Short Sheets

[webrabbit]

Both at home and at my Church, I print checks on an HP LaserJet. At home I have a LaserJet 2200. The one at Church is an older model, but has had much less use [all the packing had not be removed when we got it].

The checks are, in both cases, wallet style, slightly less than 3" high. This leaves a 2½" stub at the bottom. Naturally, I rarely print checks in multiples of 3, so I usually have a short sheet to start each run. Sometimes a short sheet has two checks, sometimes only one.

I have never had a problem when there are two checks, but sometimes when there is only one, the printer "drops" the sheet between the OPC and the fuser unit. This happens with both printers, but not all the time. The sheet is 5½" high, and the documentation for both printers specifies a minimum sheet length of 5". I have never had a problem printing 3x5 cards, so why the problem with the 5½" sheets? Is there a PCL command that tells the printer there is a short sheet coming? I cannot find such a command in my reference manuals, which are quite old [almost two decades].

 

[jlasman]

My guess is that there is more curl in the check paper as compared to the card stock. Perhaps, the ambient temp inside the printer contributes to the curl. Further, when you are down to one check the rollers don't have as much paper to grip on laterally. The problem is do do with the distance between rollers, so no PCL command is going to fix it. Personally, I just use business/commercial size laser checks.

Maybe you could somehow mount the check onto a carrier sheet

Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com

 

[webrabbit]

Yes, I tried to get the deacons to approve business size checks, but was shot down.

I thought of the carrier sheets. Are they commercially available or is there a way to make them? I taped a sheet to the last check to get it fused. It worked but the middle of the check smeared slightly.

 

[jlasman]

I would try cutting a piece of heavy 24lb paper to the check depth, or a bit narrower, and 7 or 8 inches long. Tape it to the back of the check so it almost covers the length of the check but DOES cover all the parts of the check that will receive toner. Try that and see how it works. Use a "low tack" tame to attach. Avoid putting tape on the front side to avoid any adhesive from getting on the rollers. You may have to modify my suggestion a bit, but you will figure it out. Keep it simple.

I do a similar kind of thing to put the logo and return address on a window envelope. In olden days, the window was covered with a paper product called "glassine" commonly used for storing photographic negatives etc. You could run those through your LaserJet without any problem. Modern window envelopes have a plastic window that will melt going through the fuser. What I do is attach a piece of card stock(made for a laser printer), that perfectly covers just the window but folds around to the back of the envelope where it is taped. The card over the wind provides enough insulation that the window gets through the printer intact. BTW, you can't get the glassine envelopes any more because that material interferes with modern optical scanners etc. used by thr post office.

Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com