Ok, so maybe someone who is familiar with older HP Laserjets (fregac?) can answer this one. I've got an older HP Laserjet 5M (The one which was the precursor of the 4000 series) that I use as my primary printer. It's in good shape and prints very nice quality, but it does have one annoying habit. When the pages exit the printer, they have a slight side-to-side upwards curl to them. Usually if you let them sit for a while they'll mostly settle back to flat, but if you're printing a large document the curl of the edges can start interfering with the pages exiting the printer. Anyone know why this might be happening?

As I said, it's just an annoyance, and even if I can't figure it out I'll continue to use the printer due to its many merits. But I would like to know exactly why the curl is happening.

9/5/2005 12:24:35 PM

Non-laser paper. when its getting heated up it bending.

9/5/2005 12:43:39 PM

try flipping the paper in the input tray over

if that doesnt work youll need paper designed for lasers

9/5/2005 2:04:15 PM

^^ Right. Use thicker paper.



20lb paper is always going to curl in a laser printer.

9/5/2005 7:02:29 PM

It's not 20 lb. paper. It's 24 lb, extra-bright, claims to be suitable for lasers, Burlington I think?

Perhaps I'll try a different brand.

9/6/2005 3:11:55 PM

i've noticed some brands of 24 do that, we use hammermil and the generic office depot shit and it's been ok.

9/6/2005 4:08:15 PM

not a Color LaserJet 5M by chance is it? Before we got one of those at work a number of years ago, I didn't think lemons weighed 150 lbs

9/6/2005 5:33:22 PM

Nah, black and white. The color 5M's were pretty crappy, but then again they were among the first color laser printers. The b/w 5M's are a completely different design, related to the LJ 4/4+ and 4000 series. Pretty bulletproof.

9/6/2005 5:40:34 PM

this doesnt help your problem, but the HP LaserJet 8000N is MONEY...very very reliable and toner-economic

9/6/2005 5:45:45 PM

The 8000N has been a good performer in the labs. However, it's a LOT more printer than I need; I wouldn't have anywhere to put it. Also would be a LOT more than I want to spend, since I got this one for cheap and have two toner cartridges for it.

9/6/2005 6:22:07 PM

I don't know what causes it, but I'd like to find out cause my laserjet 4 started doing the same thing about a month ago.

9/6/2005 8:16:27 PM

Humidity? Roll a piece of paper through a set of hot rollers and it's going to curl to some degree. Moisture will certainly help it stick that way. See if a fresh ream of paper helps, and be careful where you store your supplies.

9/6/2005 10:38:46 PM