Prevent Paper Jams: Top Tips for Paper Storage and Handling

Paper jams most often start before the paper ever reaches the printer: moisture, curl, static and damaged edges make sheets stick together or feed at an angle. Fixing how paper is stored and loaded prevents a large share of everyday jams without any change to the machine.

A paper jam is a misfeed in which a sheet stops, crumples or folds inside a printer or copier's paper path, halting the job until it is removed. Copiers and laser printers are especially sensitive, because paper travels quickly through a series of rollers and then through a heated fuser; this overview of laser printing shows how many steps each sheet passes through, and office photocopiers use the same basic process at higher volumes.

Paper is made of wood fibers, and those fibers absorb and release moisture from the air. When paper picks up moisture it expands and curls; when it dries out too much it becomes brittle and builds static. Both conditions make sheets harder for rollers to separate and feed one at a time.

The good news is that paper problems are cheap and easy to fix. A few habits in the supply closet and at the tray can save hours of frustration.

Store paper flat, sealed in its original ream wrapper and inside its carton, in a cool, dry room away from moisture and heat sources. The goal is to keep paper at stable, moderate conditions so it stays flat and dry until you need it.

• Keep the wrapper on. Ream wrappers are designed to limit moisture exchange, so open a ream only when you are ready to load it.
• Store flat. Standing reams on end can bend and curl the sheets.
• Stay off the floor. Use a shelf or pallet, since floors, especially concrete, can transfer cold and damp.
• Avoid exterior walls, windows and vents. These spots swing in temperature and humidity.
• Keep away from heaters and machines. Storing paper on top of a warm copier dries it unevenly.
• Don't stack too high. Heavy stacks can crush the edges of reams at the bottom.
• Rotate stock. Use older paper first so nothing sits for too long.

If you open a ream and only use part of it, rewrap the remainder or store it in a sealed bag rather than leaving loose sheets on a shelf or sitting in an open tray for weeks.

Paper should adjust to the temperature and humidity of the room where it will be used before you unwrap it, because sudden changes cause curl and condensation. This matters most when paper has been delivered from a cold truck or stored in a basement or warehouse.

Acclimating paper means leaving it sealed in its packaging in the printing room until it reaches the same temperature as the space. Opening a cold ream in a warm office can draw moisture onto the sheets, and that moisture leads to curl and sticking.

A practical rule is to bring next week's paper into the office ahead of time rather than carrying a carton straight from a cold loading dock to the copier. Larger quantities and bigger temperature differences need longer, so overnight is a sensible habit for paper that arrives in cold weather.

If your office has very humid summers or very dry winters, consistent storage becomes even more important. Keeping supplies in an interior room, rather than a garage or exterior closet, reduces the swings that cause trouble.

The same applies in reverse. Paper left in a hot car or a sunny delivery area can dry out and build static, so give it time to settle before loading it too.

Fan the stack, square it neatly, load it below the maximum fill line and slide the guides until they touch the paper without bending it. Careful loading takes a few seconds and prevents many double feeds and skewed sheets.

• Fan the paper. Hold the stack by its edges and flex it gently so air separates the sheets, then tap it square on a flat surface.
• Check the print side. Many ream wrappers carry an arrow showing the side to print on first; follow it if your machine's manual recommends.
• Respect the fill line. Overfilled trays press sheets against the pickup roller and cause multiple feeds.
• Set the guides snug. Loose guides let paper skew, and tight guides bow the stack.
• Don't top up a partly full tray. Remove the remaining sheets, add new paper and put the older sheets on top so they are used first.
• Match the tray setting. Make sure the paper size and type set on the control panel match what is loaded.

Never load torn, folded, wrinkled or damp sheets. One bad sheet can stop a long print job and leave scraps inside the machine.

Use the paper weights, sizes and types listed in your machine's specifications, and feed special media through the tray the manufacturer recommends. Paper outside those ranges is far more likely to jam, wrinkle or fail to fuse properly.

Paper weight describes the thickness and heft of a sheet; in the US it is usually shown as a basis weight in pounds, such as the 20 lb bond used for everyday copy paper, and internationally in grams per square meter (gsm). Heavier sheets are stiffer and need a straighter paper path.

Inkjet-only media can also be unsuitable for laser machines, because the fuser's heat can damage coatings that were never designed for it.

If jams continue with fresh, well-stored paper, the cause is usually dirty or worn rollers, debris in the paper path, incorrect tray settings or a worn part such as the fuser. Track where the jam happens, because the location points to the cause.

Pickup rollers are the rubber wheels that pull each sheet from the tray. When they collect paper dust or wear smooth, they slip or grab several sheets at once. Cleaning them with a slightly damp, lint-free cloth often restores reliable feeding, as our guide to keeping your copier clean explains.

Other common culprits include:

• Torn scraps left behind after an earlier jam.
• Paper clips or staples that fell into the tray or document feeder.
• A paper type setting that does not match the media loaded.
• Worn separation pads, feed rollers or fuser parts on a heavily used machine.

For more troubleshooting, read our article on top copier frustrations and solutions.

Follow the jam location shown on the control panel, open only the covers it indicates and pull the paper out slowly in the direction it normally travels. Rushing or yanking paper backward is the usual way small jams become torn scraps and damaged parts.

Remember that the fuser area stays hot after a jam, and many machines display a warning near it. Let it cool before reaching in. Remove the whole sheet, check for torn corners and look again with a light if anything seems to be missing, because a hidden scrap will cause the next jam.

Once the path is clear, close every cover fully so the machine can reset, then reload the tray with fresh, fanned paper. If the same jam appears again and again in the same place, note the location and any error code, and contact your service provider rather than repeatedly opening the machine. Our service network page explains how service works for machines bought from us.

Use this checklist to build habits that keep paper jams rare. Share it with whoever restocks the supply closet and the trays.

1. Store cartons flat on a shelf or pallet in a cool, dry interior room.
2. Keep reams sealed in their wrappers until the moment you load them.
3. Bring paper into the printing room ahead of time so it can acclimate, especially in cold weather.
4. Fan and square each stack before loading, and follow the print-side arrow if your manual recommends it.
5. Fill trays only to the maximum line and set guides snug against the paper.
6. Match the paper size and type settings on the control panel to the media loaded.
7. Feed heavy stock, labels and envelopes through the recommended tray.
8. Clean pickup rollers when misfeeds start, and report repeated jams with their location and error code.

If jams persist on an aging machine, our team can help you compare dependable replacements and find compatible supplies. Browse copiers and printers, visit our support page, or contact our team with your model and the problem you are seeing.