhaps counter-intuitively, the hot water cupboard - if designed properly - is a good place to store things sensitive to moisture. Proof: currently my living room is measuring 82% humidity. My hot water cupboard is at 45% :-) – misha256 Jun 30 '16 at 22:15
@user2357112, in American English, it would be the "utility room" or "utility closet". – Mark Jul 01 '16 at 01:03
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@user2357112, in British English it's the airing cupboard – Separatrix Jul 01 '16 at 07:11
and in new zealandish english its the water cupboard?^^ – Zaibis Jul 01 '16 at 08:17
You can also use little silicate packages used in Shoes and other things for keeping them dry and pack them close to your stored paper, maybe even somewhere in the paper-tray, if there is extra space. – Falco Jul 01 '16 at 10:31
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@Falco: Or, possibly easier and cheaper yet, buy a bag of "crystal cat litter" (which is silica gel, the same stuff as in those little desiccant packets), pour some into an open jar (or a cloth or paper bag) to make your own heavy-duty desiccant, and place it in the same space you store your paper in. Note that it does need to be in a (mostly) enclosed space, to prevent moist air from getting in. Also, like all desiccants, silica gel will eventually saturate and stop working, although it's possible to dry it e.g. in an oven and reuse it. – Ilmari Karonen Jul 01 '16 at 10:58
@IlmariKaronen It is not enough a [pot with coarse/cooking salt](http://www.greenme.it/images/stories/tecno/Deumidificatore_fai_da_te.jpg), and to change the salt when it will be humid? You can always cook with it `:-)`... – Hastur Jul 01 '16 at 11:50
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@Hastur: Ordinary table salt (sodium chloride) is not a particularly good desiccant; [its critical relative humidity is about 74%](http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/gewuerze/salz/salz.htm#feuchte), and so it will only reduce RH down to that. Silica gel will absorb water at any humidity as long as it's dry enough to begin with, although [its absorption capacity is approximately linearly proportional to RH](https://www.sorbentsystems.com/desiccants_charts.html) and so it will reach an equilibrium humidity that depends on the total amounts of silica and water present. – Ilmari Karonen Jul 01 '16 at 13:04
@misha256 the key is it's warmer than the rest of your house. For the same absoloute humidity a higher temperature means a lower relative humidity (and low relative humidity is what keeps items drw). – plugwash Jul 01 '16 at 15:11
using FastRes 1200 rather than 600 made my printer slower but it also runs cooler and bends less – M.kazem Akhgary Jun 22 '19 at 06:24

Laser printer 'bends' paper

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