Paper, humidity and dust: how storage and environment affect your printing

Paper looks like the simplest part of printing, which is why it is so often overlooked when something goes wrong. In practice, the paper you buy and the conditions you keep it in have a direct effect on jam rates, print quality and how hard your machine has to work. The same is true of where the printer itself lives. A machine in a warm, dusty store cupboard will give you more trouble than an identical one in a clean, ventilated office.

Paper is a consumable with specifications

Every sheet has a weight, measured in grams per square metre, and most office copier paper sits around 80gsm. Your machine will have a range of weights it can handle, and different trays often have different limits — the bypass or multipurpose tray usually accepts heavier stock than the main cassettes. Running card or heavy stock through a tray that is not rated for it is a reliable way to cause misfeeds and, over time, wear on the feed rollers.

Two other properties matter more than most people realise. Smoothness affects how evenly toner transfers and fuses to the surface, which is why very rough or heavily textured stock can look patchy. Grain direction — the alignment of the fibres — affects how the sheet behaves as it bends through the paper path and as it passes through the heat of the fuser. Paper sold specifically for laser printers and copiers is made with these in mind; paper sold for inkjets or for craft use is not necessarily.

Media that needs extra thought

• Labels. Only use label stock rated for laser printers. Labels intended for other uses can lift or shed adhesive inside the fuser, which is an expensive fault to put right.
• Pre-printed letterhead. The inks used must be able to withstand fuser heat without softening or offsetting onto rollers.
• Recycled stock. Quality varies widely. Better grades run perfectly well; cheaper ones tend to produce more dust and lint, which builds up in the paper path.
• Card and heavy stock. Feed from the bypass tray where possible, and set the tray’s media type so the machine adjusts its fuser and feed settings.
• Punched or perforated paper. Loose chads and dust from the punching process end up inside the machine.

Why humidity causes so many jams

Paper is hygroscopic — it absorbs and releases moisture from the air around it. That single fact explains a great deal of seasonal printer behaviour.

When paper takes up moisture, the sheets soften and the edges can ripple or curl, because the edges of a stack absorb moisture faster than the middle. Wavy sheets do not sit flat in the tray and are far more likely to skew, misfeed or jam. Damp paper can also give weak, mottled or poorly fused print, because moisture turning to steam in the fuser interferes with toner bonding properly to the sheet. In very damp conditions you may also see sheets sticking together as they feed.

Air that is too dry brings the opposite problem. Dry paper builds static as it moves through the machine, and static makes sheets cling to one another, causing multi-feeds where two or three pages are pulled through at once.

Storing paper properly

None of this requires anything elaborate. It is mostly about keeping paper sealed and settled:

• Leave reams in their sealed wrapper until you need them — the wrapper is a moisture barrier, not just packaging.
• Store boxes flat, off the floor and away from external walls, radiators and windows.
• Keep paper in the same room as the printer where you can, so it is already at room temperature and humidity when it goes in the tray.
• If paper has been somewhere cold, such as a van or an unheated store, let the sealed box acclimatise in the office for a few hours before opening it.
• Do not leave a half-used ream sitting open in the tray or on a shelf for weeks. Reseal it or keep it in a closed cupboard.
• Fan the edges of a fresh stack lightly before loading, and do not overfill the tray past the marked line.

Dust, heat and where the machine sits

Printers draw air through themselves to cool internal components, and whatever is in that air ends up inside. Paper dust, toner particles and general office dust settle on sensors, optics and feed rollers. Dust on the scanning strip or the laser optics shows up as faint lines or patchy density. Dust on rollers makes them slip, which shows up as misfeeds. A machine sited next to a busy doorway, a building site window or a store room that generates cardboard dust will need cleaning far more often than one in a clean office.

Give the machine clear space around its vents, keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources, and avoid tucking it into a sealed cupboard where it recirculates its own warm air. Rooms that are cold and unused overnight and then heated quickly in the morning are also worth watching, since condensation can form on internal surfaces.

Wiping accessible surfaces, the document feeder glass strip and the paper trays as part of a regular routine takes minutes and prevents a good proportion of call-outs. Internal cleaning of the paper path and optics is best left to a service visit, where it can be done properly alongside checking wear parts.

If the jams and quality problems persist

If you have ruled out the paper and the environment and the machine is still misbehaving, the cause is likely mechanical — worn separation pads or feed rollers, a tired fuser or a sensor that needs attention. That is the point to have someone look at it rather than keep clearing jams. You can read more about how we handle that on our printer repairs page.

Advanced Printing Solutions services Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Xerox machines for businesses across England, and you always speak directly to the engineer. If your machine is jamming more than it should or the print quality has drifted, call 07730 330415 or get in touch through our contact page.