CUTTING PAPER - OTHER TOOLS - Problems with efficient imaging
 

Problems with efficient imaging

Paper-efficient printing and copying doesn’t always work out as intended. Sometimes it is due to lack of attention in software or hardware design. Other times it is due to the complexities that are introduced by efficient practices.  Awareness of these shortcomings can help you avoid getting ‘bitten’ by one of them.

Cover pages, Multiple Copies.

In some computing environments your printed output includes a ‘cover sheet’ intended to identify and separate output on a shared printer.  More and more people are using the printer to make multiple copies of a document rather than printing once and then copying (see "Mopying" in the glossary).
Cover sheets and multiple copy printing can collide with duplexing or n-up printing when everything is seen by the printer as part of the same ‘print job’.  They can be combined in undesired ways.  For example, the cover sheet can end up on the same sheet as page 1 of the wanted output.  For a 1-page document this might sometimes be a feature, but more often it is a problem.  Multiple copies of a document can end up on the same sheet of paper when the intent is to be able to give them to different people.
 
If you have the cover sheet problem, your only solution may be to turn off cover sheets (which is good for paper efficiency in any case).  For the multiple copy printing, one option is to be sure that whatever you print has the right number of pages so that the breaks between copies occur at physical page breaks (possibly by adding blank pages).  Another option is to simply avoid the feature, sending each copy as a separate print job (which could get tedious if there are many) or adding blank pages to be sure that the ‘page’ breaks occur in the right place.
 

Too small text

A document that is reduced in size may be perfectly legible for the most part but have sections—such as footnotes, figure text, or quotes—that are in a smaller and/or different point size that is hard to read.  These may not be apparent when the decision is made on how much reduction is appropriate.
 

Faxing duplexed documents

Few fax machines have the ability to make faxing a double-sided document easy.  A fax machine that supports "duplex faxing" allows the user to run the document through the scanning unit, then turn the stack over, then run it through scanning the other side.  The machine then resorts the pages electronically so that they come out in the proper order at the receiving end.  Only a few fax models currently support "duplex faxing" (see the fax page in the Actions area) but many larger multi-function devices with fax units do.

Over time, duplex faxing should become easier to do: more fax-only machines may support it; larger multi-function devices that support duplex faxing may become more common; and computer software will likely support page resorting for documents that are first scanned into a computer then faxed or emailed.

It is always possible to send the even and odd pages separately and let the recipient resort the pages (so long as their incoming faxes aren’t printed duplex), but many people fear that sending faxes this way may appear "unprofessional" or cause confusion.  Copying the document single sided for faxing may be the only solution.
 

Image Combination on copiers

 A powerful feature of some copiers is the ability to automatically copy two original ‘pages’ onto one side of one sheet, reducing each in size.  Most copiers are ‘analog’ copiers which use reflected light in transferring the image ultimately to the copied paper.  To do image combination on these, two originals are pulled down at the same time onto the platen glass by the document feeder.  However, if the original is double-sided, this won’t work.  It is theoretically possible for a copier to add some blank pages and do complicated turning over of the originals to accomplish image combination of a duplexed original, but we are unaware of any analog copier that does this.

If you are making multiple copies of a document, it can be worth it to first make a single-sided master copy and use that to do the image combination.  If the copies will be made frequently then it may also be worth making an image-combined master that will be used to make the copies.  This master can be single or double-sided.

"2-in-1" image combination to a single- or double-sided copy is the most common image combination feature.  "4-in-1" is possible on some machines, though this requires an "overlay" copy in which two separate images, each with 2 ‘pages’ on it, are put on the copy.  Because the paper runs through the fusing unit of the copier twice, to try to run it through two more times to duplex the "4-in-1" copy is really tempting fate when it comes to causing a jam.

All of the above applies only to analog copiers.  "Digital" copiers that scan the original like a fax machine and then print the result like a laserprinter are a totally different story regarding image combination.  The combination is done electronically rather than physically, so whether the original is single or double-sided is unimportant.  Digital copiers often have the same wide range of options as printers, e.g. 6-in-1, 9-in-1, and 16-in-1 image combination, with duplexing possible for each.
 

Paper Jams

One of the more annoying parts of using copiers and printers is experiencing a paper jam.  Good quality equipment and paper should result in a low rate of jamming, but some is inevitable.

When you use both sides of originals or copies, the path that the paper takes within the machine is usually more complicated and so there is a potentially higher risk of jamming.  Paper in the document feeder is most at risk, since it has usually aged and been handled and possibly stapled, folded, etc., and so has less strength than 'new' paper.

Recycled content paper is often blamed for jamming in copiers.  However, it is important to distinguish between the recycled content and the overall quality of the paper.  Low quality paper certainly will increase jams--the key is to consider good quality papers and then maximize (within reasonable cost) the recycled content.  The EPA's Energy Star copier program requires participating companies to identify types of recycled content paper that will work well with their products and list the percentage of post-consumer content of those papers. 

If a printer or copier jams on duplexing, and changing paper doesn't fix it, then it is an equipment problem, and whoever is responsible for the equipment's proper functioning should be asked to fix it. 

Some equipment manufacturers include specifications for paper that should run well in their equipment.  Hewlett-Packard, for example, publishes detailed specifications on its web site.
 

Setting a printer to default duplex

HP Laser printers  
 
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